Criteuil-la-Magdeleine

Criteuil -la- Magdeleine is a southwestern French village with 438 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2011 ) in the department of Charente in the south of Poitou -Charentes region.

Geography

The double municipality Criteuil -la- Magdeleine lies at an altitude of about 50 meters above sea level. inst about 24 km ( driving distance ) southeast of Cognac; the capital of Canton, Segonzac, is located about 12 kilometers north. The nearest town is Barbezieux ( about 10 kilometers south-east ). On the southern boundary of the municipality of Ne river, on the western side of the creek Collimaud runs.

Demographics

In the first census in France in 1793, the city had 571 inhabitants; around the middle of the 19th century there were about 700 to 800 In the aftermath of the phylloxera crisis, the population went late 19th and back to the beginning of the 20th century to about 550.

Economy

The agriculture and especially the wine played in the villages of the Charente always been an important role. While cereals, vegetables and oilseeds (sunflower ) were mainly cultivated for its own needs, you could earn with the wine (and later brandy ) export to England, Scotland and other northern European countries good money, however with the winemakers lower with the had to settle for some of the credit. Today, the south bank of the Charente heard at Criteuil State of the Grande Champagne within the large -growing region of Cognac wines. Because of the population decline, some houses have been converted into holiday homes ( gîtes ).

History

On the territory of the municipality two Neolithic stone tombs ( dolmens ) have been discovered; also Roman ( coins) and Gallo- Roman small finds were made. In the hamlet Beaux pins were discovered remains of foundations of a Roman villa, which was formerly supplied by a small aqueduct with water. As the local church shows Criteuil was inhabited during the Middle Ages; in documents of the time the place was called Christolio. He was under the rule of reason, about 12 kilometers away Bouteville, where there was also a castle, which offered protection in times of crisis. From destruction during the Hundred Years War (1337-1453), the Wars of Religion (1562-1598) and the French Revolution both Criteuil and La Magdeleine remained largely unaffected. In 1860, the two centers to join together to form a community.

Attractions

• The church of Saint - Macrin et Saint -Jean -Baptiste dates from the 12th century and was originally a priory possibly with an octagonal lantern tower, whose sound holes facing in all directions; in the 15th century, the church on the north side has been extended to a side aisle. The - in contrast to the longhouse - attached from the exact hewn stone west facade of the Romanesque church shows the usual elements of church architecture of the Charente ( Archivolts portal, blind arches, services and cornices ) which are reconstituted back to every church: The lateral services emphasize the vertical, the cornices and a console frieze form a horizontal offset. A special feature is the inscription on the portal, which has perhaps replaced older decorative motifs; it comes from the revolutionary period and reads: Temple de la Raison. Le Peuple Français reconnait l' Être Suprême et l' Âme de l' immortalité ( " Temple of Reason. The French people recognizes the Supreme Being and the immortality of the soul "). The church building was classified as a monument historique in 1952.
• At the cemetery the grave monument of Tribot et Charrier family is from the first half of the 20th century, which was found in 1986 as a monument historique under protection.

• The Logis de la Mothe dates from the 18th century, but is surrounded by a moat, which may still originates from a medieval predecessor or has but built for nostalgic reasons. It is a zweieinhalbgeschossiger building with large windows; half the floor was provided for the service staff or served as storage space. A stone bridge leads across the moat into the garden parterre.
• Another property ( Maison Talluchet ) is also a listed monument.
• The Gros- Caillou called Dolmen is also a listed building
• Far from the village - near the river Né - there are several mills ( moulins ), Fountain ( Puits ) and wash houses ( lavoirs ).