Located at the southern tip of the canton of Frontenay-Rohan-Rohan, in a rural setting, on the edge of the Poitevin marsh, the town, made up of three hamlets, is nestled in the Courance valley, a tributary of the Sèvre Niortaise. The lordship, first cited in 1093, is attached to the election of Saint-Jean-d'Angély and to the generality of La Rochelle. During the siege of Frontenay, in may 1242, Louis IX sleep in the prayer from the community. An altar is dedicated to him in the parish church where he came to pray, contracted a bad fever and vowed to go on a crusade if he recovered. In the town, the visitor can take the main street called rue de Saint-Louis in memory of this royal visit. In partnership with the Interregional Park of Poitevin marsh and within the framework of the environmental and architectural charter and planting programs of the Syndicat de Pays du Marais Poitevin des Deux-Sèvres, Vallans is committed to preserving the environment and biodiversity by encouraging short circuits with restoration of the municipal marsh (collective meadow dedicated to grazing) of 21 hectares located along the Courance (seeding of a meadow cover, construction of 2.400 m. of fencing by a team from the AIPEMP integration projects, restoration of 400 m. of ditch promoting the return of biodiversity and facilitating watering of livestock, installation of a containment pen in January 2011 for the management of an island in collective grazing, etc.). The local population also shares this environmentalist fiber with the investment of 24 families in the Nest boxes in the plain program led by the CNRS. In 2018, the municipality was labeled Committed organic territory for having reached 29,45% of its useful agricultural area in organic farming. His streams, reaches, fontaine, laundries et well are a healthy invitation to rest and meditation. Placed on the GR 36, the municipality offers three walking circuits of 3, 6 and 8 km and prepares a discovery circuit of the village. Likewise, Departmental 1, which crosses it, is very popular with regional cycle tourists.
What to see in Vallans?
01. The Notre-Dame church
In the Middle Ages, the parish depended on diocese of Saintes and archpriest of Mauzé. Its 12th century church is damaged by the Huguenots during the Wars of Religion. It is largely rebuilt in the 19th century. From the Romanesque period, only the pillars with their mutilated capitals and the square of the transept with its dome on pendants have been preserved.
Other curiosities to see:
- The restored castle of the old lordship (in the heart of the town)
- Allerit Castle (large classic rectangular building built in 1780, dovecote in the courtyard and opposite the residence)
- The washhouses of Bourg and Allerit
- The park in Teurtous, 3 hectares in the heart of the town center equipped with a public barbecue, games for children, a city stadium, a pétanque court and a tennis court, organization of outdoor activities by the Company of Popular Education and local associations.
- Jeannot's orchard (conservatory orchard adjoining the park and free of pesticides)
