THE PUY DU FOU — LAND OF A PEOPLE WHO NEVER LET GO OF THEIR LAND

A land shaped by generations

 

Puy du Fou stands in the heart of the Vendée countryside, in western France. Before becoming a world‑famous historical park, this place was home to real families, farmers, and craftsmen — people deeply attached to their land.

Your parents, your grandparents, and Marguerite lived in one of these small rural villages that once stood exactly where the park is today. Their daily life, their fields, their traditions are part of the soul of this land.

 

A people who fought for their land

 

The Vendéens are known throughout French history as a people who never abandoned their land.

In the late 18th century, during the Vendée Wars, ordinary men and women — farmers, mothers, fathers, children — rose up not to conquer, but to protect:

  • their families

  • their traditions

  • their faith

  • their way of life

  • their land

This spirit of resistance and loyalty is still present today. It is one of the invisible foundations of the Puy du Fou.

 

From forgotten ruins to a cultural phenomenon

 

In 1977, the ruins of the old Renaissance castle of Puy du Fou were rediscovered in the forest. This moment sparked the creation of a spectacular night show: La Cinéscénie, performed by hundreds of local volunteers.

The success was immediate, and the project grew into a full historical park celebrating:

  • medieval knights

  • Viking invasions

  • ancient Rome

  • 18th‑century Vendée

  • traditional rural life

Visitors don’t just watch history — they walk inside it.

 

Villages that echo real family history

 

The recreated villages inside the park — the 18th‑century Village, the Medieval Village, the 1900 Town — are inspired by the real hamlets of the Vendée bocage.

For your foreign clients, it is meaningful to know that your own family lived on this land, long before the park existed. Their memory is part of the landscape, part of the authenticity visitors feel.

 

A living tribute to a resilient people

 

Today, Puy du Fou is one of the most celebrated historical parks in the world. But at its heart, it remains a tribute to:

  • the courage of the Vendéens

  • their loyalty to their land

  • their centuries‑old traditions

  • the families who lived here, including yours

It is a place where spectacle meets heritage, where the past of real families becomes a universal story.

 

Official link to the Puy du Fou shows

 

Visitors can discover all the major shows here: https://www.puydufou.com/en/shows

Between 1793 and 1796, a large part of western France rose up in what became known as the War in the Vendée. The uprising had several roots: the massive conscription of 300,000 men ordered in 1793, the peasants’ living conditions which had not improved despite the Revolution, the execution of King Louis XVI, and the deep loyalty to local priests who refused to accept the Civil Constitution of the Clergy.

In the region later called the Vendée Militaire—stretching across southern Brittany, north‑west Deux-Sèvres, Anjou, and northern Vendée—rural communities took up arms against the Republican government. The insurgents, known as “Vendéens” or “Whites,” fought the Republican forces, nicknamed the “Blues.” Battles soon spread across the entire countryside.

The first clashes occurred as early as August 1792, near Bressuire, during the Battle of the Moulins de Cornet. But it was only in the spring of 1793 that the rebels organized themselves into the “Catholic and Royal Army.” Over the following months, they won several victories, briefly capturing towns such as Fontenay‑le‑Comte, Thouars, Saumur, and Angers. Their failed attempt to seize Nantes in the autumn of 1793 marked a turning point: from then on, Republican forces gained the upper hand. A period of harsh repression—often referred to as the “Terror in the Bocage”—followed and lasted into 1794.

To crush the rebellion, the government deployed twelve military columns under General Turreau to sweep through the region. Some of these units carried out brutal actions against civilians—burning villages, looting, and committing massacres. Local populations came to call them the “infernal columns.”

The severity of the repression sparked renewed resistance, eventually leading to negotiations and the signing of a peace treaty in 1795. A second uprising broke out a few months later, but it quickly lost momentum and came to an end in July 1796.