Discover Templeuve

Templeuve brings together historic buildings, a distinctive windmill and two different Totemus activities. Cultural highlights include the Moulin de Vertain, Saint-Martin Church, Château Baratte and the Pierre de la sorcière. The cycling route and the walking treasure hunt offer a more active focus. When planning your trip, it is worth considering the building history, legends and specific route details separately.

Moulin de Vertain: construction, history and visits

The Moulin de Vertain is a tower windmill with a rotating trestle and is considered unique in France. A mill on this site has been documented since 1328. After a fire caused by the war in 1616, it was completely rebuilt; flour production ended in 1908. These dates mark different stages in its history: the early record of a mill on the site, its reconstruction after the fire and, later, the end of flour production.

Guided tours are offered on Sunday afternoons from early May to the end of September, according to a calendar set each year. The mill is also open to the public on European Heritage Days. Group tours can be arranged outside these times on request. As the calendar is set annually, it is best to check it before travelling.

Architecture, local history and legends

Château Baratte was built to plans by the architect Arthur Leclercq in the Neo-Renaissance style and was completed in 1860. Its park, with centuries-old trees, includes a large play area for children and a place for adults to go for a walk. The building’s history and the park describe different aspects of the estate: the château offers an architectural landmark, while the trees and designated areas characterize the park.

Saint-Martin Church has Romanesque origins. Some bluestone columns with capitals in the Tournai style have been preserved. The three eastern choirs, the transept and the construction of the bell tower date from the 15th and 16th centuries; the classical portal with pediment was added in the 18th century. The church is currently closed because of dry rot. Check the latest information before planning a visit.

A local legend says that witches were put on display before their execution on a rectangular stone marked with a tau cross. The Pierre de la sorcière is in fact a paving stone that served as a boundary marker between different plots of land. Witch trials were also held in the village in the 16th and 17th centuries. At this site, the traditional legend, the stone’s actual function and local history therefore coexist, without meaning the same thing.

Saint-Martin Church is also associated with a historical observation of wildlife: in the 2000s, a colony of notch-eared long-eared bats lived in the nave. It was described as unique in France. This observation belongs to the past and does not indicate that the bats can be seen there today.

Totemus on foot or by bike

The “Patrimoine et légendes” Totemus walking treasure hunt starts at Templeuve-en-Pévèle station on Place de la Gare. It is 6.9 kilometres long and takes about 2 hours and 15 minutes.

According to a municipal announcement published on 4 July 2025, the “Sur les traces des pavés mythiques” Totemus cycling route starts at Templeuve-en-Pévèle station, is 34 kilometres long and includes eight cobbled sections. The walking treasure hunt takes about 2 hours and 15 minutes; the cycling route includes eight cobbled sections. This lets you judge in advance which kind of activity better suits your plans, without assuming a cycling time that has not been specified.

Landscape and nature

The municipal area is close to the Marque valley and the Ennevelin marshland. In the north of the municipal area, there is primarily one type 1 ZNIEFF and one type 2 ZNIEFF. Together, the windmill, buildings, legends, routes and landscape offer different reasons to choose Templeuve as a destination.

Discover more destinations: Masnières, Haut-Lieu, Arleux, Potelle, Gondecourt, Wignehies, Ribécourt-La-Tour, Erquinghem-Lys.

View the regional travel guide: Nord.