Tourist Information, Vendee History, Accommodation, Photos, Reviews, Maps,
Cugand
Cugand is situated in the North Eastern corner of the Vendée, in the Haut bocage close to the border with the Loire Atlantic and only three kilometres south of Clissons.
It was the first industrial centre in the Vendée having over one
hundred mills, factories and workshops carrying out the main trades such
as milling wheat, papermaking, woollen trades and tanning along with
many other associated trades.
Cugand was made famous in the early 1960's when Serge Danot created one
of the first animation films for TV it was the now famous "Magic
Roundabout" which was filmed in the Italian style factory at Le
Feuilleein. In all eight hundred episodes were made. The Camera used and
some of the puppets are on display at the Historial de la Vendée at Les-Lucs-sur Boulogne.
The valley of the River Sèvre-Nantaise
forms one of the prettiest landscapes in the Vendée, it was here at
Plessard in 2004 that le Chemin Vendée, a composite of lanes that join
to form a walkway around the Vendée, was started.
Restaurants in Cugand: Le Belle Epoque. 8 place Eglise. Tel. 02 51 43 65 47.
Le Ralais de cugand. 3,Place Eglise. Tel. 02 51 42 15 48
Le Moulin a Foulan.
This is the last woollen mill that is active in the whole of France .
In the mill one can discover five hundred years of memories in the
woollen trade. The site not only includes the water driven mill where
the wool was hammered and treated and includes photos and equipment
used, but also the dying shop where the colours were added, the laundry
where the wool was washed and teased with Teasels that are grown in the
nearby fields and finally the drying plant where the wools where dried
ready for weaving.
It is open in the summer season from 1st June to 15th September from 10am - 12noon & from 3pm to 7pm. Admission is free.
Other mills along the river can be seen at Plessard, it was originally
for grinding wheat and was rebuilt in 1815 in the Italian style, and was
later used as a tannery. Today the upper part of the mill is used for
lodgings while the lower part is used as a base for canoeing.
The Bridge at Fougues was built in 1740 on the site of a roman crossing, the mill here dates from 1522.
Gaumier Mill dates from 1522 and was a woollen mill which only stopped working 30 years ago.
Antieres Mill was used for paper making and only closed in 1934.
Fradet Mill was used for grinding wheat and dates from 1503.
Hachelop. There are two mills here which date from 1522, (and) the tanning mill closed in 1985.
Return to find more interesting towns and villages in the Vendee
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