Discovering the Park


An extremely wealthy patrimony

Today there is at least one Historical Monument in each municipality. This whole patrimony gathers buildings of all periods since Neolithic times. Against this outstanding architecture, the simplicity of rural patrimony allows materials to play with light. These contrasts attracted many impressionists painters.



An outstanding rural landscape

The villages have kept an essentially agricultural activity. The characteristics of Vexin housing are the gathering of the villages around square-shaped farms and the continuity of the houses which are often linked together by secondary buildings or walls. This structure translates a life entirely devoted to the inner homes and closed to the street since the Middle Age. The unity is strengthened by the use of local materials from the soil : stone, clay and lime which colours maintain a perfect harmony with the landscape.



Witnesses of stone

Windmills, wash houses, fountains, roadside calvaries and pigeon lofts are the modest witnesses of traditions and custom. They emphasize the Vexin landscape and provide numerous landmarks to the attentive visitor. They are the standing memory of old times labour hardship and a necessary link with the men who built them.



The Vexin cross

The Vexin cross, chosen as symbol for the Park, dates from the Monolithic era and is engraved in a single limestone. It was used for many purposes and can be observed in numerous places.