Balanzac

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Balanzac
Balanzac (France)
Balanzac
region Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Department Charente-Maritime
Arrondissement Saintes
Canton Saint-Porchaire
Community association Charente-Arnoult-Cœur de Saintonge
Coordinates 45 ° 45 ′  N , 0 ° 50 ′  W Coordinates: 45 ° 45 ′  N , 0 ° 50 ′  W
height 17-39 m
surface 12.75 km 2
Residents 549 (January 1, 2017)
Population density 43 inhabitants / km 2
Post Code 17600
INSEE code 17030

Balanzac - Church of Sainte-Madeleine

Balanzac is a western commune with 549 inhabitants (at January 1, 2017) in the department of Charente-Maritime in the region Nouvelle-Aquitaine .

location

Balanzac is about 25 meters above sea level. d. M. in the historic cultural landscape of the Saintonge about 17 kilometers (driving distance) west of Saintes or 31 kilometers southeast of Rochefort .

Population development

year 1962 1968 1975 1982 1990 1999 2006 2017
Residents 367 360 331 348 355 344 449 549

In the 19th century the place always had between 500 and 650 inhabitants. The phylloxera crisis and the mechanization of agriculture led to a population decline, which has been stopped in Balanzac in recent decades due to the proximity to the large cities of Saintes and Rochefort and the comparatively low rents and land prices.

economy

For centuries, agriculture for the self-sufficiency of the population played the largest role in the economic life of the community. But wine has been grown in the area since Roman times, which has been distilled since early modern times and exported to northern Europe (especially to England ). Balanzac is one of the Bois ordinaires et communs of the Cognac wine region , but most of the grapes are used to make wine and Pineau des Charentes .

history

The fact that the place has a Romanesque church suggests a long period of settlement. Together with the neighboring municipality of Nancras, he joined the communauté de communes Charente-Arnoult-Cœur de Saintonge on January 1, 2013 .

Attractions

  • The small parish church of Sainte-Madeleine from the 12th century was remodeled in the 19th century and stands just outside the village on the edge of a slight hill. It is a simple, unadorned building with a small octagonal bell chamber with a pointed helmet, which also served as the castle chapel for many years. The single-nave interior has undivided walls and an open roof structure; the walls of the slightly raised choir and the apse are slightly drawn inwards and covered by a barrel vault.

  • Church Sainte-Madeleine

  • Nave, choir and apse

  • Nave from the west

  • The Château de Balanzac is a complex from the 15th century, which was surrounded by a wall in the 16th century during the wars of religion and with its watch towers ( échauguettes ) still breathes medieval flair. In the following centuries the complex, which looks more like a manor, was expanded. It is privately owned and has been recognized as a Monument historique since 1957 .

literature

  • Le Patrimoine des Communes de la Charente-Maritime. Flohic Editions, Volume 2, Paris 2002, ISBN 2-84234-129-5 , p. 1043.

Web links

Commons : Balanzac  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Château, Balanzac in the Base Mérimée of the French Ministry of Culture (French)