Villebois Lavalette
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Villebois-Lavalette Vilabòsc e La Valeta |
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| region | Nouvelle-Aquitaine | |
| Department | Charente | |
| Arrondissement | Angoulême | |
| Canton | Tude-et-Lavalette | |
| Community association | Lavalette Tude Dronne | |
| Coordinates | 45 ° 29 ′ N , 0 ° 17 ′ E | |
| height | 103-198 m | |
| surface | 7.20 km 2 | |
| Residents | 744 (January 1, 2017) | |
| Population density | 103 inhabitants / km 2 | |
| Post Code | 16320 | |
| INSEE code | 16408 | |
| Website | www.villebois-lavalette.com | |
 Villebois-Lavalette - townscape with church and castle |
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Villebois-Lavalette ( Occitan : Vilabòsc e La Valeta ) is a western French community with 744 inhabitants (as of January 1 2017) in the department of Charente in the region Nouvelle-Aquitaine . It belongs to the Arrondissement of Angoulême and the canton of Tude-et-Lavalette .
location
The place is about 25 kilometers (driving distance) southeast of Angoulême in the border region to the Périgord on a ridge above the Voultron river at an altitude of about 150 meters above sea level. d. M.
Population development
| year | 1962 | 1968 | 1975 | 1982 | 1990 | 1999 | 2006 | 2012 |
| Residents | 654 | 663 | 772 | 749 | 765 | 730 | 775 | 740 |
In the second half of the 19th century the community always had between 800 and almost 1000 inhabitants; As a result of the phylloxera crisis in viticulture and the mechanization of agriculture , the number of inhabitants then fell continuously to the lows of the 1960s.
economy
For centuries, the inhabitants of the community lived from agriculture; the soils of the municipality belong to the Bons 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. Income from retail and handicrafts as well as from administration and tourism, in particular the rental of holiday homes ( gîtes ), have played a not insignificant role for the income of the municipal treasury since the 1960s.
history
In Gallo-Roman times, there was a villa here on the road that connected Périgueux with Saintes . In the Middle Ages, Villebois was an important barony that was ruled by the families Fulcher de Villebois (8th century), Hélie (10th century) and Ithier (12th century) successively; their traces can be found in the reports on the crusades . There is evidence of a castle in Villebois around 988/1028. The Count of Angoulême ruled over the Church of Saint-Romain in castro Villaboensi . Medieval place names were Villaboen (1151), Villabohe (1246) or Villaboe (1266).
In August 1226, Villebois became the property of the Lusignan , who, as Counts of Angoulême, had the city wall with its seven towers built. Villebois was largely destroyed during the Huguenot Wars (1562–1598).
The Mareuil family is one of the lords of Villebois . In 1590, Jean Louis de Nogaret de La Valette , Duke of Épernon , besieged the castle and bought it eight years later. By patent letter from March 1622 Villebois was raised to a duchy and a peerage , the name of the place was then supplemented by Lavalette .
The young King Louis XIII. stayed here at the end of 1615 with his wife at the invitation of the Duke of Épernon.
In December 1660, Philippe II. De Montaut-Bénac , duc de Navailles, acquired the Château de Villebois with its lands, as well as its title and dignity from the duc d'Épernon and from then on ran it under the name "Duché-pairie de Montaut"
In 1662, the Duke of Navailles, banished from court by Louis XIV , withdrew to Villebois. He had the old fortress torn down and a castle built from 1667, of which only the north wing has survived. In place of the old market hall he built the current one in 1665, while his wife founded the Ursuline convent in the same year .
Attractions
- The single-aisled late Romanesque parish church of Saint-Romain from the 12th century has a transept with side apses. At the end of the 19th century, the architect Edouard Warin , a student of Paul Abadie , redesigned it so thoroughly that the overall impression of a neo-Gothic church is created. The building has been recognized as a monument historique since 2012 .
- From the castle ( château ) of the 12th century only the two-story medieval castle chapel has survived. In the 13th century, the complex was surrounded by a defensive wall including a drawbridge, which is also still partially preserved. Most of the buildings were modernized in the late Middle Ages, but destroyed during the Wars of Religion. It was rebuilt in the 17th century, but the castle suffered severe damage during the Revolution. In 1822, a large part of the castle was destroyed by fire. The building complex has been recognized as a monument historique since 2005 .
- The entablature of the market hall, which is built on stone pillars and wooden supports, dates back to the 17th century. The building was built on the site of a previous building, of which the sundial from 1627 has been preserved; it was recognized as a Monument historique as early as 1948 .
- About halfway between the market hall and the church is the so-called Maison du Sénéchal , built from rubble stones , with a polygonal stair tower .
Castle with a wall
Market hall
Sundial (1627)
Maison du Sénéchal
Personalities
- Jean Louis de Nogaret de La Valette (1554–1642), Duke of Épernon
- Philippe II. De Montaut-Bénac (1619–1684), Duke of Navailles
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ A. Debord, La société laïque dans les pays de la Charente , Paris, 1984, p. 144
- ↑ Jean-Paul Gaillard, Châteaux, logis et demeures anciennes de la Charente , Paris, 1993, pp. 939-946
- ^ "Duc de Navailles", Book V, p. 196.
- ^ Bulletin et mémoires de la Société archéologique et historique de la Charente, 1911
- ↑ Jean Tautou, Histoire de Villebois et de son château , ACVL, Villebois-Lavalette, p. 30
- ↑ Église Saint-Romain, Villebois-Lavalette in the Base Mérimée of the French Ministry of Culture (French)
- ↑ Château, Villebois-Lavalette in the Base Mérimée of the French Ministry of Culture (French)
- ^ Halle, Villebois-Lavalette in the Base Mérimée of the French Ministry of Culture (French)