Mouthiers-sur-Boëme

Mouthiers-sur-Boëme
region	Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Department	Charente
Arrondissement	Angoulême
Canton	Boëme-Échelle
Community association	Grand Angoulême
Coordinates	45 ° 33 ' N , 0 ° 7' E Coordinates: 45 ° 33 ' N , 0 ° 7' E
height	59-153 m
surface	34.71 km 2
Residents	2,436 (January 1, 2017)
Population density	70 inhabitants / km 2
Post Code	16440
INSEE code	16236
Website	www.mouthierssurboeme.fr
	; Mouthiers-sur-Boëme - the village with the church of Saint-Hilaire

Mouthiers-sur-Boëme is a western French municipality with 2436 inhabitants (at January 1, 2017) in the department of Charente in the region Nouvelle-Aquitaine .

location

Mouthiers-sur-Boëme is about 13 kilometers (driving distance) south of Angoulême in the border region to the Périgord on a plateau above the Boëme river at an altitude of about 130 meters above sea level. d. M.

Population development

year	1962	1968	1975	1982	1990	1999	2006	2016
Residents	1297	1270	1400	1864	2260	2260	2431	2441

In the second half of the 19th century, the community always had between 1150 and 1600 inhabitants; As a result of the phylloxera crisis in viticulture and the mechanization of agriculture , the number of inhabitants then fell continuously to the low of 1946 with just under 1,100 inhabitants. Due to the proximity to the city of Angoulême and the significantly lower real estate prices, the population has more than doubled in recent decades.

economy

For centuries, the inhabitants of the community lived from agriculture; But the production of paper also played a not unimportant role from the end of the Middle Ages until the 19th century. The soils of the municipality belong to the Fins Bois of the Cognac wine-growing region , but sales of expensive brandies have tended to decline in recent decades, so that viticulture no longer plays an important role today. The small town has little industry; However, it forms the artisanal and mercantile center of several villages and hamlets in the area.

history

Under the rock overhang ( abri ) about 18,000 year old stone-age rock reliefs with traces of color were discovered, which come from a frieze with several depictions of horses. Stone tools were also found in the immediate vicinity. In the area of a prehistoric rampart, remains were found that are attributed to the Neolithic and Bronze Ages .

According to local tradition, the first church was built in the 6th century. The parish belonged to the ownership of the once important since the year 1094 Benedictine - Abbey of Saint-Martial in Limoges , the one here Priorat entertained. In the 11th century a castle ( château ) was built on the rock of Rochandry , which was destroyed in the Hundred Years War (1337-1453) and then rebuilt in a different form.

Attractions

Horse reliefs

Saint-Hilaire Church (Eastern parts)

The rock overhang La Chaire à Calvin ( 45 ° 33 ′ 19 ″ N , 0 ° 6 ′ 57 ″ E ), about one kilometer west of the village, with the rock reliefs of three horses is - besides the reliefs from the Roc de Sers - the only evidence of the presence recognized by prehistoric people in southern Charente and as a Monument historique since 1986 .45.555277777778 0.11583333333333

The stone or Bronze Age ramparts called Camp aux Anglais can hardly be recognized as such. Nevertheless, it has been recognized as a monument historique since 1930 .

The Château de la Rochandry , built on the site of a medieval moth and a castle that was later destroyed, is a historicizing building from the 19th century.

The Romanesque parish church of Saint-Hilaire is a 12th century building with a transept and three apses . The octagonal Gothic crossing tower was not built until the 13th century; his once towering helmet burned down after a lightning strike in 1735. The archivolts of the portal in the west facade are richly decorated with flowers, tendrils and a stick motif ; The capitals , some of which are figurative, also deserve attention. Two Romanesque lion reliefs are embedded in the corner buttresses that were added later . The upper part of the facade is clearly from the Gothic style. The nave , made of precisely hewn limestone, shows large blind arches and half-column templates are barrel vaulted . The crossing dome, resting on pendentives, has a central oculus ; the lower part of the apse is framed by decorative arcades, with the middle one being slightly higher than the side. The church building has been classified as a monument historique since 1862 .

Church Saint-Hilaire
facade
Lion with tendrils
Archivolt portal

Croix de Gersac

On the outskirts of two kilometers southwest to hamlet Gersac ( 45 ° 32 '54 " N , 0 ° 6' 19" O ) is a medieval stone cross ( Croix de Gersac ), which by some as a simple crossroads , but by others as the Hosanna Cross is seen. It has been recognized as a monument historique since 1926 .45.548333333333 0.10527777777778

The Logis de Forge ( 45 ° 33 ′ 4 ″ N , 0 ° 7 ′ 43 ″ E ) is already mentioned in a document in 1233. Today's three-storey building, framed by corner towers on a square floor plan, dates from the 15th and 16th. Century. During the revolution , a paper mill was established in several annex buildings. The building has a beautiful garden and has been recognized as a monument historique since 2005 .45.551111111111 0.12861111111111

The Logis de La Foy ( 45 ° 33 ′ 54 ″ N , 0 ° 8 ′ 12 ″ E ) was also built in the 15th century, but largely revised in the 18th century in the style of the time. The building has been recognized as a Monument historique since 1963 .45,565 0.13666666666667

The Logis du Mainadaud is a fortified farm outside the village. One of its buildings is a late medieval tower with a defensive core ( bretèches ).

On the banks of the Boëme there are several washhouses ( lavoirs ) from the 19th century.