Congénies

Congénies is a commune with 1565 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2011 ) in the department of Gard in the Languedoc- Roussillon region. It belongs to Canton Sommières and the Local Government Association, Pays de Sommières.

Geography

Congénies lies in the west of the level Vaunage and to the east of the Pays de Sommières, 29 kilometers northeast of Montpellier, 19 kilometers southwest of Nîmes, 11 kilometers northeast of Lunel and 5.7 km east from the cantonal capital Sommières between the neighboring communities Calvisson in the Northeast and Aubais in the southwest.

History

The place name is Gallic origin and evolved from Congenna.

1769 converted a resident of Congénies in the UK to Quakerism and founded a Quaker community in Congénies. The last Quaker in the town died 1928.

1793 received Congénies (as Congenies ) in the wake of the French Revolution ( 1789-1799 ) the status of a municipality and in 1801 the right to local self-government.

Attractions

The medieval structure of the village has been preserved. The huddled group of houses was surrounded by fortifications.

An original church of Sainte -Marie was first mentioned in 1156 in a bull of Pope Adrian IV († 1159 ). That building was built in the 14th century in the fastening system of the village. The church was looted during the Wars of Religion (1562-1598) and repaired in the 17th century. 1703 was the camisards under the leadership of Jean Cavalier ( 1681-1740 ) looted and set on fire. 1759 a new bell tower was built. During the French Revolution, no services were held, the church was returned on August 6, 1800, the Roman Catholic Church. Regular services were held again from 1807 onwards. In 1949 the church was entered in the Register of Monuments historiques additional (historical monuments ).

The meeting house of the Quakers was built in 1822 in the style of classicism and used until 1907. The cemetery of the Quakers was set up in the garden of the building and used from 1830 to 1890. In the First World War (1914-1918), the building was converted into a military hospital. Since 1954, it serves as a residence.