96,000 hectares of canals, cultivated plains, forests: the Poitevin Marsh is an area that men have learned to tame over the centuries while preserving its delicate nature. The « Venise Verte », the Green Venice, situated in Deux-Sèvres is the most original part of the wetlands.
In this unique world it is said that the water ignites and the ground never lies still.
To move along the canals, there’s no better way than the plate, a flat-bottomed boat typical of this region, that will carry anything but mostly people. Welcome to a world of silence, deep inside the mysterious wilds...

Facts and figures for a better understanding of the Marais Poitevin
a 96,000 hectare surface area, with 7,000 hectares located in Deux-Sèvres
35,000 hectares of Wetlands - 56,000 hectares of dried-out marshes.

A little history about the Marais Poitevin
Originally, the Picton Gulf extended all the way to the gates of Niort, in wide stretches of muddy ground known as vasières. During the snowmelt of the Quaternary period, the Gulf was completely submerged one last time. According to legend, the water withdrew overnight, but the more pragmatic geologists explain this filling of the gulf by a slow and natural deposit of alluvium from the streams and the Ocean.

The work of Man
In the tenth century, the Marsh was inhabited by tribes who lived of fishing and hunting, the Colliberts, then by hut-dwellers. It was not until the eleventh century that the first major development works on the Marsh actually began, undertaken by the monks of the neighboring Abbeys. Draining companies came later, under the reign of King Henri IV who had entrusted a Dutchman, Humphrey BRADLEY, with the task of building dikes and canals all over the kingdom. This launched a new series of major works to win over the marshland, which continued until the Napoleonic period.

The Marais Poitevin: a Unique World
With its historical and geographical background, the poitevin marsh is a different world, with a special way of life and traditions of its own, as can be seen in traditional habitat, boating and fishing, truck farming and the villages.

Specific features of the buildings: there are two entrances, one from the street and the other from the canal; the boat is used for traveling along on the canal.

Boating is the easiest and most natural way of going about. Eel, carp, roach, and perch abound in this maze of water channels.
.The “mojette”, a local variety of dry bean, is produced on a fairly local scale (approximately 30 hectares).
Sawmills. Timber is the second biggest economic activity of the marsh after tourism. Here the Virginian Poplar and the Blanc du Poitou are carried along by timber raft from the marsh to the sawmills, to finish in plywood as cheese trays.

Villages of the Marais poitevin
The canal side brings us closer to the world of nature. The village side tells us the story of men.

The marsh is made of a myriad of small villages, some of which are very picturesque:
La Garette is a former boatmen’s hamlet on the old Sèvre, with a unique configuration. Each house has a double access, either from the water or from the street. Through this special construction, the inhabitants of these dwellings were always able to have one foot toward the depth of the marsh and the other facing civilization.
Coulon is classified as one of the most beautiful villages in France. Its Romanesque church exemplifies poitevin architecture and its outer prêchoir proved useful during the floods. This is a major crossroad of the river business.
Arçais is one of the most typical villages in the marsh. There are many pleasures to discover through its port and its alleys.
Magné is the first gate to the marsh. This small village of character features a 15th century classified church and a unique drawbridge on the Sèvre Niortaise. A festival of amateur artists has been held here for over 10 years, with over a hundred amateur artists gathering together one weekend every summer to sketch the magic landscapes of the marsh.
Saint Georges de Rex is the village of washhouses – As many as 4 such constructions can be found here.
Other villages include:
Saint Hilaire la Palud, along the edge of the wild Marsh, Le Vanneau Irleau, mainly centered on the timber industry, Mauzé, the homeland of explorer René Caillié, and finally Frontenay Rohan Rohan, named after the illustrious family of Rohan.

From the Dry Marsh to the Wetlands: unique landscapes
The Marais Poitevin: two worlds apart yet indissociable

Small, low houses set amid meadows and fields, rare trees scattered along ruler-straight channels, such is the landscape of the dry marsh, large polders leading to the sea. On the inside, a wealth of vegetation, endless hues of greens, huts scattered along the banks lined with huge, ghost-like trees: these are the wetlands, otherwise known as «Green Venice”.

The Dry Marsh, a secure shelter
This is a country of wide open stretches, with signs of man’s presence everywhere: dikes, drop pipes, hydraulic works, large fields. In winter, some low-level zones turn into wet meadows, very popular among birds and colonized by a remarkable botanical species: the salt-marsh Iris of a purplish blue hue. Conversely, some amphibians such as the Otter, flock to these areas where the water level remains constant.

The Otter: the Ghost of the Marsh
The Marais Poitevin is one of the last refuges for the otter in France. Formerly hunted for its fur and its reputation of fish-eater, the otter, protected since 1972, is now threatened by pollution and by the expansion of farming and roads. Regarded as the most aquatic of European carnivores, the otter is an indicator of the fine quality of the waters.

The Wetlands: the Exuberance of Nature
The Wetlands are rightly considered the most spectacular landscape of the Poitevin Marsh.
Wet throughout the year, they are home for variety: even the blanket of duckweeds shows subtle differences (the Marsh numbers as many as six different kinds). Three main types of landscape can be observed: the Marais bocager, the famous Green Venice; a wooded marsh with its terrés or lowlands, and the Communaux or common lands: wide areas of easily flooded, permanent meadow. Wide varieties of plants and flowers have taken up residence in this land of plenty.


The common lands: a striking environment
Migratory water birds particularly appreciate these wide, easily flooded spaces from 100 to 300 ha comprising common pasture. Here the fauna and flora can grow and thrive in harmony. Note: the Pherbellia albicarpa, a very rare fly (there are only 3 or 4 specimens in Europe) was discovered on one of the common lands of the Marsh.

To conclude, some facts and figures
199 protected species dwell in the Poitevin Marsh
160,000 individuals find refuge here in winter
545 botanical species colonize the Marsh and the wet Plains, 150 on the dune ridge.