Andilly, Charente-Maritime
Andilly is a French commune in the Charente-Maritime department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of southwestern France. The inhabitants of the commune are known as Andillais or Andillaises Andilly is a marshy commune in the western part of the Poitevin Marsh located in the northwest of the Charente-Maritime 6.5 km south of Marans, the chief town of the canton, 17 km north-east of La Rochelle, the prefecture of the department. The commune includes the town of Andilly, the village of "Sérigny", a place called "Bel-Air". Andilly belongs to the western or dried-up part of the Poitevin Marsh and is a large grain-producing area; the commune is well served by diversion canals, for draining and irrigation. Among these, two major canals cross the commune: the Canal du Curé crosses from east to west and the Canal from Marans to La Rochelle from north to south. Andilly is watered in all the central parts and in the west by the Canal du Curé, formed from the lower reaches of the river Cure, canalised from the commune of Anais.
In Andilly, the Canal du Curé has long been called the Grand Canal of Andilly since its construction in 1771. From north to south, the commune is traversed by the Canal from Marans to La Rochelle, which crosses the Canal du Curé northwest of Andilly town where significant crossing locks were built at a place called the Locks of Andilly. During the Wars of Religion Andilly was an advanced military post. There are remains of the castle There are ruins of a priory and a castle with underground passages There are prehistoric underground refuges and relics List of Successive Mayors The population of the commune is young; the proportion of people over the age of 60 years is less than the national average and the departmental average. In contrast to the national and departmental proportions, the percentage of males in the commune is greater than that of females. Percentage Distribution of Age Groups in Andilly and Charente-Maritime Department in 2009 Sources: Evolution and Structure of the population of the Commune in 2009, INSEE.
Evolution and Structure of the population of the Department in 2009, INSEE. The Dairy and Casein Factory is registered as an historical monument; the Church of Saint Nazaire Remains of a medieval castle and a priory. La Rochelle 14.7 km Aytré 16.2 km Angoulins 17.6 km Châtelaillon 20.2 km Surgères 25.4 km La Rochelle 15.6 km Rochefort-Saint-Agnant 40.8 km Niort 48.2 km The D137 crosses the commune from Marans in the north passing between Andilly town and Serigny and continuing south to Usseau The D20 connects the D137 to Andilly town and continues south-west to Villedoux The D202 goes south from the town to Saint-Ouen-d'Aunis The D112 goes south-east from the town to Longèves Andilly was the arrival point of the 1st stage and departure point of the 2nd stage of the Tour du Poitou-Charentes in 2004]] Communes of the Charente-Maritime department Andilly on the National Geographic Institute website Andilly on Lion1906 Andilly on Google Maps Andilly on Géoportail, National Geographic Institute website Andilly on the 1750 Cassini Map Andilly on the INSEE website INSEE
Aytré
Aytré is a commune in the Charente-Maritime department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in southwestern France. Aytré is known for its long beach, accessible from neighbouring La Rochelle, or Les Minimes; the beach is flat and shallow, making it a good bathing spot for children, an excellent spot for windsurfing. The historian Jean Prasteau was born in Aytré, as was Jean Desaguliers, a Protestant pastor, father of John Theophilus Desaguliers. Industries are few, economic activity gravitates around La Rochelle, with the distinct exception of Alstom Transportation; the world's fastest train, TGV, was designed right in Aytré. Oysters are cultivated in the bay and important camping grounds have been developed for tourists during the summer period. During the Siege of La Rochelle, Cardinal de Richelieu spent time in a farm just to the south of Aytré. Communes of the Charente-Maritime department INSEE Official website
France
France the French Republic, is a country whose territory consists of metropolitan France in Western Europe and several overseas regions and territories. The metropolitan area of France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean, it is bordered by Belgium and Germany to the northeast and Italy to the east, Andorra and Spain to the south. The overseas territories include French Guiana in South America and several islands in the Atlantic and Indian oceans; the country's 18 integral regions span a combined area of 643,801 square kilometres and a total population of 67.3 million. France, a sovereign state, is a unitary semi-presidential republic with its capital in Paris, the country's largest city and main cultural and commercial centre. Other major urban areas include Lyon, Toulouse, Bordeaux and Nice. During the Iron Age, what is now metropolitan France was inhabited by a Celtic people. Rome annexed the area in 51 BC, holding it until the arrival of Germanic Franks in 476, who formed the Kingdom of Francia.
