The Abbaye de Notre-Dame de la Grainetière
Les Herbiers is a small but busy manufacturing town which overlooks the Grande Maine river just down the road from the Mont des Alouettes. The latter is a Windy Ridge on the Cholet Road which used to be considered the gateway to the Vendée. The name Les Herbiers comes from Herbadilla (ville de l’herbe) due to its closeness to the area of herbs and the marshes.
History
During the Middle Ages, the area around Les Herbiers was transformed mainly by the intellectual and agricultural activity at the Abbey of Grainetière. During the ‘Hundred Years War’ the English invaded the region and during the Wars of the Vendée, the three windmills standing on ‘Lark Hill’ today we used as important signalling stations for the Vendéen forces. The Wars are commemorated by a chapel built in 1823 by the Duchess de Berry situated across the busy D160 road.
Les Herbiers Today
The chief products produced here are clothing and shoes (at the end of the 19th century, Lois Rondeau opened a shoe factory) and there are several factory shops such as Les Atlantes which can be visited in the town . In the swinging 60s the small communities of Herbaria and Ardelay were brought together forming the town today called Les Herbiers.
Today the town has developed into a centre of trade and industry and Les Herbiers, the centre of which still retains its old world charm, is the perfect starting point from which to explore the haut bocage.
Places of interest include
Vieille Église St-Christophe
The Abbaye de Notre-Dame de la Grainetière
A fortified rural Abbey founded in 1130 by Benedictine monks and which withstood an English siege in the year 1372
Vieille Église St-Christophe
Located nearby, this attractive 11th century church contains mediaeval wall paintings with a sound and light show describing the techniques used to create them.
Château d’Ardelay
A small castle, the square tower of which dominates the local village of Ardelay located 2 to 3 km from the centre of Les Herbiers.
