Hiking in a site inscribed for its natural and historical heritage.
Natural heritage
To the north of the canton of Houdan, ravine valleys cut the plateau of Mantois. Their beauty varies with the altitude and is illustrated in a difference of nearly 90m, between the heights of the Tertre de Dammartin (168m) and the valley of the Ru d'Ouville, a tributary of the Vaucouleurs that joins the Seine.
Memory of the village
On the ravine of Vaucouleurs occupied since prehistoric times, a megalithic burial lasted until the end of the nineteenth century leaving to the district the name of Pré aux Roches.
In the Middle Ages, the village was built not far from a Gallo-Roman villa. His church Saint Martin is the chapel of a Benedictine monastery dependent on the abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés. Built on Carolingian foundations, the building was enlarged in the Renaissance by highlighting its choir where seven arches end on a sculpted keystone. A statue of the Virgin with Grapes recalls that viticulture was practiced in Dammartin until the ravage of phylloxera around 1865.
The activity of the village was also based on trade and industry in 1512, Louis XII authorizes the construction of halls for the holding of fairs and markets. The economic boom soon followed (tile and brick factories, plant silk weaving workshops). Under the impetus of the industrial revolution, the world-renowned Maison Lemaire moved to Dammartin in 1839: its sparing factory existed until 1974 before becoming a museum in 1994.
Download the hiking description here
Visit the website of the Houdanais Country Tourist Office here