Sainte-Gemme (Charente-Maritime)
| Sainte-Gemme | ||
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| region | Nouvelle-Aquitaine | |
| Department | Charente-Maritime | |
| Arrondissement | Saintes | |
| Canton | Saint-Porchaire | |
| Community association | Charente-Arnoult-Cœur de Saintonge | |
| Coordinates | 45 ° 46 ′ N , 0 ° 53 ′ W | |
| height | 7-44 m | |
| surface | 40.91 km 2 | |
| Residents | 1,320 (January 1, 2017) | |
| Population density | 32 inhabitants / km 2 | |
| Post Code | 17250 | |
| INSEE code | 17330 | |
 Calvary cross on the outskirts |
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Sainte-Gemme is a western commune with 1,320 inhabitants (at January 1, 2017) in the department of Charente-Maritime in the region Nouvelle-Aquitaine .
location
Sainte-Gemme is about 35 meters above sea level. d. M. in the historic cultural landscape of the Saintonge about 25 kilometers (driving distance) west of Saintes or 25 kilometers southeast of Rochefort .
history
Apart from the fact that the church was a priory of the Abbey of La Chaise-Dieu in the Middle Ages , to which other priests in the area (e.g. Meursac ) were subordinated, there is no further information on the history of the place.
Population development
| year | 1962 | 1968 | 1975 | 1982 | 1990 | 1999 | 2006 | 2016 |
| Residents | 917 | 811 | 755 | 779 | 869 | 899 | 1191 | 1307 |
In the 19th century, the place always had between 1000 and 1250 inhabitants. The phylloxera crisis and the mechanization of agriculture led to a population decline, which has been stopped in recent decades due to the proximity to the large cities of Saintes and Rochefort and the comparatively low rents and land prices in Sainte-Gemme.
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 ). Sainte-Gemme 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 .
Attractions
See also: List of Monuments historiques in Sainte-Gemme (Charente-Maritime)
- The former Romanesque priory church is now the parish church of the village; it comes from the late 11th and early 12th centuries, but either lost its transept and the entire choir area in the Hundred Years' War (1377-1453) or during the Huguenot Wars (1562-1598); only the nave including the west facade was preserved, but had to be stabilized in the 15th or 16th century by side buttresses or buttresses . In the revolutionary years , the entire building complex of the former priory was sold as a national property ( Bien nacional ) to a demolition contractor who had almost the entire farm building and the enclosure area demolished. The west facade shows an archivolt portal on the ground floor level , which is framed by two wide and equally high blind arches on the sides , creating an almost triumphal arch scheme; A figurative console frieze forms the end of the lower level . The scheme is repeated in the middle level, with all three arches containing arched windows; another console frieze also closes this level at the top. The gable field is - except for a round arch frieze - completely unadorned; the simple bell gable seems to be an ingredient of the baroque period . The portal opens into a ribbed vestibule ( narthex ), above which there is a gallery inside . Another portal, which was protected from the weather for centuries and is therefore extraordinarily well preserved, shows motifs of flowers, tendrils and leaves; the side capitals are also decorated with vegetal motifs and braided ribbons . The interior of the church has three aisles and vaulted by pointed barrels. The church was already recognized as a monument historique in 1862 .
- On the outskirts there is a calvary cross , which can also be viewed as a Hosanna cross due to the lack of a crucifix .
literature
- Le Patrimoine des Communes de la Charente-Maritime. Flohic Editions, Volume 2, Paris 2002, ISBN 2-84234-129-5 , pp. 948-951.
Web links
- Sainte-Gemme, church - photos + info (in French)
- Sainte-Gemme, church - aerial view, photos + brief information (in French)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Église Sainte-Gemme, Sainte-Gemme in the Base Mérimée of the French Ministry of Culture (French)