Sireuil

Sireuil is a West commune with 1171 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2011 ) in the department of Charente in the Poitou -Charentes.

Location

Sireuil lies on the north bank of the Charente about 17 km ( driving distance ) south-west of Angoulême in the cultural landscape of Angoumois in the southern Charente at a height of about 25 meters above sea level. inst.

Demographics

In the first half of the 19th century, the population fluctuated between about 650 and 950; due to the phylloxera crisis in the wine and the mechanization of agriculture, the population declined in the 1880s and 1890s up down to about 550. Its proximity to the city of Angoulême and the much lower property prices, the population of the parish rose back up again continuously.

Economy

The residents of the community lived for centuries as a self-catering from agriculture; but also some mills - inter alia for the production of paper - settled in the water-rich region. In the surrounding area there were also several limestone quarries, whose products have been exported by barges on the Charente; into the rock caves settled in the 1930s, several mushroom farms to. In the 19th century there was a wire-drawing and a forge, from which emerged a company for the manufacture of iron; here that Pierre -Émile Martin, together with the German engineer Carl Wilhelm Siemens, a simplified procedure for steel making (Siemens - Martin process ). After the end of steel production, a large tannery moved on, but ceased operations in 1981; now located in the buildings of a small hydroelectric power plant. The soils of the community belong to the Fins Bois Cognac of the vineyard, but the paragraphs in expensive wine fires in recent decades tended to shrink, so that the wine industry today plays any role in the immediate surroundings of Angoulême.

History

Near Sireuil a Gallo -Roman temple with stand ( fanum ). Gregory of Tours mentions a by St. Martin of Tours consecrated oratory Siroialensis in which many miracles. In the 12th century it came into the possession of the Abbey of La Couronne, who built a priory here.

Attractions

• Dating back to the 12th century, but later repeated revised Parish Church ( Église Saint -Orient ) was a former priory of the abbey of La Couronne. Particularly noteworthy are the flat shot apse with its three triumphal arch arranged like windows that are with aufruhendem console frieze separated by semi-columns presented, and the Romanesque Archivolts portal with rich geometric jewelry. The church is recognized as a monument historique since 1925.

Archivolts Portal

Church tower and winepress

Town hall ( mairie )

• The town hall ( mairie ) is housed in a one and a half storey former city palace of the 18th century with surrounding Traufbrüstung. The building was recognized in 1964 as a monument historique.