Matha
| Matha | ||
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| region | Nouvelle-Aquitaine | |
| Department | Charente-Maritime | |
| Arrondissement | Saint-Jean-d'Angély | |
| Canton | Matha | |
| Community association | Vals de Saintonge | |
| Coordinates | 45 ° 52 ′ N , 0 ° 19 ′ W | |
| height | 23-68 m | |
| surface | 19.08 km 2 | |
| Residents | 2,166 (January 1, 2017) | |
| Population density | 114 inhabitants / km 2 | |
| Post Code | 17160 | |
| INSEE code | 17224 | |
 Matha - gate construction of the former castle |
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Matha is a French commune with 2,166 inhabitants (as of January 1 2017) in the Charente-Maritime in the region Nouvelle-Aquitaine .
location
The place Matha is about 19 km (driving distance) southeast of Saint-Jean-d'Angély and about 23 km north of Cognac in the north of the cultural landscape of the Saintonge . The distance to Saintes is about 37 km in a south-westerly direction. The place belongs to the wine-growing region of the Fins Bois within the wine-growing region of Cognac . A loop of the river Antenne , which passed the place to the west and north, provided a certain protection against enemy attacks.
Population development
| year | 1800 | 1851 | 1901 | 1954 | 1999 | 2016 |
| Residents | 714 | 2.125 | 2,034 | 2,054 | 2,082 | 2.154 |
Despite the mechanization of agriculture and the abandonment of small farms and the resulting loss of jobs, the population has remained more or less stable since the middle of the 19th century.
economy
Wine and cereals (barley, wheat) were already grown in the Middle Ages - usually for personal use; one or two pigs and a few chickens were part of every farm. In addition - for the production of fabrics, ropes etc. - plant fibers were produced from hemp and flax , for the production of which a lot of water was required.
The most important industry in the region nowadays is viticulture and the distillation of wine to eau de vie , the raw material for making cognac. The Matha-based distillery Léopold Brugerolle has specialized in the production of an almond liqueur ( Sève Feu de Joie ) based on eau de vie since 1847 ; in addition, the Pineau des Charentes is also produced. There are also jobs in furniture manufacturing and in the manufacture of agricultural machinery.
history
As early as 866, the then Count of Angoulême, Wulgrin, had a castrum built to ward off the Normans . In 1220, the former English queen Isabella married Count Hugo X of Lusignan . In 1242 she handed over the rule of Matha to her son from her first marriage, Heinrich III. who immediately translated to France to assert his property claims. King Louis IX and Alfons of Poitiers moved together to the south-west of the country and besieged Matha, who quickly surrendered. In the Battle of Taillebourg , the English were defeated on July 21, 1242 and driven back to Saintes, where they were defeated again a day later. During the Hundred Years War Matha changed hands several times.
In 1649, Louis XIV gave the city, which had sided with the Fronde , into the hands of his loyal vassal Charles de Bourdeilles. A register from 1686 identified 178 fire places for Marestay and 161 fire places for the district of Saint-Hérie. The main sources of income were the cultivation of wine and grain.
In 1801 the districts of Matha and Marestay were merged into one municipality; Saint-Hérie and a few smaller villages were added in 1818. Late 19th century that destroyed Phylloxera (phylloxera) almost all the vines.
Attractions
See also: List of Monuments historiques in Matha
Saint Pierre Church in Marestay
Saint-Hérie church
Others
- The Matha Castle was the French Revolution to the victim; it was a Renaissance building from the 16th century. The preserved gate structure shows both medieval machicolations and early modern elements (rectangular windows with round gables). It was classified as a Monument historique in 1948 .
- Formerly there were many Huguenots living in Matha , all of whom were expelled from France at the beginning of the 17th century after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes by Louis XIV. Before and after that, almost all of the Protestant churches were destroyed. The simple church building (temple) in the Matha district dates from the 19th century. In the arched field above the portal there is no decorative figure, but only a cross with the surrounding inscription La Parole de Notre Dieu demeure eternellement (“The word of our God is eternal”).
literature
- Le Patrimoine des Communes de la Charente-Maritime. Flohic Editions, Volume 1, Paris 2002, ISBN 2-84234-129-5 , pp. 441-443.
- Thorsten Droste : Poitou. Western France between Poitiers and Angoulême - the Atlantic coast from the Loire to the Gironde. DuMont, Cologne 1999, ISBN 3-7701-4456-2 , pp. 209-210.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Matha Castle in the Base Mérimée of the French Ministry of Culture (French)