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Origin and history

The Menhir de Bréau, nicknamed Pierre qui tourne du Moulin Neuf or Pierre à Vinegar, is a block of precambrian greenish schist infiltrated with quartz, measuring between 3.30 m and 3.50 m high depending on the slope of the terrain. Its shape varies according to angle: rounded from the face, it seems pointed from the west. A local tradition claims that it would turn at the twelve strokes of midnight and emit a smell of vinegar. This megalith, located near the left bank of the Evre, would have been the subject of an ancient excavation revealing a setting with Roman bricks, suggesting re-use or intervention after its construction.

Menhir has been listed as a historical monument since 15 June 1990 under Cadastre reference C 169. Nearby, on the other bank of the Evre (Commune of Beaupréau), was once the Aubrée Stone, another granite menhir now extinct, of which only a buried base of 1.50 m in diameter remains. These remains illustrate the density of megalithic sites in Anjou, a region where menhirs were often associated with legends or folk practices.

Historical sources mention this monument in specialized works such as Mégalithes en Anjou (Michel Gruet, 2005), which lists the megalithic sites of Maine-et-Loire. The Menhir de Bréau, although undetermined, is part of a wider network of erect stones whose function (territorial marker, religious symbol or funeral) remains debated. Its state of conservation and its recent protection make it a valuable witness to the prehistoric past and subsequent reappropriations, as evidenced by the Roman bricks found during ancient excavations.

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