Vihiers
Delegated commune of Lys-Haut-Layon
Coat of arms
Location of Vihiers
Vihiers Show map of France Vihiers Show map of Pays de la Loire
Coordinates: 47°08′50″N 0°31′57″W / 47.1472°N 0.5325°W / 47.1472; -0.5325
Country	France
Region	Pays de la Loire
Department	Maine-et-Loire
Arrondissement	Cholet
Canton	Cholet-2
Commune	Lys-Haut-Layon
Area 1	59.7 km2 (23.1 sq mi)
Population  (2019)[1]	2,317
• Density	39/km2 (100/sq mi)
Demonym(s)	Vihiersois, Vihiersoise
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Postal code	49310
Elevation	52–211 m (171–692 ft)
Website	lyshautlayon.fr
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Vihiers (French pronunciation: [vije] ^ⓘ) is a former commune in the Maine-et-Loire department in western France. On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the new commune of Lys-Haut-Layon.^[2]

Geography

Vihiers is around 30 km south of Angers, around 30 km northeast of Cholet, and around 80 km east of Nantes. Main road D960 skirts the village. Public transport is provided by the regional bus company Aléop (services to Angers, Cholet and Saumur) and the local bus company Choletbus.^[3]

History

In January 1974 the former communes of Saint-Hilaire-du-Bois and Le Voide were merged into the commune of Vihiers.^[4][5] At the creation of the commune nouvelle of Lys-Haut-Layon in 2016, the three former communes Vihiers, Saint-Hilaire-du-Bois and Le Voide became delegated communes.^[2]

Notable people

• Henry Nicollon des Abbayes (1898-1974), professor of botany who was an authority on lichens, and also undertook a noted study of the flora of Brittany, was born in Vihiers.