The Treaty of Verdun of 843 partitioned Francia into Middle Francia and West Francia. West Francia which became the Kingdom of France in 987 emerged as a major European power in the Late Middle Ages following its victory in the Hundred Years' War. During the Renaissance, French culture flourished and a global colonial empire was established, which by the 20th century would become the second largest in the world; the 16th century was dominated by religious civil wars between Protestants. France became Europe's dominant cultural and military power in the 17th century under Louis XIV. In the late 18th century, the French Revolution overthrew the absolute monarchy, established one of modern history's earliest republics, saw the drafting of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, which expresses the nation's ideals to this day. In the 19th century, Napoleon established the First French Empire, his subsequent Napoleonic Wars shaped the course of continental Europe. Following the collapse of the Empire, France endured a tumultuous succession of governments culminating with the establishment of the French Third Republic in 1870.
France was a major participant in World War I, from which it emerged victorious, was one of the Allies in World War II, but came under occupation by the Axis powers in 1940. Following liberation in 1944, a Fourth Republic was established and dissolved in the course of the Algerian War; the Fifth Republic, led by Charles de Gaulle, remains today. Algeria and nearly all the other colonies became independent in the 1960s and retained close economic and military connections with France. France has long been a global centre of art and philosophy, it hosts the world's fourth-largest number of UNESCO World Heritage Sites and is the leading tourist destination, receiving around 83 million foreign visitors annually. France is a developed country with the world's sixth-largest economy by nominal GDP, tenth-largest by purchasing power parity. In terms of aggregate household wealth, it ranks fourth in the world. France performs well in international rankings of education, health care, life expectancy, human development.
France is considered a great power in global affairs, being one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council with the power to veto and an official nuclear-weapon state. It is a leading member state of the European Union and the Eurozone, a member of the Group of 7, North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the World Trade Organization, La Francophonie. Applied to the whole Frankish Empire, the name "France" comes from the Latin "Francia", or "country of the Franks". Modern France is still named today "Francia" in Italian and Spanish, "Frankreich" in German and "Frankrijk" in Dutch, all of which have more or less the same historical meaning. There are various theories as to the origin of the name Frank. Following the precedents of Edward Gibbon and Jacob Grimm, the name of the Franks has been linked with the word frank in English, it has been suggested that the meaning of "free" was adopted because, after the conquest of Gaul, only Franks were free of taxation.
Another theory is that it is derived from the Proto-Germanic word frankon, which translates as javelin or lance as the throwing axe of the Franks was known as a francisca. However, it has been determined that these weapons were named because of their use by the Franks, not the other way around; the oldest traces of human life in what is now France date from 1.8 million years ago. Over the ensuing millennia, Humans were confronted by a harsh and variable climate, marked by several glacial eras. Early hominids led a nomadic hunter-gatherer life. France has a large number of decorated caves from the upper Palaeolithic era, including one of the most famous and best preserved, Lascaux. At the end of the last glacial period, the climate became milder. After strong demographic and agricultural development between the 4th and 3rd millennia, metallurgy appeared at the end of the 3rd millennium working gold and bronze, iron. France has numerous megalithic sites from the Neolithic period, including the exceptiona
Archingeay
Archingeay is a commune in the Charente-Maritime department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of southwestern France. The inhabitants of the commune are known as Arcantois or Arcantoises Archingeay is located some 32 km south of Surgeres and 30 km east of Rochefort. Access to the commune is by the D114 road which branches off the D739E south of Tonnay-Boutonne and continues south through the commune and village to Saint-Savinien; the D122 goes south-west from the village to join the D124 which continues to Bords. The D122E1 goes east from the village to Beaujouet. Apart from the village there are the hamlets of: The commune is mixed forest and farmland; the Boutonne river forms much of the north-western border of the commune with a network of irrigation canals covering the western part of the commune. Le Pepin stream flows west into the Boutonne; the name may come from the name of the Roman general Arcantius. This commune had an Abbey which has disappeared. In the past, Archingeay enjoyed a flourishing period due to a hot spring near the Chateau of the Valley to the west of Archingeay and renowned for its therapeutic properties.
Among other famous spa guests, the Roman general Arcantius took its waters. Until the attack of phylloxera there was manufacturing of pottery and tiles, wine production. List of Successive Mayors In 2009 the commune had 637 inhabitants; the evolution of the number of inhabitants is known from the population censuses conducted in the commune since 1793. From the 21st century, a census of communes with fewer than 10,000 inhabitants is held every five years, unlike larger towns that have a sample survey every year. Population change Sources: Ldh/EHESS/Cassini until 1962, INSEE database from 1968 The population of the town is old; the ratio of persons above the age of 60 years is higher than the national average and the departmental average. Unlike the national and departmental proportions, the male population of the town is greater than the female population. Percentage Distribution of Age Groups in Archingeay and Charente-Maritime Department in 2009 Sources: Evolution and Structure of the population of the Commune in 2009, INSEE.
