Machecoul
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Machecoul (; ) is a former commune in the
Loire-Atlantique Loire-Atlantique (; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Louére-Atantique''; ; before 1957: ''Loire-Inférieure'', ) is a departments of France, department in Pays de la Loire on the west coast of France, named after the river Loire and the Atlantic Ocean. ...
department 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 ...
. On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the new commune of
Machecoul-Saint-Même Machecoul-Saint-Même (; ) is a commune in the department of Loire-Atlantique, western France. The municipality was established on 1 January 2016 by merger of the former communes of Machecoul and Saint-Même-le-Tenu.Arrêté préfectoral
23 November 2015. It was the site of First Massacre of Machecoul, the opening of 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 ...
in 1793.


Geography

The commune of Machecoul is surrounded by the following
communes A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...
: *in
Loire-Atlantique Loire-Atlantique (; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Louére-Atantique''; ; before 1957: ''Loire-Inférieure'', ) is a departments of France, department in Pays de la Loire on the west coast of France, named after the river Loire and the Atlantic Ocean. ...
:
Bourgneuf-en-Retz Bourgneuf-en-Retz (; ) is a former Communes of France, commune in the Loire-Atlantique Departments of France, department in western France. On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the new commune of Villeneuve-en-Retz.Fresnay-en-Retz,
Saint-Même-le-Tenu Saint-Même-le-Tenu (; ) is a former commune in the Loire-Atlantique department in western France. On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the new commune of Machecoul-Saint-Même.Saint-Mars-de-Coutais, Saint-Lumine-de-Coutais,
Saint-Philbert-de-Grand-Lieu Saint-Philbert-de-Grand-Lieu (; ) is a commune in the Loire-Atlantique department in western France. It is about 400 km southwest of Paris, via Chartres, Le Mans, Angers, and Nantes. The town is twinned with the Welsh suburb of Radyr in C ...
, La Marne,
Paulx Paulx (; ) is a commune in the Loire-Atlantique department in western France. Population See also *Communes of the Loire-Atlantique department The following is a list of the 207 communes of the Loire-Atlantique department of France. T ...
*in
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.Bois-de-Céné Bois-de-Céné (, Bois-de-Cené) is a commune in the Vendée department in the Pays de la Loire region in western France. Population See also *Communes of the Vendée department The following is a list of the 253 communes of the Vendée ...
.


Population

Its inhabitants are called ''Machecoulais'' in French.


Sights

* Gallo-Roman ''Wood Lighthouse'' (''"Phare à Bois"''). * 8th-century Merovingian sarcophagi. * Many old mills. * 11th-century ''Notre-Dame-de-la-Chaume'' abbey. * Former 13th-century Romanesque church. * ''La Trinité'' church (1881). * 11th-century ''Cahouët Bridge'' (''"Pont de Cahouët"''), wrongly called the "Roman Bridge" (''"Pont Romain"'') – it does not date from Roman times. Small bridge over the river ''
Falleron Falleron () 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 and terr ...
''. * Castle of Machecoul, also known as "Castle of
Gilles de Rais Gilles de Rais, Pays de Retz, Baron de Rais (; also spelled "Retz"; 1405 â€“ 26 October 1440) was a knight and lord from Duchy of Brittany, Brittany, Duchy of Anjou, Anjou and Poitou, a leader in the French army during the Hundred Years' W ...
" ("''Château de
Gilles de Rais Gilles de Rais, Pays de Retz, Baron de Rais (; also spelled "Retz"; 1405 â€“ 26 October 1440) was a knight and lord from Duchy of Brittany, Brittany, Duchy of Anjou, Anjou and Poitou, a leader in the French army during the Hundred Years' W ...
''") or "
Bluebeard "Bluebeard" ( ) is a French Folklore, folktale, the most famous surviving version of which was written by Charles Perrault and first published by Barbin in Paris in 1697 in . The tale is about a wealthy man in the habit of murdering his wives an ...
's castle" ("''Château de Barbe-Bleue''"): close to the town centre are the ruins of the 13th-century castle of the town, once owned by the infamous child-murderer
Gilles de Rais Gilles de Rais, Pays de Retz, Baron de Rais (; also spelled "Retz"; 1405 â€“ 26 October 1440) was a knight and lord from Duchy of Brittany, Brittany, Duchy of Anjou, Anjou and Poitou, a leader in the French army during the Hundred Years' W ...
( 1405 â€“ 1440). Nowadays, on summer evenings, one can partake of a ''son et lumière'' show telling his story. * The "''Auditoire''" (18th-century). A former court's main hall (central part), which was built in 1755. * The ''Lime Kiln'' (''"Four à Chaux"'') (1857). Located on Saint-Michel Island, rich in limestone. Restored in 2001. * ''Les Halles'' (1885). * The ''Hippodrome des Chaumes'' (1885). * The former ''Segin Distillery'' (1886).


