Malay-Le-Petit lies in the Vanne Valley. When deciding whether to visit, it is worth considering the combination of natural heritage, sacred art and historic technology: the ZNIEFF area includes the commune, the small church houses a protected antependium, and a pumping station is connected to the water power of the Vanne. These topics give visitors interested in culture and nature concrete ways to understand the place and choose a focus for their stay.
Valley and natural heritage
The “Vallée de la Vanne de Flacy à Maillot” ZNIEFF area is a type 2 natural inventory and includes Malay-Le-Petit. This establishes not only the commune’s location in the valley, but also its broader connection to nature. The two details answer different questions: the valley indicates the commune’s location; the inventory places it in an area whose name includes the Vanne and the places Flacy and Maillot. The Vanne also connects this landscape to the town’s technological history, since its water power drives the pumping station described here.
Church and antependium
The small church in Malay-Le-Petit was built in 1748. The antependium “Le Reniement de saint Pierre” is housed in Saint-Pierre Church. An antependium is a textile altar hanging; the French title means “The Denial of Saint Peter.” The piece is classified as a protected object; this classification was recorded on 20 October 1993. The construction year and the protection date refer to different things: 1748 refers to the church, while the 1993 record refers to the antependium. This provides two concrete points of interest for art history: the church’s construction year and the separately identified, protected artwork.
Water power and the history of technology
Another point of interest is the historic pumping station. It was built from 1873 to 1875 on the site of a former mill. Its design combines the water power of the Vanne with a Sagebien-type waterwheel, which drives two horizontal, double-acting piston pumps. “Double-acting” means that pumping takes place in both directions of the piston’s movement. The sequence of operation can be described as follows: the water supplies the power, the wheel transmits it, and the pumps perform the pumping. Those interested in the history of technology can examine both the energy source and the mechanical principle in this example. The former mill site also establishes the station’s location; its construction period of 1873 to 1875 distinguishes it chronologically from the church, built in 1748.
Washhouse and riverside activities
The communal washhouse is also part of the town’s history; it is said to have been completed in 1888. A fitness trail is located on a grassy area along the banks of the Vanne. These offer two further aspects side by side: the washhouse adds to the historic buildings, while the trail provides an outdoor sports facility. Whereas the pumping station makes technical use of the river’s power, the trail offers a place to exercise on the grassy riverside. This gives visitors a choice between art and technological history on the one hand, and a specific opportunity for physical activity in the town on the other.
Discover more destinations: Cornant, VĂ©zelay, Coulanges-La-Vineuse, Irancy, Lucy-sur-Yonne, Villebougis, Tanlay, Cheny
For the wider travel overview: Yonne.