Evolution and Structure of the population of the Department in 2009, INSEE. The Romanesque Church of Saint Martin is registered as an historical monument, it has sculptures at the south door and both interior and exterior corbels depicting life at the time. The main Altar and Tabernacle are registered as an historical object. A Ferruginous Fountain known by the Romans for healing properties. In the Gallo-Roman period, the Roman general Arcantius spent time at the spa. A Lavoir dating from Roman times; the Trésors de Lisette Museum which presents family life in the early 20th century with one of the largest exhibitions of old culinary objects in Europe. It opens during June and August from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.. Saint Malo, who founded the city of Saint-Malo, died at Archingeay. Arcantius, a Roman general who took the waters of a thermal spring at La Vallée, renowned for its therapeutic properties The Montaigne Family who lived in the Chateau of the Valley. Communes of the Charente department Archingeay on Lion1906 Archingeay on the National Geographic Institute website Archingeay on Google Maps Archingeay on Géoportail, National Geographic Institute website Archingeay on the 1750 Cassini Map Archingeay on the INSEE website INSEE
Departments of France
In the administrative divisions of France, the department is one of the three levels of government below the national level, between the administrative regions and the commune. Ninety-six departments are in metropolitan France, five are overseas departments, which are classified as regions. Departments are further subdivided into 334 arrondissements, themselves divided into cantons; each department is administered by an elected body called a departmental council. From 1800 to April 2015, these were called general councils; each council has a president. Their main areas of responsibility include the management of a number of social and welfare allowances, of junior high school buildings and technical staff, local roads and school and rural buses, a contribution to municipal infrastructures. Local services of the state administration are traditionally organised at departmental level, where the prefect represents the government; the departments were created in 1790 as a rational replacement of Ancien Régime provinces with a view to strengthen national unity.
All of them were named after physical geographical features, rather than after historical or cultural territories which could have their own loyalties. The division of France into departments was a project identified with the French revolutionary leader the Abbé Sieyès, although it had been discussed and written about by many politicians and thinkers; the earliest known suggestion of it is from 1764 in the writings of d'Argenson. They have inspired similar divisions in some of them former French colonies. Most French departments are assigned a two-digit number, the "Official Geographical Code", allocated by the Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques. Overseas departments have a three-digit number; the number is used, for example, in the postal code, was until used for all vehicle registration plates. While residents use the numbers to refer to their own department or a neighbouring one, more distant departments are referred to by their names, as few people know the numbers of all the departments.
For example, inhabitants of Loiret might refer to their department as "the 45". In 2014, President François Hollande proposed to abolish departmental councils by 2020, which would have maintained the departments as administrative divisions, to transfer their powers to other levels of governance; this reform project has since been abandoned. The first French territorial departments were proposed in 1665 by Marc-René d'Argenson to serve as administrative areas purely for the Ponts et Chaussées infrastructure administration. Before the French Revolution, France gained territory through the annexation of a mosaic of independent entities. By the close of the Ancien Régime, it was organised into provinces. During the period of the Revolution, these were dissolved in order to weaken old loyalties; the modern departments, as all-purpose units of the government, were created on 4 March 1790 by the National Constituent Assembly to replace the provinces with what the Assembly deemed a more rational structure.
Their boundaries served two purposes: Boundaries were chosen to break up France's historical regions in an attempt to erase cultural differences and build a more homogeneous nation. Boundaries were set so that every settlement in the country was within a day's ride of the capital of a department; this was a security measure, intended to keep the entire national territory under close control. This measure was directly inspired by the Great Terror, during which the government had lost control of many rural areas far from any centre of government; the old nomenclature was avoided in naming the new departments. Most were named after other physical features. Paris was in the department of Seine. Savoy became the department of Mont-Blanc; the number of departments 83, had been increased to 130 by 1809 with the territorial gains of the Republic and of the First French Empire. Following Napoleon's defeats in 1814–1815, the Congress of Vienna returned France to its pre-war size and the number of departments was reduced to 86.
