Segonzac (Charente)

Segonzac
region	Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Department	Charente
Arrondissement	cognac
Canton	Charente-Champagne
Community association	Grand Cognac
Coordinates	45 ° 37 ′ N , 0 ° 13 ′ W Coordinates: 45 ° 37 ′ N , 0 ° 13 ′ W
height	19-141 m
surface	35.19 km 2
Residents	2,089 (January 1, 2017)
Population density	59 inhabitants / km 2
Post Code	16130
INSEE code	16366
	; Segonzac - Town Hall

Segonzac is a southwestern French municipality with 2089 inhabitants (at January 1, 2017) in the department of Charente in the region Nouvelle-Aquitaine . Segonzac was the first French municipality to be accepted by the European Cittàslow movement in 2010 .

location

Segonzac lies at an altitude of about 55 meters above sea level. d. M. about 10 kilometers south of the Charente river . The capital of the canton, Cognac , is only 14 kilometers to the northwest. The places of interest Gensac-la-Pallue and Saint-Brice are 5.5 and 17 kilometers northwest, respectively.

Population development

year	1968	1975	1982	1990	1999	2007	2016
Residents	2182	2230	2212	2176	2296	2166	2105

At the first census in France in 1793, the place had 2550 inhabitants; As a result of the phylloxera crisis , the population decreased to around 2000 at the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century.

economy

Already in the Middle Ages the place served as a trade and handicraft center for the agricultural areas in the area; In addition to grain, wine has been grown here since Roman or Gallo-Roman times, but primarily for self-sufficiency. Today the place forms the center of the Grande Champagne , a wine-growing region within the Cognac wine-growing region . There is an industrial park outside the town; Small trades (bakers, butchers, etc.) and retail trade (textiles, household goods, etc.) dominate in the village itself.

history

Segonzac was already settled in the Middle Ages, perhaps also in Gallo-Roman times. During the religiously motivated clashes between Catholics and Protestants in the 16th century, the local church was badly affected.

Attractions

Sainte-Madeleine church

Church interior

The late Romanesque or early Gothic parish church of Sainte-Madeleine was built from the 13th to the 15th century. After severe destruction during the Huguenot Wars (1562–1598; west facade and tower remained undamaged) the choir section was redesigned and the nave was completely rebuilt before the church was used for ritual purposes again. The tower has a square cross-section and two storeys in its upper part; a cone-shaped stone pointed helmet with a scale or shingle decoration closes it at the top. The portal zone of the west facade is modeled on a Roman triumphal arch , but otherwise completely unadorned. The yokes of the three-aisled interior of the church are spanned by late Gothic rib vaults in Anjou style , which are separated from one another by significantly deeper girders. The church impresses with its spaciousness, which is underlined by the comparatively large tracery windows . The church structure was fundamentally revised at the beginning of the 20th century and recognized as a monument historique in 1972 .
The Château de Puyval is located about two kilometers west of Segonzac. The small three-winged building with a beautiful garden ground floor and a horseshoe-shaped curved staircase originally dates from the 15th and 16th centuries; However, it was redesigned again around the middle of the 18th century, shortly before the French Revolution . The castle is privately owned and cannot be visited; nevertheless it was registered in 1978 as a monument historique .
The country estate of the Philibert family (Maison Philibert) in the district of Les Courades probably dates from the 15th and 17th centuries and was added to the list of historical monuments in 1986 .
In the village there are two historically interesting buildings from the 19th century: the Protestant church (temple) and a wash house ( lavoir ) with a spring.