Tanzac

Tanzac
region	Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Department	Charente-Maritime
Arrondissement	Saintes
Canton	Saintonge Estuaire
Community association	Gémozac et la Saintonge Viticole
Coordinates	45 ° 34 ′ N , 0 ° 38 ′ W Coordinates: 45 ° 34 ′ N , 0 ° 38 ′ W
height	27-51 m
surface	11.23 km 2
Residents	312 (January 1, 2017)
Population density	28 inhabitants / km 2
Post Code	17260
INSEE code	17438
	; Tanzac - Saint-Saturnin Church

Tanzac is a West commune with 312 inhabitants (at January 1, 2017) in the Charente-Maritime in the region Nouvelle-Aquitaine .

location

Tanzac is located in the old cultural landscape of the Saintonge about 28 kilometers (driving distance) south of Saintes and about 7.5 kilometers west of Pons . The main town of the community association, Gémozac , is about 4.5 kilometers to the west.

Population development

year	1968	1975	1982	1990	1999	2006	2016
Residents	288	262	248	230	251	256	316

In the first half of the 19th century the population was always over 500; 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 Tanzac 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 trade, craft and service center for the - meanwhile largely disappeared - hamlets and farmsteads in the surrounding area. The soils of the municipality belong to the Bons Bois cultivation area of the Cognac wine-growing region , but cereals (wheat, maize) are also grown on many arable land. Since the 1980s, tourism (rental of holiday apartments) has been added as a source of income.

history

Little information is available on the history of Tanzac. However, the Romanesque church suggests that the place already existed in the Middle Ages. It is not known whether the place was affected in the Hundred Years War (1337-1453). Nothing is known of attacks and destruction during the Huguenot Wars (1562–1598) or the French Revolution .

Attractions

The single-aisled parish church of Saint-Saturnin is a 12th century building with a largely unadorned, but architecturally sophisticated archivolt portal on the west facade and an apse in the east - divided vertically by six half-column templates and horizontally by a surrounding block frieze . The breitausladende and unusually west of the crossing located transept east with its two completely unarticulated in the exterior apses was probably added a little later. The soaring bell storey of the crossing tower could also come from a second construction phase - in any case, it stands in stark contrast to the middle storey with its blind arches . The console friezes below the eaves are also noteworthy - some consoles are designed as human heads. The actual church interior has a wooden vault; the three apses each have a dome, while the southern one was painted with a Christ Pantocrator fresco towards the end of the 13th century - in the middle Christ is enthroned in a mandorla , he is surrounded by the four evangelist symbols . The entire crossing area with its segment dome supported in the corners by four trumpets is executed in perfect stonemasonry ; There are also some late Romanesque leaf capitals here . The pulpit on the north wall, made of reddish stone in the 18th century, should also be mentioned. Church construction has been recognized as a monument historique since 1958 .

East Side
Nave
Apse fresco
Domed vault with trumpets

literature

Le Patrimoine des Communes de la Charente-Maritime. Flohic Editions, Volume 1, Paris 2002, ISBN 2-84234-129-5 , pp. 265-266.

Web links

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

Individual evidence

↑ Église Saint-Saturnin, Tanzac in the Base Mérimée of the French Ministry of Culture (French)

[1] Église Saint-Saturnin, Tanzac in the Base Mérimée of the French Ministry of Culture (French)