Nancras

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Nancras
Nancras (France)
Nancras
region Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Department Charente-Maritime
Arrondissement Saintes
Canton Saint-Porchaire
Community association Charente-Arnoult-Cœur de Saintonge
Coordinates 45 ° 45 ′  N , 0 ° 53 ′  W Coordinates: 45 ° 45 ′  N , 0 ° 53 ′  W
height 22-39 m
surface 3.06 km 2
Residents 786 (January 1, 2017)
Population density 257 inhabitants / km 2
Post Code 17600
INSEE code 17255

Nancras - the townscape with the Église de la Nativité de la Sainte Vierge

Nancras is a western commune with 786 inhabitants (at January 1, 2017) in the department of Charente-Maritime in the region Nouvelle-Aquitaine .

location

Nancras is about 30 meters above sea level. d. M. in the historic cultural landscape of the Saintonge about 20 kilometers (driving distance) west of Saintes or 28 kilometers southeast of Rochefort .

Population development

year 1962 1968 1975 1982 1990 1999 2006 2016
Residents 261 303 302 325 353 418 548 789

In the 19th century the place always had between 300 and 550 inhabitants. The phylloxera crisis and the mechanization of agriculture led to a population decline, which has been halted in the last few decades due to the proximity to the large cities of Saintes and Rochefort and the comparatively low rents and land prices in Nancras.

economy

For centuries, agriculture for the self-sufficiency of the population played the largest role in the economic life of the community. But wine has been grown in the area since Roman times, which has been distilled since early modern times and exported to northern Europe (especially to England ). Nancras is one of the Bois ordinaires et communs of the Cognac wine-growing region , but most of the grapes are processed into wine and Pineau des Charentes because of the sales problems with Cognac brandies .

history

The fact that the place has a Romanesque church suggests a long period of settlement, which probably goes back to Gallo-Roman times.

Attractions

See also: List of the Monuments historiques in Nancras

Church of the Nativité de la Sainte Vierge . The west and east sides of the church show the pseudo- gables common in Saintonge .
  • The Romanesque parish church ( Nativité de la Sainte Vierge , sometimes just referred to as Notre-Dame ) dates largely from the 13th and 14th centuries - the time of transition from Romanesque to Gothic . It used to have a transept and probably also a crossing tower - both components either collapsed or were destroyed in the Hundred Years War (1337–1453). The small tower on the south side of the church was possibly formerly the stair tower of the lost crossing tower - it still shows traces of the former transept and was raised with rubble stone in the 17th century . Even the unadorned west facade - which is unusual for the Saintonge - suggests that the church was once longer by one yoke and was only poorly repaired and stabilized with mighty buttresses . Inside, the single-nave building has a wooden ceiling. Church construction has been recognized as a monument historique since 1925 .
  • The spring version, which has since been restored, and the washing area ( lavoir ) not far from the church date from the beginning of the 20th century .

literature

  • Le Patrimoine des Communes de la Charente-Maritime. Flohic Editions, Volume 2, Paris 2002, ISBN 2-84234-129-5 , p. 1053.

Web links

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

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Église de la Nativité de la Sainte Vierge, Nancras in the Base Mérimée of the French Ministry of Culture (French)