Douzat
Douzat | ||
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region | Nouvelle-Aquitaine | |
Department | Charente | |
Arrondissement | cognac | |
Canton | Val de Nouère | |
Community association | Rouillacais | |
Coordinates | 45 ° 43 ′ N , 0 ° 0 ′ E | |
height | 52-115 m | |
surface | 11.48 km 2 | |
Residents | 469 (January 1, 2017) | |
Population density | 41 inhabitants / km 2 | |
Post Code | 16290 | |
INSEE code | 16121 | |
Douzat - Église Notre-Dame |
Douzat is a place and a community with 469 inhabitants (at January 1, 2017) in the western French department of Charente in the region Nouvelle-Aquitaine .
location
The place Douzat is in the cultural landscape of the Angoumois at an altitude of about 75 m above sea level. d. M. and is about 17 km (driving distance) to the northwest from the city of Angoulême and about 32 km to the east from the city of Cognac .
Population development
year | 1800 | 1851 | 1901 | 1954 | 1999 | 2013 |
Residents | 433 | 537 | 402 | 323 | 344 | 459 |
The population decline in the first half of the 20th century is largely due to the loss of jobs as a result of the mechanization of agriculture. Due to the proximity to the city of Angoulême and comparatively low real estate prices, the community's population has grown again in the beginning of the 21st century.
economy
While the inhabitants of the village lived for centuries on the yields of their fields and gardens, viticulture was promoted in the late Middle Ages and early modern times , which - after the phylloxera crisis in the late 19th and early 20th centuries - is still the most important source of income for the Community. Tourism in the form of renting holiday apartments ( gîtes ) also plays a not insignificant role in the economic life of the municipality.
history
A small sarcophagus was unearthed from Roman times , in which there was an elongated glass vial and a figurine of the god Mercury . The foundation walls of a Gallo-Roman country estate ( villa rustica ) were also exposed.
To protect against the raids by Vikings and Saracens , an elongated wall from Angoulême into the hinterland was raised in the 9th century , which also led through the municipality of Douzat. In the Middle Ages there was an extensive forest ( Forêt de Marange ) belonging to the French crown , but its trees were looted for shipbuilding purposes in the 17th and 18th centuries and not much of which is preserved today.
Attractions
- The parish church of Notre-Dame is a largely unadorned building from the 11th century, which has been rebuilt several times in the following period. The most important decorative elements are a figure of the Apostle Peter inserted above the portal and registered as Monument historique in a tympanum that is only about 50 cm high, as well as a figure of Mary above it. The nave has a protected statue of Our Lady from the 17th century.
- The narrow streets of the place give a medieval impression; however, the houses are all younger.