Arces

Arces
region	Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Department	Charente-Maritime
Arrondissement	Saintes
Canton	Saintonge Estuaire
Community association	Royan Atlantique
Coordinates	45 ° 33 ′ N , 0 ° 51 ′ W Coordinates: 45 ° 33 ′ N , 0 ° 51 ′ W
height	0-55 m
surface	21.74 km 2
Residents	753 (January 1, 2017)
Population density	35 inhabitants / km 2
Post Code	17120
INSEE code	17015
Website	www.commune-arces-sur-gironde.fr
	; Arces - town view with church

Arce (sometimes Arces-sur-Gironde is called) a western French community with 753 inhabitants (at January 1, 2017) in the department of Charente-Maritime in the region Nouvelle-Aquitaine .

location

Arces is located on the northeast bank of the Gironde not far from the city of Royan and the municipality of Vaux-sur-Mer (each about 24 kilometers southeast) in the historic cultural landscape of the Saintonge . The small town of Talmont-sur-Gironde with its Ste-Radegonde church is just five kilometers to the southwest.

Population development

year	1962	1968	1975	1982	1990	1999	2006	2016
Residents	511	484	423	430	485	560	608	746

In the first half of the 19th century, Arces consistently had over 1,000 residents. In the second half of the 19th and first half of the 20th centuries, the phylloxera crisis in viticulture and the mechanization of agriculture led to a population decline to just over 400 inhabitants. In the last few decades the population has increased significantly again, which is mainly due to the significantly lower rents and land prices compared to the city of Royan.

economy

Centuries ago agriculture played the dominant role in the municipality's economic life. This is one of the Bons Bois of the Cognac wine-growing region , but because of the sales crisis for expensive brandies, hardly any wine is grown any more; the farmers in the area have returned to 'normal' agriculture. Since the 1960s, tourism has played a not insignificant role in the economic life of the place.

history

Neolithic flint finds were made in the municipality . In ancient times, the place was on the road from Saintes ( Mediolanum Santonum ) and Barzan ( Novioregum ). There is evidence of a Martinskirche for the 11th century, which - together with the village - was transferred from Arnaud de Gammon from the House of Mortagne to the Abei of Vaux-su-Mer, which he founded. Arces was also on a branch of the Camino de Santiago that led through Talmont . Since the place in the late Middle Ages was about two thirds in the area of the barony of Cozes and one third on the castellany of Talmont, territorial disputes did not fail to appear. In the 16th and 17th centuries, Arces, like many places in the Charente, was involved in religiously motivated disputes between Catholics and Protestants .

Attractions

Saint Martin Church

Château de Théon

A Catholic parish church of Saint-Martin is mentioned as early as the 11th century, but the current building seems to come essentially from the 12th century. For a long time it belonged to the Abbey of Saint-Étienne in Vaux-sur-Mer and with its two transept arms reproduces the plan of a Latin cross . The church is dominated by a mighty crossing tower , octagonal on the two upper floors, but otherwise unadorned , which is accompanied by a smaller square stair tower with a round top on the north side. The west facade is - with the exception of the later renewed portal - designed completely unadorned; in the 15th century it was stabilized with mighty buttresses in the corners. The single nave interior of the church is barrel vaulted ; The crossing , choir and apse have rib vaults . In the area of the apse there are some remarkable Romanesque capitals, some of which are painted in color. Church construction has been recognized as a monument historique since 1911 .
The Château de Théon is located near the northern border of the municipality - a mighty building with high roof structures from the late 15th century. In its courtyard is one of the few covered fountains in the Charente region.

literature

Le Patrimoine des Communes de la Charente-Maritime. Flohic Editions, Volume 1, Paris 2002, ISBN 2-84234-129-5 , pp. 217-218.

Web links

Commons : Arces (Charente-Maritime) - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

↑ Église Saint-Martin, Arces in the Base Mérimée of the French Ministry of Culture (French)

[1] Église Saint-Martin, Arces in the Base Mérimée of the French Ministry of Culture (French)