Vouvant

Vouvant
Vouvant
Commune
	The Notre-Dame de l'Assomption church in Vouvant
	Coat of arms
	Location of Vouvant
	Vouvant Vouvant
	Coordinates: 46°34′20″N 0°46′11″W / 46.5722°N 0.7698°W
Country	France
Region	Pays de la Loire
Department	Vendée
Arrondissement	Fontenay-le-Comte
Canton	La Châtaigneraie
Intercommunality	Pays de Fontenay-le-Comte
Government
• Mayor (2014–2020)	Jacky Roy
Area 1	20.20 km2 (7.80 sq mi)
Population (2006)	852
• Density	42/km2 (110/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	85305 /85120
Elevation	35–110 m (115–361 ft)
	1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Vouvant is a commune in the department of Vendée, in the Pays de la Loire region in western France.

Vouvant is labelled as Les Plus Beaux Villages de France, Petite cité de caractère, and the village has obtained two flowers out of five in the Concours des villes et villages fleuris.

It is the only fortified village of Vendée. Its inhabitants are called Vouvantais.

Sites and monuments

Several sites and monuments are present in Vouvant :

Castle of the Lusignan : The Tour Mélusine, the fortifications around the village, the Saint-Louis Gate (postern). The ancient castle has been protected as a monument historique by the French Ministry of Culture since 1927. The fortifications has been protected as a monument historique since 1984.
Notre-Dame de l'Assomption Church, classed as a monument historique in 1840 by Prosper Mérimée, built in the 11th century under the leadership of William V, Duke of Aquitaine.
Romanesque bridge (13th or 14th century), protected as a monument historique since 1927.
Reproduction of the Grotto of Lourdes, on the bank of the Mère river. Realized in 1958.
Public washing place.
Forest of Mervent-Vouvant, Vendée's largest forest (5 518 ha).