Country of art and history
A territory labeled « Land of Art and History
The Pays d’art et d’histoire Coëvrons-Mayenne was created in October 2005, when the convention between the Ministry of Culture and three local authorities was signed. This label enables to enter into a national network composed of 200 towns and Lands of Art and History. It qualifies territories, municipalities or groups of municipalities which are conscious about the issues that represent the appropriation of architecture and heritage by the locals. Therefore, they engage in an active process of knowledge and mediation of their global heritage.
From Saulges to Thuboeuf, from Placé to Vimartin-sur-Orthe, the Pays d’art et d’histoire Coëvrons-Mayenne is composed of 62 municipalities and 1 400 km². It has a great diversity of heritage, representing 3000 years of history, from prehistoric times until today. The Coëvrons-Mayenne aera includes remarkable heritage sites : the Saulges Caves Valley, the gallo-roman city of Jublains, the château of Mayenne and the Evron abbey. It also has 4 Petites cites de caractères® (Sainte-Suzanne, Saulges, Saint-Pierre-sur-Erve and Lassay-les-Châteaux), churches, castles, manor houses, industrial and natural sites, as well as preserved everyday life places like schools and wash houses.
The events of the Pays d’art et d’histoire
Throughout the year, the Pays d’art et d’histoire organises events, tours, family activities to highlight the heritage of the municipalities, the exceptional houses or the natural sites of the territory. Certified guides escort visitors to discover the history and the local heritage. Open the programme and choose your “rendez-vous” to enjoy a great heritage discovery !
Activities for everyone
Scholar groups
All along the year and by reservation, the Pays d’art et d’histoire Coëvrons-Mayenne offers guided tours, workshops, educational booklets and tailor-made projects, to help the youngest to appropriate their local heritage and history. The guides, certified by the Ministry of Culture, create these activities for school audiences, from kindergarten to high school, answering to the teaching goals of the National Education. They adapt the activity to the age and the level of the kids, or to the themes studied with the teacher in class. They can also assist the teacher or build with him/her a project of cultural and artistic education. By learning, understanding, observing and creating, the children become real “heritage explorers”. To organize your tour with your students, read the educational offer and contact the Pays d’art et d’histoire for further information. For a tailor-made project or a cultural and artistic project, please call the Pays d’art et d’histoire’s point of contact at 02 43 58 13 06.
Group visit
You are an association, a group of friends, a works council or a tourism professional ? Accompanied by a professional guide, certified par the Ministry of Culture, explore the Coëvrons-Mayenne territory ! The Pays d’art et d’histoire offers to groups (minimum of 10 adults) guided tours and hikes to discover the local heritage. The guides will reveal the secrets of the Petites cités de caractère® (Sainte-Suzanne, Saulges, Saint-Pierre-sur-Erve and Lassay-les-Châteaux), tell the story of the evolution of the main towns of the territory like Mayenne and Evron, or immerse the visitors in historical and singular episodes like the Middle Ages or the Second World War. On demand, the guide can also suggest trips or tours of a particular town of the Coëvrons-Mayenne or on a specific theme.
Groups with specific needs
The Pays d’art et d’histoire wishes to welcome everyone. Sensory and adapted visits are offered to disabled people, to associations in social fields, healthcare or justice, either alone or in a group. One of the suggested tours in the Château of Mayenne gardens is labelled “Tourisme and Handicap”. Models and mediation tools were created to make the discovery and the understanding of the local heritage easier. On request, the skilled guide can develop tailor-made projects, matching with the particularities of the group. Find the detail of the activities in the brochure “groups”. To get more information or to plan your visit, contact the Pays d’art et d’histoire’s point of contact at 02 43 58 13 10.
The missions of the Pays d’art et d’histoire
Within the Heritage service of the Department council of La Mayenne, the Pays d’art et d’histoire’s team is directed by the project manager, surrounded by two certified guides and one coordinator. In cooperation with the two communities of municipalities, the Pays d’art et d’histoire has to reach different goals.
Making the locals aware of their heritage
The Pays d’art et d’histoire develops a heritage awereness policy for all audiences. To achieve this goal, the annual programming called “Rendez-Vous” offers different types of animation to understand and appropriate the local heritage (exhibitions, workshops, tours, familial activities, etc.). Activities for scholars, groups and visitors with specific needs are designed to make the heritage accessible.
Highlighting the heritage
Le Pays d’art et d’histoire wishes to enhance all types of heritage, including architecture and landscapes which mark its territory. Therefore, discovery paths and signs can be settled. While the development of events and animations for locals, the Pays d’art et d’histoire publishes booklets dedicated to sites, monuments or villages of Coëvrons-Mayenne. Along the pages, the local history and heritage are revealed. The Pays d’art et d’histoire is eager to improve and spread the knowledge of the labeled territory. To achieve this, it works with the researchers of the General inventory of cultural heritage. Find these booklets by clicking here.
Livening up the Centre d’interprétation de l’architecture et du patrimoine
Inaugurated in 2009, the Centre d’interprétation de l’architecture et du patrimoine takes up the two floors of the logis of the château of Sainte-Suzanne. The different facets of the Pays d’art et d’histoire heritage, but also of the Mayenne department, are presented in the permanent exhibition rooms : architectural, archeological, industrial, natural heritage and the savoir-faire. Learning games and virtual displays liven the CIAP discovery up : a particular room, dedicated to natural heritage, enables to discover the 223 vertebrates by playing interactive games. All along the year, temporary exhibitions and events enable to complete the visit of the CIAP and to explore the local heritage in a different way.
To go further
From its creation, the Pays d’art et d’histoire publishes booklets about the monuments, sites and villages of its territory. Find all the booklets by downloading them here.
To contact the Pays d’art et d’histoire Coëvrons-Mayenne
Address
Château de Sainte-Suzanne – Pays d’art et d’histoire
9 rue Fouquet de la Varenne
53270 Sainte-Suzanne-et-Chammes
Contacts
Téléphone : 02 43 58 13 00
Email : coevrons-mayenne@lamayenne.fr
Cheffe de projet :
Téléphone : 02 43 59 96 01
Email : sophie.chataigneau@lamayenne.fr
Tarifs
Not to miss any event !
Subscribe to the Pays d’art et d’histoire newsletter
