Gençay

Gençay
region	Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Department	Vienne
Arrondissement	Montmorillon
Canton	Lussac-les-Châteaux
Community association	Civraisien en Poitou
Coordinates	46 ° 22 ′ N , 0 ° 24 ′ E Coordinates: 46 ° 22 ′ N , 0 ° 24 ′ E
height	105-138 m
surface	4.74 km 2
Residents	1,737 (January 1, 2017)
Population density	366 inhabitants / km 2
Post Code	86160
INSEE code	86103
Website	http://www.gencay.fr/

Gençay is a French commune with 1737 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2017) in the Vienne department in western France .

geography

Gençay is located about 20 km south of Poitiers on the banks of the Clouère and is part of the Poitou region .

history

Individual traces show the settlement of the area in the Gallo-Roman times .

In the 10th century the place was the main town of the Viguerie and Archipresbyterat des Sprengels. The old fortress was besieged for two years by the Duke of Berry . It was not taken by Bertrand du Guesclin until 1375 . In the 15th century, Gençay was under the rule of the House of La Trémoille .

Attractions

There are some very old houses in the village that are well worth seeing. The La Briauderie residential building and the Hôtel des Trois-Marchands are listed as Inscrit Monument Historique .
The ruins of the fortification from the 13th century with their almost triangular buildings, round corner towers and archways are classified as Monument historique .
The Château de La Roche from the 15th to 17th centuries is now a museum on the history of the Order of Malta .
The Romanesque church of Notre-Dame was built in the 12th century.

Town twinning

The city has had a partnership with the German city of Breckerfeld in North Rhine-Westphalia since 1972 .

literature

Le Patrimoine des Communes de la Vienne. Volume 1, Flohic Editions, Paris 2002, ISBN 2-84234-128-7 , pp. 310-317.

Web links

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