In 1860, France acquired the County of Nice and Savoy, which led to the creation of three new departments. Two were added from the new Savoyard territory, while the department of Alpes-Maritimes was created from Nice and a portion of the Var department; the 89 departments were given numbers based on the alphabetical order of their names. The department of Bas-Rhin and parts of Meurthe, Moselle and Haut-Rhin were ceded to the German Empire in 1871, following France's defeat in the Franco-Prussian War. A small part of Haut-Rhin became known as the Territoire de Belfort; when France regained the ceded departments after World War I, the Territoire de Belfort was not re-integrated into Haut-Rhin. In 1922, it became France's 90th department; the Lorraine departments were not changed back to their original boundaries, a new Moselle department was created in the regaine
Angoulins
Angoulins is a commune in the Charente-Maritime department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of southwestern France. The inhabitants of the commune are known as Angoulinoises. Angoulins is located in the northwest of the department of Charente-Maritime some 8 km south-east of La Rochelle and 5 km north of Châtelaillon-Plage in the former province of Aunis, it is a coastal commune on the Atlantic Ocean. Access is by the E602 highway from La Rochelle continuing south-east with an exit in the commune just east of Angoulins town. There is the D202 from Salles-sur-Mer in the east turning south and continuing to Chatelaillon-Plage. Access to the town is by the D111E1 from the D202 on the southern border continuing through the town and turning east to the motorway exit. Angoulins town has a large urban area occupying 50% of the commune, with farmland to the north and west; the entire commune is located on Jurassic terrain which covers the plain of Aunis. Jurassic Marl and limestone outcrops appear on the surface of the commune and the relief is rolling.
The coastal strip of Angoulins, which corresponds to the last extremity of the plain of Aunis, is varied. It alternates between high limestone cliffs. Low-lying coasts, which were salt marshes, have today been transformed into oyster beds and are derived from Quaternary sedimentary deposits of marine origin - from the last Flandrian transgression; the sandy coast is situated in a small cove formed by the phenomena of marine erosion and ocean currents. The coastal cliffs are located all around the Chay Point and form a limestone peninsula - a sharp promontory jutting into the ocean. Layers of alternating beds of oolitic marl and limestone can be seen on the cliffs that line the coast from La Rochelle to Angoulins-sur-Mer, they are highlighted by thick layers of white rocks alternating with layers of friable sand and mud, formed during glacial periods with layers containing various corals from tropical periods. Chay Point, about five kilometres south of La Rochelle, contains many fossils of marine animals and is an famous place of palaeontological studies.
The limestone thus formed is used as a building material in traditional houses in the region. Aytré 3 km Châtelaillon-Plage 3.1 km La Rochelle 6.1 km Rochefort 20.7 km La Rochelle 10.8 km Rochefort-St-Agnant 26 km Aerodrome of Royan-Médis 54 km List of successive mayors The population of the town is old. The rate of people above the age of 60 years is higher than the national rate and the departmental rate; as at the national and departmental levels, the female population of the commune is higher than the male population. The percentage is of the same order of magnitude as the national rate. Percentage distribution of age groups in Angoulins and Charente-Maritime department in 2009 Sources: Evolution and Structure of the population of the Commune in 2009, INSEE. Evolution and Structure of the population of the Department in 2009, INSEE. There are 12 enterprises in industry, 24 in construction, 83 shops, 37 service enterprises, two farms, one shellfish farm. Angoulins is best known for its shopping area.
The Church of Saint-Peter is registered as an historical monument. There remains the Machicolations on the walkway that connects the three Bartizans located in the north-east corner and the two corners of the apse; the west façade forms a bell tower wall in a fortified triangle. The Chevet preserves the structure of the walkway between the two Bartizans; the nave is Gothic with arched ribs. The church contains two items that are registered as historical objects: A pulpit A bronze bell Colette Besson, gold medalist in the 400m at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico, died in Angoulins and was buried in the cemetery. Father Daniel Brottier, founder of the Foundation of Auteuil, came to spend his summer holidays. Angoul'Loisirs: Association of Youth and Popular Education founded under the 1901 Act in 1992 which includes different sectors: a day nursery, a leisure centre, a Youth Projects area, a Family area. Centre Nautique d'Angoulins: An association under the 1901 Act founded in 1976. Comprising a handful of enthusiasts and a wooden hut, the association now has more than a hundred members and hosted nearly 2,000 people over the year.
