Dirac (Charente)
| Dirac | ||
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| region | Nouvelle-Aquitaine | |
| Department | Charente | |
| Arrondissement | Angoulême | |
| Canton | Boëme-Échelle | |
| Community association | Grand Angoulême | |
| Coordinates | 45 ° 36 ′ N , 0 ° 15 ′ E | |
| height | 65-183 m | |
| surface | 29.29 km 2 | |
| Residents | 1,518 (January 1, 2017) | |
| Population density | 52 inhabitants / km 2 | |
| Post Code | 16410 | |
| INSEE code | 16120 | |
 Saint-Martial church |
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Dirac is a municipality with 1518 inhabitants (at January 1, 2017) in western France Charente in the region Nouvelle-Aquitaine .
location
The municipality of Dirac lies at an altitude of about 140 meters above sea level. d. M. about eleven kilometers (driving distance) southeast of Angoulême in the old cultural landscape of the Angoumois . The two rivers Anguienne and Eaux Claires have their source in the municipality.
Population development
| year | 1962 | 1968 | 1975 | 1982 | 1990 | 1999 | 2006 | 2016 |
| Residents | 620 | 579 | 807 | 1037 | 1260 | 1336 | 1392 | 1520 |
In the first half of the 19th century, the community usually had between 900 and 1000 inhabitants; As a result of the phylloxera crisis in viticulture and the mechanization of agriculture , the number of inhabitants then fell continuously to the lows of the 1930s to 1960s. Due to the proximity to Angoulême and the significantly lower property prices in the country, an increase in the population has been recorded again in recent decades.
economy
For centuries, the inhabitants of the community lived on the principles of self-sufficiency from agriculture; only the city of Angoulême came into question as a marketplace. The soils of the municipality still belong to the Bons Bois of the Cognac wine-growing region , but sales of expensive brandies and even wine have tended to decline in recent decades, so that viticulture no longer plays a role.
history
The documented medieval place name is Adiracum . The place and castle belonged to the manor ( seigneurie ) of the Tison family from the time of the Crusades to the French Revolution .
Attractions
- The Romanesque parish church of Saint-Martial dates from the 12th century. In the 15th century the outside walls of the church were raised (the original console friezes below the former eaves are still preserved) and stabilized by side buttresses ; the gable of the facade also seems to come from this period in whole or in part. The apse has a pilaster structure and a cornice cranked around the window arches ; a figurative console frieze runs beneath the eaves . The crossing tower , built on a square floor plan, is only structured by blind arcades ; the bell storey is completely unadorned. The west facade is divided into three levels - on the ground floor there is a triumphal arch scheme typical of the Charente , whereby two decorative cornices cranked around the capital or fighter zones create a horizontal connection; the middle level shows a five-arch row of blind arcades with elegant double columns; above it is an unadorned gable field. Noteworthy is the toga- clad, antique-looking statue in the right dazzling portal, whose identity is unclear. The single, structured by lateral arcs Blend nave is of a barrel vault with transverse arches beams covered; only the crossing has a Gothic rib vault . The apse with its dome is - apart from three windows - completely without decoration. The church building was recognized as a monument historique as early as 1913 .
- From the privately owned medieval Château de Dirac there are only two mighty round towers that frame a residential wing ( corps de logis ) that was added in the 18th century .
- The Logis d'Hurtebise was built in the first half of the 18th century and is also privately owned. The weir bay ( bretèche ) above the entrance portal is still preserved from the previous building.
- The Logis de la Reinerie also dates from the 18th century.
- Today's town hall ( mairie ) with its mezzanine windows is also a building from this period.
Web links
- Dirac, history and buildings - photos + information (French)
- Château de Dirac - photos + information (French)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Église Saint-Martial, Dirac in the Base Mérimée of the French Ministry of Culture (French)