Gémozac

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Gémozac
Coat of arms of Gémozac
Gémozac (France)
Gémozac
region Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Department Charente-Maritime
Arrondissement Saintes
Canton Saintonge Estuaire
Community association Gémozac et la Saintonge Viticole
Coordinates 45 ° 34 ′  N , 0 ° 41 ′  W Coordinates: 45 ° 34 ′  N , 0 ° 41 ′  W
height 17-48 m
surface 31.93 km 2
Residents 2,851 (January 1, 2017)
Population density 89 inhabitants / km 2
Post Code 17260
INSEE code 17172

Gémozac - View of the town with Saint-Pierre church

Gémozac is a West commune with 2,851 inhabitants (at January 1, 2017) in the Charente-Maritime in the region Nouvelle-Aquitaine .

location

Gémozac is located in the old cultural landscape of the Saintonge about 21 kilometers (driving distance) southwest of Saintes and about 12 kilometers west of Pons .

Population development

year 1968 1975 1982 1990 1999 2006 2016
Residents 2236 2388 2381 2333 2352 2527 2843

Due to the relative proximity to the cities of Saintes and Pons and the comparatively low rental and land prices, the population of Gémozac has increased slightly in recent years.

economy

Agriculture and viticulture have determined the economic life of the place for centuries, which also functioned as a trade, craft and service center for the - meanwhile largely disappeared - hamlets and farmsteads in the surrounding area. In Gémozac, a good 600 hectares are reserved for viticulture - the soils of the municipality belong to the Bons Bois cultivation area of ​​the Cognac wine-growing region ; There are several distilleries in the village for the production of eau de vie . On the remaining arable land, mainly grain (wheat, maize) is grown. Since the 1980s, tourism (rental of holiday apartments) has been added as a source of income.

history

Gémozac was on the ancient Roman road from Saintes ( Mediolanum Santonum ) to the Gironde estuary. Little is known from medieval times - the place was founded when it broke away from the lordship of the priory of Mortagne-sur-Gironde in 1163. Shortly afterwards, the Romanesque church was built on the highest point of the place; the ruins of a castle surrounded by a moat ( douve ) were demolished in 1829. In the Hundred Years War (1337-1453) the Saintonge was occupied by the English for a long time. In the 16th century Gémozac was one of the Protestant centers in the region; it suffered attacks and destruction during the Huguenot Wars (1562–1598). After the proclamation of the Edict of Nantes , a Protestant temple was built, but it was destroyed in 1768. Largely unaffected by the events of the French Revolution, Gémozac experienced an economic heyday in the 19th century, which was mainly due to the export of wine and grain to England and other Central and Northern European countries. In 1868 the town reached its highest population to date with 2,792, but just a few years later the entire region suffered an enormous setback due to the phylloxera crisis .

Attractions

See also: List of the Monuments historiques in Gémozac

  • The Saint-Pierre church, which belongs to the transition style from Romanesque to Gothic, with its imposing tower is the most important historical building in the small town. While the tower shows clear Romanesque style elements in its lower part, simple late Romanesque or early Gothic tracery windows can be found on the upper floor . The steeple is built entirely from stones in the style of the Saintonge, which imitate roof shingles . The nave does not form a rigid wall on the outside, but is structured or loosened up by buttresses and pointed arcades . The single-nave interior of the church building impresses with its slim proportions, which underline its height of around 15 meters. While the nave is covered by a pointed barrel vault with girders , the flat, gothic apse is ribbed . The original entrance to the church is in the south arm of the transept ; today's west portal seems to be an ingredient of the 19th century. Church construction has been recognized as a monument historique since 1910 .

  • Église Saint-Pierre , facade and north tower

  • Église Saint-Pierre , south side

  • Église Saint-Pierre , interior

  • Église Saint-Pierre , transept portal

  • City Hall ( Hôtel de Ville ) and Post Office are two imposing buildings from the 19th century.
  • The Protestant temple is a simple classical building from the year 1845. Its only external decoration consists of an open book in the gable with the biblical words “Heaven and earth will perish; but my words do not perish ”( Lk 21.33  EU ), from which rays emanate in all directions. In the interior, which is deliberately kept simple, the oak pulpit ( chaire ) immediately attracts attention - it also bears a biblical inscription: "Because God loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, so that all who believe in him, not to be lost, but to have eternal life "( Jn 3:16  EU )

  • Protestant Church

  • Gable field

literature

  • Le Patrimoine des Communes de la Charente-Maritime. Flohic Editions, Volume 1, Paris 2002, ISBN 2-84234-129-5 , pp. 245-248.

Web links

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

Individual evidence

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