Discover Vicques

Vicques between the Dives and its village history

Vicques lies in a flat landscape, in channels formed by the Dives. The terrain and the river give the town a distinct landscape setting. Traditional village buildings, the Château de Vicques and several religious buildings are also part of its history. Vicques can therefore be understood both through its connection to the Dives and through its various historical traces.

The village’s traditional buildings are made of limestone rubble and have roofs of flat tiles. The townscape can therefore be viewed not only through individual historic buildings, but also through its traditional architecture. When planning your trip, you can focus on the château or on this architectural style in the village.

Château, chapels and the Church of Saint-Gervais

The Château de Vicques stands on the site of a fortified castle built for the Vicques family in the 12th century. The château includes moats from the former fortified complex. The town’s history thus encompasses both the castle’s medieval origins and other buildings from later centuries.

The château’s dovecote dates from the late 16th century, before 1601. The Notre-Dame chapel is also located at the château. The castle’s 12th-century origins can be distinguished chronologically from these later buildings.

Another chapel on the estate is Sainte-Marie. It is protected as a historic monument and is part of the private Château de Vicques estate. If you are considering a visit, check in advance whether access is possible. This takes its private ownership into account when planning, without conflating it with the chapel’s protected status.

The parish church of Saint-Gervais dates from the late 18th century. It has three bays and is topped by a small lantern tower containing the bell. Devotion to Saint Roch, which remains alive in Vicques, is another testament to the town’s religious tradition. It is represented, among other things, by a polychrome statue carved from limestone in the 17th century.

The Dives, its uses and the riding circuit

The Dives shapes more than just the landscape: historically, Vicques had a grain mill with two millstones, whose use was linked to the river. The Dives’ channels and its former importance to the mill thus feature in different aspects of the town’s history. The AAPPMA “Société de Bernières, Jort, Vicques, Vendeuvre” also lists the Dives as a Category 1 fishing waterway.

Vicques also features in a specific itinerary for planning a trip. The 34-kilometre “Tour des Monts d’Eraines” riding circuit, designed to take seven hours, starts in Falaise and heads towards Vicques. A section of the route is described separately: it crosses the bridge over the Dives and then continues to the D148. A 2014 edition of the official leaflet describes the route; check current route conditions before riding. This lets you put the published route information in context and distinguish the stated length of the circuit from the conditions for your planned outing.

The town’s history and the route offer different points of focus: the château, chapels and church represent historic buildings and religious heritage, while the Dives connects the landscape, former mill use and the course of the riding circuit. This contrast provides a concrete basis for deciding which aspect of Vicques should take priority in planning your trip.

Discover more destinations: Le Breuil-En-Bessin, Deauville, Condé-Sur-Noireau, Saint-Germain-Du-Pert, Coudray-Rabut, Épron, Pont-D'ouilly, Caen

For the main travel overview: Calvados.