THE MILLS OF THE WARRIOR
Mills renowned for their high cereal production, one of the many distinctive features of the island of Noirmoutier.
Among the many characteristics of the island of Noirmoutier, it is its numerous windmills that you will be able to see. A strong cereal production and a privileged exposure to the winds explain the great number of windmills which were built on the island. The low relief of the island (it is an island on the water) has favored the simultaneous activity of 32 mills during the 19th century, an exceptional density for the West of France. Today, 23 of them remain, of which only 4 are partially demolished. The first mills were built by the monks of Saint-Philbert in the 7th century. These mills used the force and movement of the tides as a source of energy. The wheat, barley and rye grown on the island were brought to the mills, particularly on the bossis, small meadows wedged between the étiers and the marshes. The creation of polders, on which large pieces of wheat were cultivated, favoured the construction of numerous mills from 1830 onwards. The last miller on the island stopped his activity in 1945. Many Noirmoutrins, in their youth, have seen the mills working. Being erected on the dunes overlooking the ocean, the mills were also a precious help for the sailors who easily identified them thanks to their large white wings. In La Guérinière, you will be able to see the 4 mills of the Court which are named like that because of the installation of a court of justice in the XVIIIth century.
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