Breuillet (Charente-Maritime)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Breuillet
Breuillet coat of arms
Breuillet (France)
Breuillet
region Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Department Charente-Maritime
Arrondissement Rochefort
Canton La Tremblade
Community association Royan Atlantique
Coordinates 45 ° 42 ′  N , 1 ° 3 ′  W Coordinates: 45 ° 42 ′  N , 1 ° 3 ′  W
height 0-34 m
surface 19.99 km 2
Residents 2,917 (January 1, 2017)
Population density 146 inhabitants / km 2
Post Code 17920
INSEE code 17064
Website www.breuillet-17.fr

Breuillet - View of the village with the church

Breuillet is a southwestern French municipality with 2917 inhabitants (at January 1, 2017) in the department of Charente-Maritime in the region Nouvelle-Aquitaine .

location

Breuillet is located on the Arvert peninsula on the north-east bank of the Gironde in the historic cultural landscape of the Saintonge, about ten kilometers (driving distance) north of Royan .

Population development

year 1962 1968 1975 1982 1990 1999 2006 2016
Residents 847 926 1073 1346 1863 2178 2495 2847

In the first half of the 19th century, Breuillet consistently had around 1,300 inhabitants. 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 600 inhabitants. After the Second World War, the community experienced a steady increase in population, which is largely due to the proximity to the city of Royan and the comparatively low rents and land prices in Breuillet.

economy

Agriculture has played a dominant role in the municipality's economic life for centuries. 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 mostly returned to 'normal' agriculture. Tourism has played an important role on the entire Arvert peninsula since the 1960s.

history

During excavation work, Neolithic flint finds and stone axes were discovered. Aerial photographs in the late 1970s led to the discovery of a Celtic settlement and a necropolis . An important Roman road connecting Saintes ( Mediolanum Santonum ) with Barzan ( Novioregum ) ran through the municipality. In the year 844 a Norman attack is recorded in the documents, which mainly fell victim to the north-west of the Arvert peninsula. In 1186 the transfer of the church (and the place) from Breuillet to the Abbey of Cluny is documented. During the Hundred Years War (1337–1453) or during the Huguenot Wars (1562–1598) the choir and transept of the church were destroyed and never rebuilt. In the years 1541–1548 there were popular uprisings against the salt tax ( gabelle ) in the Saintonge area , from which fishermen and fishmongers in the region in particular suffered. In 1603 a plague epidemic struck the area.

Temple

The revocation of the Edict of Nantes (1598) issued by Henry IV by Louis XIV in the Edict of Fontainebleau (1685) led to a wave of Protestants emigrating to ' New France ' or the surrounding European countries. Most Protestants, however, stayed in the country and practiced their faith in secret ( Église du Desert ). At the end of the 18th century, the situation eased on the Arvert peninsula under the liberal governor Jean Charles de Saint-Nectaire and after the anti-faith years of the French Revolution , Protestant houses of worship were built again in the 1840s. Incidentally, small elevations of the facade of the Protestant and Catholic churches of the village can be found side by side and equally in an open book in the middle of the city coat of arms.

Attractions

Saint Vivien Church
Archivolt portal
Logis de Taupignac

See also: List of Monuments historiques in Breuillet (Charente-Maritime)

  • The Catholic parish church of Saint-Vivien dates from the beginning of the 12th century. The prominent component is the west facade, which - based on models further north (e.g. Saint-Pierre in Pérignac or Notre-Dame (Échillais) ) - has a three-storey and almost square elevation : the lower zone is dominated by an archivolt portal , the double duty on both sides and a small dazzling portal each were assigned; the one on the right is still there, the one on the left is overbuilt by a massive buttress from the 15th century at the corner. The middle level is decorated with a series of blind arcades ; it ends at the top in a partially figurative console frieze . Above it is a three-arched structure, which, with its wider and slightly raised central field, imitates a triumphal arch motif. While the central round window donates light to the nave, the side arches hide the slopes of the gable roof. The small single-arched bell gable is an 18th century addition. The sides of the facade are framed and stabilized by bundled columns or services. The interior of the church has a single nave and is barrel vaulted ; The apse and transept (probably also a former crossing tower ) were destroyed - today's apse dates from the 19th century. Church construction has been recognized as a monument historique since 1914 .
  • The Protestant church ( temple ) is an unadorned, but in its proportions very balanced neoclassical building from 1841. To the left of the entrance portal is an inscription plaque that comes from a previous building in the suburb of Le Billeau . The inscription reads: "Believe in Jesus the Lord and you will be saved." ( Acts 16:31  EU )
  • The two-story Logis de Taupignac dates from the 17th century; the windows and doors on the ground floor have round arches , those on the upper floor segment arches . The roof area is loosened up by three baroque curved portholes with round windows (' ox eyes ').
  • The Logis de Chalézac originally dates from the 16th century, but it was completely rebuilt in the mid-18th century and served as a winery for years. Today one of the most important nut tree plantations in Europe is located on the site .

literature

  • Le Patrimoine des Communes de la Charente-Maritime. Flohic Editions, Volume 2, Paris 2002, ISBN 2-84234-129-5 , pp. 751-752.

Web links

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

Individual evidence

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