Brillac

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Brillac
Brilhac
Brillac (France)
Brillac
region Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Department Charente
Arrondissement Confolens
Canton Charente-Vienne
Community association Charente limousine
Coordinates 46 ° 4 ′  N , 0 ° 47 ′  E Coordinates: 46 ° 4 ′  N , 0 ° 47 ′  E
height 143-241 m
surface 42.41 km 2
Residents 639 (January 1, 2017)
Population density 15 inhabitants / km 2
Post Code 16500
INSEE code 16065

Brillac - town view

Brillac ( Occitan : Brilhac ) is a place and a western French municipality with 639 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2017) in the Charente department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region . The community consists of several hamlets ( hameaux ) and individual farmsteads .

location

The place Brillac lies on the river Issoire at an altitude of about 210 m above sea level. d. M. about 82 km (driving distance) northeast of Angoulême in the old cultural landscape of the Angoumois , part of the Charente , near the border with the Limousin . It is also about 82 km to Poitiers in a north-westerly direction. The Marchadaine flows into the Issoire in the municipality .

Population development

year 1800 1851 1901 1954 1999 2013
Residents 1,130 1,635 1,563 1,057 664 671

The continuous population decline at the end of the 19th and 20th centuries is essentially a consequence of the loss of jobs due to the phylloxera crisis in viticulture and the generally increasing mechanization of agriculture .

economy

In earlier centuries the inhabitants lived on the produce of their fields and gardens as self-sufficient ; cattle breeding was also carried out on a small scale. Viticulture has been promoted in the Charente since the end of the Middle Ages, but it never reached its previous level after the phylloxera crisis. Instead, people returned to agriculture and livestock. Agriculture, handicrafts and retail trade still play the largest role in the town's economic life. Some of the vacant houses are designated as holiday homes ( gîtes ).

history

Brillac was at the crossroads of the Roman roads from Burdigala ( Bordeaux ) to Avaricum ( Bourges ) and from Vesunna ( Périgueux ) to Pictavium ( Poitiers ). From the 10th to the 18th century the place was the seat of a viguerie ; it originally belonged to the diocese of Limoges , but was annexed by the Counts of Angoulême in the 11th century . In the 14th century he came to the county of Marche , became a regionally important market place and was fortified.

Attractions

Portal of the Church
Pont Binot
  • The parish church of Saint-Pierre , which is partly made of rubble and partly stone, was built around 1200; However, it was changed slightly afterwards and was fundamentally restored in the 19th century. The multi-tiered archivolt portal on the south side with a pointed apex corresponds to the pointed barrel vault of the nave, which is accompanied by side chapels . The polygonal apse shows the usual dome vault . The large west window is designed in the late Gothic style. Church construction has been recognized as a monument historique since 2001 . Several parts of the church furnishings from the 16th to 18th centuries , including several figures and tabernacles , are also listed as historical monuments.
  • Not far from the church is a brick well house with a flat curved roof, the age of which is unclear.
  • Fort de Brillac , which has been rebuilt several times over the years, is located in the center of the village, but is privately owned.
  • The Logis de Brillac was built in 1630; it is also privately owned.
outside
  • About three and a half kilometers southwest of Brissac on the way to the neighboring municipality of Esse , a bridge ( Pont Binot ) crosses the River Issoire , which is only used by hikers . It is said to date from Roman times, but was rebuilt and renewed several times.
  • Only a dilapidated quarry stone barn near the former hamlet of Les Hautes Mesures is reminiscent of a priory ( Prieuré Saint-Marc ), the origins of which are unknown and which was abandoned in the 17th century after a fire that also destroyed other houses.
  • Nothing has been preserved of the Commanderie d'Aunac , a branch founded in 1282 by the Knights Templar , which was destroyed only a few decades later (1307-1312) .

Web links

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

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Brillac - Viticulture
  2. ↑ Église Saint-Pierre, Brillac in the Base Mérimée of the French Ministry of Culture (French)
  3. ^ Equipment from the Église Saint-Pierre, Brillac