Mortagne-sur-Gironde
| Mortagne-sur-Gironde | |
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The falaises mortes, close to the port
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 Mortagne-sur-Gironde
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Location within Nouvelle-Aquitaine region
Mortagne-sur-Gironde
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| Coordinates: 45°29′01″N 0°47′01″W / 45.4836°N 0.7836°WCoordinates: 45°29′01″N 0°47′01″W / 45.4836°N 0.7836°W | |
| Country | France |
| Region | Nouvelle-Aquitaine |
| Department | Charente-Maritime |
| Arrondissement | Saintes |
| Canton | Cozes |
| Intercommunality | Royan Atlantique |
| Government | |
| • Mayor (2008–2014) | Jean-Louis Faure |
| Area1 | 18.87 km2 (7.29 sq mi) |
| Population (2008)2 | 1,030 |
| • Density | 55/km2 (140/sq mi) |
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) |
| • Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) |
| INSEE/Postal code | 17248 / 17120 |
| Elevation | 0–64 m (0–210 ft) |
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1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. 2Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once. |
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1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.
Mortagne-sur-Gironde is a commune in the Charente-Maritime department in southwestern France. Its inhabitants are called the Mortagnais and Mortagnaises.
Bordering the banks of the Gironde estuary, this small town was for centuries a principality, as it acquired after the Hundred Years War, but ended up losing by escheat. Military stronghold important, it also became a leading port in the 18th century, Gironde port ranked third (after Bordeaux and Blaye) in the middle of the 20th century, before declining gradually. She now lives mainly from tourism, staying relatively still active fishing port.
The city is divided into two distinct entities: the old city, camped on a cliff, is organized around its church and some shopping streets, while the port, below, is lined with old mills. Part of the houses have been converted into bars, restaurants and shops, making this part of the city an active economic center in the summer. Not far away stands a monolith hermitage dating back to the early centuries of the Christian era.
Mortagne-sur-Gironde belongs to the urban , intercommunal structure involving 72136 inhabitants (2006).
The origins of St. Stephen's church date back to at least the 12th century, although it hardly remains of elements from that period, except a few walls (parts of the apse and transept) and a series of capitals at the braces (listed historical monument).
In the Middle Ages it was one of two parish churches of the city, with the Church of Our Lady, disappeared. Seat of a convent Augustinian priory, it has authority over several neighboring parishes, including Cozes, Saint-Seurin-d'Uzet, or Champagnolles Gémozac. Burned and looted during the Wars of Religion by the troops of Agrippa Aubigné, it was rebuilt once peace returned, but again in very bad condition in the early 18th century.
A great work campaign is conducted from 1769 under the direction of stonemason Martin and Daniel Maurice Blondeau carpenter. In the following century, the bell tower, cracked, requires constant monitoring. After deliberations, it was finally decided to build a new one. Two architects differ as to the party to implement Gustave Alaux, follower of neo-Gothic style, and Antoine Brossard, holding of neoclassicism. The proposed Alaux finally won, and in 1859 the bell tower Bourg stone, crowned with an arrow used to Mariners bitter, was built. It was taken in 1870 by architect Aimé Bonnet.
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Wikipedia