Economy

On the edge of town is the ''
Gitane Gitane is a French bicycle industry, French manufacturer of bicycles based in Machecoul, France; the name "Gitane" means Romani people, gypsy woman. The brand was synonymous with French bicycle racing from the 1960s through the mid-1980s, sponsori ...
'' bicycle factory. Fans 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 ...
'' will recall the Breton cyclist
Bernard Hinault Bernard Hinault (; born 14 November 1954) is a French former professional road bicycle racing, road cyclist. With 147 professional victories, including five times the Tour de France, he is often named among the greatest cyclists of all time. In ...
riding for them in the 1970s. Machecoul has a weekly street market where one can buy roasted ''poulet noir'', the black chicken of Challans.


Twin towns

Machecoul is twinned with: *
Ühlingen-Birkendorf Ühlingen-Birkendorf is a municipality in the district of Waldshut in Baden-Württemberg in Germany. Notable people *Karl Albiker (1878–1961), sculptor See also * List of cities and towns in Germany This is a complete list of the 2,05 ...
,
Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg ( ; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a states of Germany, German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million i ...
,
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
; *
Shifnal Shifnal () is a market town and civil parish in Shropshire, England, about east of Telford, 17 miles (27 km) east of Shrewsbury and 13 miles (20 km) west-northwest of Wolverhampton. It is near the M54 motorway and A5 (road), A5 road ...
,
Shropshire Shropshire (; abbreviated SalopAlso used officially as the name of the county from 1974–1980. The demonym for inhabitants of the county "Salopian" derives from this name.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West M ...
,
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
; *
Valea Drăganului Poieni (; ) is a commune in Cluj County, Transylvania, Romania. It is composed of eight villages: Bologa (''Sebesvár''), Cerbești (''Kecskéstanya''), Hodișu (''Hodosfalva''), Lunca Vișagului (''Viságmező''), Morlaca (''Marótlaka''), Poieni ...
,
Transylvania Transylvania ( or ; ; or ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjen'') is a List of historical regions of Central Europe, historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and ...
,
Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...
.


People

Machecoul was the birthplace of: *
Gilles de Rais Gilles de Rais, Pays de Retz, Baron de Rais (; also spelled "Retz"; 1405 â€“ 26 October 1440) was a knight and lord from Duchy of Brittany, Brittany, Duchy of Anjou, Anjou and Poitou, a leader in the French army during the Hundred Years' W ...
( 1405 â€“ 1440), noble, soldier, and one time brother-in-arms of
Joan of Arc Joan of Arc ( ; ;  â€“ 30 May 1431) is a patron saint of France, honored as a defender of the French nation for her role in the siege of Orléans and her insistence on the Coronation of the French monarch, coronation of Charles VII o ...
. He was later accused and ultimately convicted of torturing,
raping Rape is a type of sexual assault involving sexual intercourse, or other forms of sexual penetration, carried out against a person without consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or against a person wh ...
and
murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse committed with the necessary Intention (criminal law), intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisd ...
ing dozens, if not hundreds, of young children, mostly boys. * Marc Daviaud (born 1958), retired French professional footballer *
Marc Éliard Marc or MARC may refer to: People * Marc (given name), people with the first name * Marc (surname), people with the family name Acronyms * MARC standards, a data format used for library cataloging, * MARC Train, a regional commuter rail system ...
(born 1958), bass player of the new wave/
rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...
band Indochine. * Cédric Michaud (born 1976), marathon
speed skater Speed skating is a competitive form of ice skating in which the competitors racing, race each other in travelling a certain distance on Ice skate, skates. Types of speed skating are long-track speed skating, short-track speed skating, and marath ...
. * Mickaël Landreau (born 1979), professional
football (soccer) Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...
player.


See also

*
Communes of the Loire-Atlantique department The following is a list of the 207 communes of the Loire-Atlantique department of France. The communes cooperate in the following intercommunalities (as of 2025):


References

Former communes of Loire-Atlantique Populated places disestablished in 2016 Gilles de Rais {{LoireAtlantique-geo-stub