Discover Belligné: Frescoes, Chapels and Bocage Landscape

Belligné is home to the present-day Église Saint-Martin. It was built between 1904 and 1907 and consecrated in 1907. Eight frescoes by the 19th-century painter Gabriel Loire depict Saint Martin, the parish’s patron saint.

Culture

Historical sites in Belligné can be explored through sacred art, château history and mill-related themes. These aspects stand alongside one another: the church points to its construction period and frescoes, while chapels, châteaux and the former mill each preserve their own traces of local history.

On the Route de Lasseron, the Chapelle de La Vesquerie has existed since before 1700. Belligné Mémoire restored the chapel in 2000.

Lucien Mangini bought the Château de La Gallerie in 1888 and extensively remodelled it according to his own plans. The château was the residence of Sieur Des Mesliers, who was mayor of Belligné during the French Revolution; the building was burned down in 1793.

In the 19th century, the Moulin de La Gallerie was one of six mills operating in Belligné. It ceased operation in the 1920s with the advent of electricity and engines. The Château de la Verrie is dated to both 1781 and the 19th century.

Landscape

Belligné has a predominantly agricultural rural landscape with a well-preserved bocage network of hedgerows and groups of trees. Numerous wetlands run through the Belligné area. Wooded fringes and the Bois de Rougé lie in the north of the Belligné area. The ridges of Belligné run from east to west; various high points offer unobstructed views over the municipality’s landscape.

In Belligné, open farmland, hedgerows and groups of trees, wetlands, the wooded fringes in the north and the east–west ridges can be considered as distinct landscape themes. This keeps the defining elements of the bocage, woodland areas and higher elevations recognisable, rather than merging them into a general description of the surroundings.

Water

The Auxence rises at the hamlet of Beau Soleil in Belligné. It crosses the Belligné area and town centre, flows for almost 13 km and then joins the Romme, a tributary of the Loire.

The Étang des Garennes has a children’s playground and picnic tables. The Étang des Garennes is a place for walking and fishing. Toilets and a covered shelter are also available there for visitors.

A holiday apartment in Belligné can be assessed based on travel dates, room category and cancellation conditions. For your own choice, these details can be considered alongside the different themes of the area: sacred art, château and mill history, bocage landscape, wetlands, the course of the Auxence or the Étang des Garennes represent different focal points. This makes it possible to match travel dates, room category and cancellation conditions with the desired balance of culture, landscape and water.

Other places

Other place names on this page include Touvois, Pornic, Frossay, Sautron, Saint-Aubin-Des-Châteaux, Sion-Les-Mines, Mesquer and Varades.

For the higher-level travel overview: Loire-Atlantique.