Les Essarts () is a former commune in the

Vendée Vendée () is a department in the Pays de la Loire region in Western France, on the Atlantic coast. In 2019, it had a population of 685,442.department in the

Pays de la Loire Pays de la Loire (; but can also mean 'Lower Loire') is one of the eighteen administrative regions of France, located on the country's Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. It was created in the 1950s to serve as a zone of influence for its capital an ...

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

in western

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. Since 1 January 2016, it is part of

Essarts-en-Bocage Essarts-en-Bocage () is a commune in the Vendée department in the Pays de la Loire region in western France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions ...

Geography

The town of Les Essarts is located between the A83 and the A87 freeways, between

La Roche sur Yon La Roche-sur-Yon () is a commune in the Vendée department in the Pays de la Loire region in western France. It is the capital of the department. The demonym for its inhabitants is ''Yonnais''. Known for its historical significance and cultur ...

and

Les Herbiers Les Herbiers () is a commune in the Vendée department in the Pays de la Loire region, western France. Population Sport Les Herbiers is host to the Chrono des Nations, an annual one-day individual time trial bicycle race, held in October. Le ...

, 55 km from

les Sables d'Olonne Les Sables-d'Olonne (; French meaning: "The Sands of Olonne"; Poitevin: ''Lés Sablles d'Oloune'') is a seaside resort and port on the Atlantic coast of western France. A subprefecture of the department of Vendée, Pays de la Loi ...

and 30 km from Le

Puy du Fou Le Puy du Fou () is a historical theme park in Les Epesses, in the Pays de la Loire region of western France. It receives more than 2 million visitors every year, making it one of the most popular theme parks in France. In 2024, it was the third ...

History

The city was built at the

Roman period The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

. At the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

, there was a lord in the middle of the town, and a

fort A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from La ...

was built. During the

war in the Vendée The War in the Vendée () was a counter-revolutionary insurrection that took place in the Vendée region of French First Republic, France from 1793 to 1796, during the French Revolution. The Vendée is a coastal region, located immediately so ...

, on 25 June 1795, a battle took place in the Les Essarts

. Charette hired Louis Pageot, one of his lieutenants, to surprise the garrison of Les Essarts. 300 republicans were caught, and then shot after the execution of 748

chouans Chouan (, "the silent one", or "owl") is a French nickname. It was used as a nom de guerre by the Chouan brothers, most notably Jean Cottereau, better known as Jean Chouan, who led a major revolt in Bas-Maine against the French Revolution. Pa ...

. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Germans occupied the Moulin de l'Ansonnière.

Demography

In 2022, Les Essarts counted 5,824 inhabitants. In 1800, date people started to record the number of inhabitants there, there was 1844 inhabitants in the town.

Sights

Historical Places

The Old Castle : The story of the castle starts at the Roman period, according to research made in 1935, which led to the creation of a «

Suovetaurilia The or was one of the most sacred and traditional rites of Roman religion: the sacrifice of a pig (), a sheep () and a bull () to the deity Mars to bless and purify land (). Ritual There were two kinds: * ("suckling suovetaurilia") of a ...

» : a sacrificial altar dedicated to March. Then, the first fort in Les Essarts (a wooden castle) was made at the feudal period. Starting from the 18th century, lords living around started to build a castle in stone. During the

(1793–1796, counterrevolution in the Vendée region of France during the French Revolution) the castle was partly destroyed. Descendants of the Lespinay and De Rougé families still own it. The St Pierre Church: The St Pierre Church was built in the 19th century. Before that a Roman church was at this place, built in the 11th and 12th centuries. It was burnt during the war in the Vendée by the Republican forces. The entrance of the previous church still exists, it has been transported stone by stone in the castle’s park. The Crypt: The

crypt A crypt (from Greek κρύπτη (kryptē) ''wikt:crypta#Latin, crypta'' "Burial vault (tomb), vault") is a stone chamber beneath the floor of a church or other building. It typically contains coffins, Sarcophagus, sarcophagi, or Relic, religiou ...

, located near from the sacristy, was built in the 12th century. It is referenced as a historical monument since 1971. The previous train station: In 1898, a railroad was built to link

Cholet Cholet (, probably from Latin ''cauletum'', "cabbage") is a commune of western France, in the Maine-et-Loire department. With 54,307 inhabitants (2019), it is the second most populous commune of Maine-et-Loire, after the prefecture, Angers. ...

to Les Sables d’Olonne. Between

and

, there was the Les Essarts train station. The train disappeared in Les Essarts in 1950 and has been restored as a place to live. L’Ansonnière Mill: It is one of the last Mill that we could found before in this town. In 1926, Alcide Gautron stopped his activity. During WWII, German people occupied it and transformed it in an observatory point. In 1992, the Mill was bought by the town hall and restored.

Clubs

The town of Les Essarts has various associations with diverse goals. Thus, you can find sport clubs, like Les Korrigans dancing club, the soccer team, or the basketball team, cultural and leisure clubs, like a music club etc. Some clubs are working in the agricultural world, others in the social world, like

Telethon A telethon (a portmanteau of "television" and "marathon") is a televised fundraising event that lasts many hours or days, the purpose of which is to raise money for a charitable, political or other cause. Most telethons feature heavy solicitatio ...

. Also, some clubs are representing the military or the education. The town of Les Essarts is also the headquarters of the cycling team Vendée U Pays de la Loire, and of the professional cycling team

Europcar Europcar Mobility Group is a French car rental company founded in 1949 in Paris. The head office of the holding company, Europcar Group S.A., is in the business park of Val Saint-Quentin at Voisins-le-Bretonneux (Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines), Fr ...

(the leader of this team, Thomas Voeckler, ended up being 4th at the end of the

Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage cycle sport, bicycle race held primarily in France. It is the oldest and most prestigious of the three Grand Tour (cycling), Grand Tours, which include the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a ...

in 2011).

Events

The town of Les Essarts was a stage city of the

in 2005 and in 2011. First, Les Essarts was the ending town of the 2nd stage of the Tour de France 2005, which was linking Challans to Les Essarts. Then, on 3 July 2011, the 2nd stage of the Tour de France 2011, a team-time trial which had Les Essarts as a starting and an ending point! The departure was in the Old Castle, then they went to

Boulogne Boulogne-sur-Mer (; ; ; or ''Bononia''), often called just Boulogne (, ), is a coastal city in Hauts-de-France, Northern France. It is a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Pas-de-Calais. Boul ...

Dompierre-sur-Yon Dompierre-sur-Yon (, literally ''Dompierre on Yon'') is a commune in the Vendée department in the Pays de la Loire region in western France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overs ...

and La Merlatière, and came back to les Essarts.

Partnerships with other towns

Les Essarts has a partnership with

Neunkirchen-Seelscheid Neunkirchen-Seelscheid () is a municipality in the Rhein-Sieg district in the southern part of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Beside the two principal places Neunkirchen and Seelscheid there are numerous smaller localities among the municipality ...

in Germany since 1991 and with

Bicester Bicester ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the Cherwell district of Oxfordshire, England, north-west of Oxford. The town is a notable tourist attraction due to the Bicester Village shopping centre. The historical town centre � ...

in the United Kingdom since 1992. Neunkirchen-Seelscheid is located in the Land Nordrhein-Westfalen, near from Cologne, and Bicester in the Oxford region.