Belluire

Belluire
region	Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Department	Charente-Maritime
Arrondissement	Jonzac
Canton	Pons
Community association	Haute-Saintonge
Coordinates	45 ° 32 ′  N , 0 ° 34 ′  W Coordinates: 45 ° 32 ′  N , 0 ° 34 ′  W
height	14-42 m
surface	4.50 km 2
Residents	208 (January 1, 2017)
Population density	46 inhabitants / km 2
Post Code	17800
INSEE code	17039
Belluire - Saint-Jacques Church

Belluire is a western French community with 208 inhabitants (at January 1, 2017) in the Charente-Maritime in the region Nouvelle-Aquitaine .

location

Belluire is about 20 meters above sea level. d. M. at a distance of about 26 kilometers (driving distance) south of Saintes or six kilometers south of Pons in the cultural landscape of the Saintonge . Other places with impressive Romanesque churches are only a few kilometers away: Avy , Biron , Bougneau , Échebrune , Chadenac , Pérignac , Marignac u. a.

Population development

year	1968	1975	1982	1990	1999	2007	2016
Residents	198	188	186	168	195	169	211

Even in the 19th century the community only had between 170 and 260 inhabitants. Due to the proximity to the city of Pons and the comparatively low property prices in rural regions, the population has increased slightly again in recent years.

economy

Agriculture (grain and wine) still plays the major role in the economic life of the commune, which is part of the Fins Bois vineyards in the Cognac region. But tourism in the form of renting holiday apartments ( gîtes ) has also become an important factor in the municipality's economic life.

history

As can be deduced from the existence of a Romanesque church, Belluire was already settled in the Middle Ages.

Interior of the church

Attractions

See also: List of Monuments historiques in Belluire

The parish church of Saint-Jacques is a rather inconspicuous building from the 12th century, the apse of which, however, was renovated in Gothic styles a century later . The walls of the nave were reinforced at about the same time by buttresses . The west facade is dominated by an unadorned and tympanum-free , multi-tiered archivolt portal , the outer arch of which is covered by a star rod . The levels above are almost without decoration and separated from each other by a simple cornice or a console frieze ; at the very top there is a small bell gable from the Renaissance period . A narrow window opens to the nave , which was supposed to be vaulted, but - after the abandonment of this plan - is now spanned by an open wooden roof truss . The large gothic pointed arch windows built in later on the south side and in the apse provide sufficient light. The flat-closing apse shows the beginnings of a rib vault . The church was recognized as a Monument historique in 1973 .

literature

• Le Patrimoine des Communes de la Charente-Maritime. Flohic Editions, Volume 2, Paris 2002, ISBN 2-84234-129-5 , p. 588.

Web links

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

• Belluire, church - photos + info (in French)
• Belluire, Church - Photos

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Église Saint-Jacques, Belluire in the Base Mérimée of the French Ministry of Culture (French)