Authon-Ébéon
| Authon-Ébéon | ||
|---|---|---|
|
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| region | Nouvelle-Aquitaine | |
| Department | Charente-Maritime | |
| Arrondissement | Saint-Jean-d'Angély | |
| Canton | Chaniers | |
| Community association | Vals de Saintonge | |
| Coordinates | 45 ° 50 ′ N , 0 ° 24 ′ W | |
| height | 16-36 m | |
| surface | 11.65 km 2 | |
| Residents | 390 (January 1, 2017) | |
| Population density | 33 inhabitants / km 2 | |
| Post Code | 17770 | |
| INSEE code | 17026 | |
 Authon Castle |
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Authon-Ébéon is a French commune with 390 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2017) in the Charente-Maritime department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region .
location
The center of Authon is only about 20 meters above sea level. d. M. in the historic cultural landscape of the Saintonge about 28 kilometers (driving distance) northeast of Saintes or about 21 kilometers northwest of the city of Cognac . The capital of the canton, Saint-Hilaire-de-Villefranche , is only about 11 kilometers to the west.
Population development
The formerly independent municipality of Authon and the much smaller neighboring town of Ébéon - with only a tenth of the population - merged into one municipality in 1973.
| year | 1975 | 1982 | 1990 | 1999 | 2007 | 2017 |
| Residents | 477 | 512 | 460 | 407 | 388 | 390 |
economy
Authon, the larger of the two towns, served the surrounding villages as a trade and handicraft center as early as the Middle Ages. Agriculture and viticulture have determined the economic life of the place for centuries. Since the 1980s, tourism (rental of holiday apartments) has been added as a source of income.
history
The history of Ébéon goes back to Gallo-Roman times, from which the Fanal d'Ébéon probably originated. In Authon, a Merovingian cemetery and a man-made fortification mound ( moth ) have been identified. In medieval times, i. H. from 1130 to 1450 Authon was the ancestral home of a family of the same name, whose male members took part in the crusades or were otherwise in the service of the French kings.
Attractions
See also: List of Monuments historiques in Authon-Ébéon
- The so-called signal tower ( Fanal ) of Ébéon, a still around 16 meters high, formerly clad with stone or even marble slabs, but now badly battered - and therefore supported - buttress stump from antiquity could also have been a grave monument. It may have a structural connection with the Tour de Pirelonge in Saint-Romain-de-Benet, more than 40 kilometers away, and is popularly referred to as the pyramid . The building was classified as a Monument historique in 1840 .
- The single-nave church Notre-Dame-de-l'Assomption, a Romanesque building, but only given its present form in the 15th century, is a fortified church that offered the citizens of the place protection from marauding bands of robbers, which after the end of the Hundred Years' War (1337-1453) made the area unsafe. Often it was former mercenaries who had become unemployed and who knew nothing other than to use force, plunder and murder. Some villages responded by building fortified churches. In Authon, the west and east sides of the church, which at first glance are difficult to distinguish, were expanded like a castle in the 15th century. At the same time, the walls of the nave, which had become inclined due to the vaulting, were stabilized by a tower and powerful buttresses , which reinforces the defensive impression of the church. The west portal has a threefold downgraded garment with the corresponding number of archivolts - decorated with abstract motifs . The single nave interior of the church is kept extremely simple, but shows a similar painted band with coats of arms ( liter funéraire ) as the two churches of Rétaud and Rioux . The church was recognized as a monument historique in 1907 .
- The Château d'Authon originally dates from the 16th century, but has been changed repeatedly in later times. Most of the north wing was demolished in 1791. The castle is privately owned; Parts have been registered as a monument historique since 1972 .
- The little apse-free church of Ébéon dates from the 18th century and has only a small round window and a simple triangular bell gable above the unadorned entrance portal.
Fanal d'Ébéon
Authon, church (east)
Ébéon, church
literature
- Le Patrimoine des Communes de la Charente-Maritime. Flohic Editions, Volume 2, Paris 2002, ISBN 2-84234-129-5 , pp. 848-850.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Fanal d'Ébéon in the Base Mérimée of the French Ministry of Culture (French)
- ↑ Église Notre-Dame, Authon in the Base Mérimée of the French Ministry of Culture (French)
- ↑ Château d'Authon in the Base Mérimée of the French Ministry of Culture (French)
