Lignières-Sonneville

Lignières-Sonneville
region	Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Department	Charente
Arrondissement	cognac
Canton	Charente-Champagne
Community association	Grand Cognac
Coordinates	45 ° 34 ′ N , 0 ° 11 ′ W Coordinates: 45 ° 34 ′ N , 0 ° 11 ′ W
height	40-143 m
surface	16.36 km 2
Residents	585 (January 1, 2017)
Population density	36 inhabitants / km 2
Post Code	16130
INSEE code	16186
	; Sonneville - Church of Sainte-Trinité

Lignières-Sonneville is a municipality in southwestern France with 585 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2017) in the Charente department in the south of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region ; it belongs to the arrondissement of Cognac and the canton of Charente-Champagne .

location

The double community Lignières-Sonneville is located about 20 kilometers southeast of the city of Cognac at an altitude of about 60 meters above sea level. d. M. Neighboring municipalities of Lignières-Sonneville are Saint-Preuil (5.5 kilometers north), Segonzac (9 kilometers northwest), Verrières (8 kilometers west), Juillac-le-Coq (10 kilometers northwest), Angeac-Champagne (14 kilometers northwest) and Gensac-la-Pallue (14 kilometers northwest).

Population development

year	1968	1975	1982	1990	1999	2006	2016
Residents	701	615	597	603	614	586	601

At the first census in France in 1793, the place had 517 inhabitants; In the middle of the 19th century the population rose to over 1000 at times, only to drop to around 700 to 800 after the end of the phylloxera crisis (approx. 1865–1885), which resulted in a significant decline in population in almost all wine-growing regions of France.

economy

Agriculture and especially viticulture have always played an important role in the Charente villages. While cereals, vegetables and oilseeds ( sunflowers ) were mainly grown for their own needs, one could earn good money with the export of wine (later also brandy) to England, Scotland and other countries in Northern Europe, although the winegrowers with the less Part of the earnings had to be satisfied. Today the south bank of the Charente near Lignières-Sonneville is part of the Grande Champagne location within the large Cognac wine-growing area.

history

Protohistoric round trenches (ramparts?) Were discovered in the district of Combes ; a rectangular square was uncovered in the hamlet of Chez-Piet . Nothing is known of Roman or Gallo-Roman finds.

In the Middle Ages, the area of today's municipality belonged to the Châtellenie de Bouteville , which in turn was owned by the Counts of Angoulême . The local rule, first mentioned in 1116, was in the hands of the noble lords of Archiac and then from 1475 to 1709 in the hands of the Poussard family.

The two larger districts of Lignières and Sonneville - together with some hamlets and individual farmsteads - were merged into one municipality in 1845.

Attractions

The Romanesque parish church of Notre-Dame (formerly also Saint-Pierre) in Lignières probably dates from the end of the 12th and the beginning of the 13th century. In the 15th century the church was redesigned and newly vaulted; The buttresses on the side are probably from this time . The west facade shows a Gothic step portal with profiled ribs; the two side dazzling portals - despite their more sharply pointed arches, more closely related to the Charentesian tradition - show diamondwork (left) and vegetable motifs (right). Above a cornice , within a triple arcade, there is a group of figures with Mary and the baby Jesus on her lap ( sedes sapientiae ), accompanied by worshipers (probably shepherds and kings). In the lateral blind arches, the beginnings of Gothic tracery can be seen . Above a middle - richly profiled - round window ( ox-eye ), the second level ends in a console frieze with a cornice on top. Above this is an undecorated gable field with crosses in the corners of the triangle. As is common in south-west France, the portal has no tympanum field ; the interior of the church has a single nave and is barrel vaulted . The choir has a straight apse-free end and rib vault ; on the outside it is - as can be seen in several churches in the area - elevated by a triangular gable and thus forms a second facade. Church construction has been on the list of historical monuments since 1973 . Various cult objects and parts of the interior furnishings mostly date from the 19th century and are also listed.

In the hamlet of Combes there is the single-nave Romanesque church of Saint-Palais with a tympanum-free portal with columns set on the side, which - instead of a capital - look as if turned at the top. Between the two undecorated archivolts there is another arch decorated with a serrated bar profile; the portal is covered by a richly decorated arch (diamond rod and serrated rod). The chapel with a bell gable has also been recognized as a monument historique since 1973 . Several sarcophagus-like tombstones with Latin inscriptions are in the vicinity of the church.
The church of Sonneville ( Église de la Sainte-Trinité ) also dates from the 12th century; However, it was thoroughly restored in the 19th century and 'adorned' with a new west facade. The single-nave, almost windowless interior of the church is barrel-vaulted, the choir section is raised in a strange way - the whole church building - apart from its west side - looks like a fortified church . As in Combes, there are several elongated medieval (?) Gravestones in the former cemetery in front of the church of Sonneville. The church building was added to the list of Monuments historiques in 1973.
The current castle of Lignières ( Château de Lignières ) was built on the site of a previous building and dates from the beginning of the 17th century. The two side pavilions show a large number of corbels in the form of medieval machicolations , which are only meant here as decorative or representative. In the raised roof of the central wing ( Corps de Logis ) there is enough space for several attic rooms , which function as staff rooms or storage rooms. The interiors were redesigned in the 18th century. The building can be visited and has been classified as a Monument historique since 1977 .
The Château Monchoisi is a castle from the second half of the 19th century in the middle of a large park at the west end of Lignières. It is privately owned, largely furnished in the opulent style of the time, and can be rented for vacation stays.
The Maison Chez Ballet manor dates from the end of the 17th century. The two-storey, badly dilapidated building is privately owned, but has also been recognized as a monument historique since 1973 .
Several wells and wash houses, as well as some farmhouses and tombstones in the area, are also of historical value.