An artificial body of water was added to the site in 1990. On the night of 27 to 28 February 2010, the Centre Nautique d'Angoulins was badly affected by the storm Xynthia; the buildings were flooded to an average height of 1.60 m. The club's pontoon for teaching fishing, available to rent, was destroyed by the storm. Communes of the Charente-Maritime department Articles on Angoulin's history Angoulins on Lion1906 Angoulins on Google Maps Angoulins on Géoportail, National Geographic Institute website Angoulin on the 1750 Cassini Map Angoulins on the INSEE website INSEE
Ars-en-Ré
Ars-en-Ré is a commune in the Charente-Maritime department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of southwestern France. Called just Ars, the commune changed to its current name on 8 March 1962; the inhabitants of the commune are known as Arsais or Arsaises but they are nicknamed the Casserons: the casseron is a baby cuttlefish, a saltwater fish found on the island. Ars-en-Ré is one of 10 communes located on the Île de Ré off the coast of La Rochelle and is in the north-western part of the island some 8 km west of Saint-Martin-de-Ré. Access to the commune is by the D735 road which crosses to the island from the end of National Highway N237 at La Rochelle; the D735 passes along the north coast of the island through Saint-Martin-de-Ré and continues north-west to the commune passing through the town and continuing north-west to the Baleines Lighthouse. Apart from the town there is the village of La Grange nearby on the coast and Le Martray to the east along the coast; the town occupies the centre of the commune and there are forests on the western side with the rest of the commune farmland including extensive Salt farms.
Its harbour is the largest on the Ile de Ré and is located at the bottom of the Fier d'Ars, reached by a channel through the Salt farms. A lock closes the tidal basin. A new basin with 130 berths is to be created in future at the channel entrance. There are 150 moorings on buoys in the outer harbour and the channel has a capacity of 550 berths dedicated to the pleasure craft. A beach on the south coast of the island, bordered by a dyke to protect the land, extends to the Baleins Lighthouse at the western tip of the island; the Prince of Soubise was defeated here in 1624. The port was important during the "salt era" until the beginning of the 20th century; the Gabelle or Salt tax was significant in the area. List of Successive Mayors; the evolution of the number of inhabitants is known from the population censuses conducted in the commune since 1793. From the 21st century, a census of communes with fewer than 10,000 inhabitants is held every five years, unlike larger towns that have a sample survey every year.
Population change Sources: Ldh/EHESS/Cassini until 1962, INSEE database from 1968 The population of the town is old. The ratio of persons above the age of 60 years is higher than the national average and the departmental average; as with national and departmental allocations, the male population of the town is less than the female population. Percentage Distribution of Age Groups in Ars-en-Ré and Charente-Maritime Department in 2010 Sources: Evolution and Structure of the population of the Commune in 2010, INSEE. Evolution and Structure of the population of the Department in 2010, INSEE; the village is a member of Les Plus Beaux Villages de France. Since 2011 the commune has belonged to the network "Villages of stone and water", a label initiated by the General Council to promote exceptional sites with the distinction of being located near a body of water. Ars-en-Ré has a large number of buildings that have been registered as historical monuments by the Ministry of Culture; these are: There are a large number of items in Ars-en-Ré that are registered as historical objects and in private collections.
For a complete list of these items with links to descriptions and photos click here. Other sites of interestThe Port with its new tidal basin at the entrance of the access channel. Le Martray, the nearest place to the main island; the Fiers d'Ars. The surfing spot at Grignon Point. Many religious buildings and monuments are registered as historical monuments at the Ministry of Culture: The Priory of Saint-Étienne in the Place Carnot The Priory contains a large number of items that are registered as historical objects. For a complete list including links to descriptions and photos click here; the Convent of the Sisters of Wisdom at Rue du Havre A Monumental Cross at the Port A Monumental Cross on the Route de Saint-Clément The Pinaud Cross on the Route de Saint-Clément A Monumental Cross on N735 The Church of Saint-Étienne. Its bell tower, painted in black and white, serves as a Daymark for sailors; the Convent of the Sisters of Charity The Protestant Church Ars-en-Ré The Church Birds Fishing and Boats Mathurin Renaud, born in Ars-en-Ré, an important historical figure: a pioneer of New France and one of the first inhabitants of Charlesbourg.
William Barbotin and engraver. Marie-Thérèse Dethan-Roullet, was born here. Lionel Jospin, former Prime Minister of France, had a house here. Claude Barma, former Italian Film director, father of Catherine Barma, was buried here. In the Narthex of the church there is a representation of John Vianney, the famous "Curé of Ars" although he was a priest in the commune of Ars-sur-Formans in Ain. Communes of the Charente department Ars-en-Ré official website Île de Ré on the official site of the department of Charente-Maritime Ars-en-Ré on Lion1906 Ars-en-Ré on Google Maps Ars-en-Ré on Géoportail, National Geographic Institute website Ars on the 1750 Cassini Map Ars-en-Ré on the INSEE websi
