Beurlay

Beurlay
region	Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Department	Charente-Maritime
Arrondissement	Saintes
Canton	Saint-Porchaire
Community association	Charente-Arnoult-Cœur de Saintonge
Coordinates	45 ° 49 ′ N , 0 ° 43 ′ W Coordinates: 45 ° 49 ′ N , 0 ° 43 ′ W
height	9-64 m
surface	16.87 km 2
Residents	1,034 (January 1, 2017)
Population density	61 inhabitants / km 2
Post Code	17250
INSEE code	17045
	; Beurlay - Sainte-Madeleine Church

Beurlay is a western commune with 1,034 inhabitants (at January 1, 2017) in the department of Charente-Maritime in the region Nouvelle-Aquitaine .

Toponym

The name of the place probably comes from the time of the Hundred Years War and is the adviser of the English King Richard III. Thanks to Simon Burleigh.

location

Beurlay is about 35 meters above sea level. d. M. in the historic cultural landscape of the Saintonge about 13.5 kilometers (driving distance) west of Saintes or 33 kilometers southeast of Rochefort .

Population development

year	1962	1968	1975	1982	1990	1999	2006	2016
Residents	612	604	573	652	731	756	937	1032

In the 19th century the place always had between 600 and 750 inhabitants. The phylloxera crisis and the mechanization of agriculture led to a population decline, which has been stopped in Beurlay 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 ). Beurlay is one of the Bois ordinaires et communs of the Cognac wine region , but most of the grapes are processed into wine and Pineau des Charentes . The most important employer in the area is the Pâtisserie Beurlay , whose products ( above all the Galettes charentaises ) are known throughout France.

history

The fact that the place has a Romanesque church suggests a long period of settlement, which probably goes back to the Gallo-Roman times.

Attractions

The Romanesque parish church of Sainte-Madeleine impresses with the compactness of its parts. The simplicity of the western façade does not at all match the churches in the area, so one suspects that it was renovated in the 12th or 13th century. The massive south tower is - like the mighty buttresses on the north side - an ingredient of the 14th or 15th century. The most impressive and oldest component is the three-story apse , which is structured vertically by means of half-column templates . The single and only two Jochen existing nave is - just as the choir bay - barrel vaults . The four capitals of the choir and the apse surprise with their perfect craftsmanship. Church construction has been recognized as a monument historique since 1977 .
A spring ( Source Freussin ) rises a few meters south of the church .
A restored windmill on the outskirts reminds of the time when grain was ground with the help of wind power.