Montpellier-de-Médillan
| Montpellier-de-Médillan | ||
|---|---|---|
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| region | Nouvelle-Aquitaine | |
| Department | Charente-Maritime | |
| Arrondissement | Saintes | |
| Canton | Saintonge Estuaire | |
| Community association | Gémozac et la Saintonge Viticole | |
| Coordinates | 45 ° 36 ′ N , 0 ° 37 ′ W | |
| height | 23-57 m | |
| surface | 11.23 km 2 | |
| Residents | 682 (January 1, 2017) | |
| Population density | 61 inhabitants / km 2 | |
| Post Code | 17260 | |
| INSEE code | 17244 | |
 Saint Martin Church |
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Montpellier-de-Médillan is a western commune with 566 inhabitants (at January 1, 2017) in the department of Charente-Maritime in the region Nouvelle-Aquitaine .
location
Montpellier-de-Médillan is located in the old cultural landscape of the Saintonge about 18 kilometers (driving distance) northeast of Saintes and about 20 kilometers northwest of Pons . The main town of the community association, Gémozac , is about twelve kilometers to the southwest.
Population development
| year | 1968 | 1975 | 1982 | 1990 | 1999 | 2006 | 2016 |
| Residents | 451 | 421 | 391 | 387 | 451 | 532 | 565 |
In the 19th century the population was always between 500 and 600; after that, the phylloxera crisis in viticulture and the mechanization of agriculture caused a steady decline. Due to the relative proximity to the cities of Saintes and Pons and the comparatively low rental and property prices, the population of Montpellier-de-Médillan has increased slightly again in recent years.
economy
Agriculture and viticulture have determined the economic life of the place for centuries, which also functioned as a craft, service and trading center for the small villages and farmsteads in the surrounding area. The soils of the municipality belong to the Fins Bois cultivation area of the Cognac wine region , but 'normal' wines are also produced. Grain (wheat, maize) is also grown on many arable land. Since the 1980s, tourism (rental of holiday apartments) has been added as a source of income.
history
The Romanesque church suggests that the place already existed in the Middle Ages. Whether the place was affected in the Hundred Years War (1337-1453) is not known; Nothing is known of attacks and destruction during the Huguenot Wars (1562–1598) or the French Revolution .
Attractions
The parish church of Saint-Martin was built in the middle of the 12th century, but was increased in the 13th century by masonry and reinforcements (additional buttresses ) of the nave walls , which made it possible for rib vaults inside . The figure- and unornamented, but architecturally sophisticated and by two lateral blind arches accompanied archivolts portal in the western facade, the very those of neighboring communities in its architectural structure Tesson and Jazennes resembles dominates the ground floor level. In contrast to the aforementioned churches, however, the building of Saint-Martin in the middle storey of the facade shows double arcades formed by extremely slender columns that end in Gothic three-pass arches . Above it rises a raised and - as usual in the region - completely unadorned triangular gable , which is also part of the renovation work of the 13th century. The crossing tower with its bell storey is accessible via an octagonal staircase on the north side. The single nave nave and the crossing and the chapel in the south arm of the transept of the church, which formerly served as a sacristy, still show quarry stone masonry , whereas the crossing area is made of precisely hewn limestone . All components are ribbed. Church construction has been recognized as a monument historique since 1913 .
literature
- Le Patrimoine des Communes de la Charente-Maritime. Flohic Editions, Volume 1, Paris 2002, ISBN 2-84234-129-5 , pp. 253-254.
Web links
- Montpellier-de-Médillan, Église Saint-Martin - photos + brief information (French)
- Montpellier-de-Médillan, Église Saint-Martin - aerial view, photo + brief information (in French)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Église Saint-Martin, Montpellier-de-Médillan in the Base Mérimée of the French Ministry of Culture (French)