PARCOURS DÉCOUVERTE DES HERBIERS

Les Herbiers town centre discovery trail

During Julius Caesar's conquest of Gaul, a Roman legion known as "l'Alouette" discovered the strategic importance of this 233-metre high hill overlooking Les Herbiers and gave it its name, Mont des Alouettes.
In the Middle Ages, the religious, intellectual and agricultural activity of the Grainetière abbey in Ardelay transformed the entire region.
During the Hundred Years' War, the town was not spared; the English invaded and were later driven out by Du Guesclin, who was fighting in Poitou. The Wars of Religion also caused countless ruins. But it was above all the French Revolution that destroyed the country. On the night of 1 to 2 February 1794, 60 people were massacred and the town set on fire. All but one of the houses in Les Herbiers burned down.
At the end of the 19th century, in a department that was essentially devoted to agriculture, the town already had a number of fledgling industries, in particular shoe manufacturing.

Since the amalgamation of Les Herbiers, Petit-Bourg and Ardelay in 1964, the town has enjoyed steady growth. The large agricultural and rural village became a small town thanks to the exceptional development of trade, industry and tourism, becoming the capital of the Haut Bocage vendéen.