Surgères
Surgères
Travel guide and tourist information
Travel guide and tourist information
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Surgères, City of dairy industry, is equidistant from Niort, La Rochelle, Rochefort and Saint-Jean d'Angely, and about 30 km from the Atlantic Ocean.
Leading sports towns with fewer than 10,000 inhabitants, it specializes in rugby, and organizes annual "Walking 48", great racing background of international renown.
At the heart of downtown, the medieval walls of Surgères, home to the Romanesque church of Our Lady of Surgères, will welcome you and guide you through the steps of Ronsard and Helen of Fonseque. With or without a guide, you will discover one of the finest examples of religious architecture of Aunis and Saintonge, a front-rich mystery and a crypt where the frescoes from the 16th century were discovered during work.
Feel free to walk along the wall, you will discover the latest twists and doors of the old prison ...
The park encourages walk and stroll ... The chestnut trees all have a story to tell, listening to the murmur of their leaves and you'll see maybe a few secrets ...
The door is adorned with Renaissance emblems of the oldest families in the city, behind it stands the last medieval tower, lonely tower, called "Tour Helene" in honor of Helen of Fonseque.
The Town Hall is located in the former mansion of the 18th century. Along the Ceres, facing the moat and walls, a recreation area you will have lunch in the shade of chestnut.
Visit the castle.
Route discovery Surgères:
- It's probably in the late 9th century the site Surgères really began to make history. From the far North, the Vikings spread ruin and terror in the entire west coast of Gaul to 843. Given the lack of central authority Ranou 2, Count of Poitiers, took the title of Duke of Aquitaine to defend its own land of the invader. Thus in this remote place in the Gulf of Pictons, near a small village called St. Pierre, he will choose to build a fortress. The Saint Pierre is now the one that surrounds the church. The small garrison moved here to stop the onslaught of looters Norman will become, over the years, a veritable fortified camp called "castrum surgeriacum. For many years the land Surgères were guarded by soldiers to the charge of the Counts of Poitou, in order to protect plunder. The mound to which we find has also been elevated to the Middle Ages to monitor and defend this country which was devoid of highlights. Motte was a feudal 6 to 10 m high, which was mostly built castle or watchtower. She was surrounded by a large gap to make it even more inaccessible and thus enhance its protection. This mound was usually flanked by a semi-circular enclosure forming a yard where stately homes were established.
- Walk around the left and find an arcade originally belonging to the church and down the road in front of the tower Helena.
- Second stage: The Tower HELENA
- The isolated tower that you can see we stand here before, recently received the name "Helen Tower" in honor of Helen of Fonseque, Surgères lady and muse of Ronsard. Daughter of Rene de Fonseque, Lord Surgères, Helena was very intelligent often frequented the salon of the Marshal de Retz, which gathered all the poets of the era including Ronsard. He was immediately attracted by its spirit rather than by her rare beauty, made her his muse and she wrote for the "Sonnet to Helen." But Helen, who had lost her fiance in the war drove the poet's passionate outbursts and became Girl Demoiselle Catherine de Medici. On the death of the latter, Helen decided to return to Surgères with his brother, the Lord again, where she built a hospice. She died here January 15, 1618 at the age of 72.
- The trick here is a remnant of the large stone castle that was built during the 12th century. At that time, the lineage of the Lords of Surgères is rich and powerful, and as in many places, the fragile and dilapidated wooden tower was quickly replaced by a house that will extend from the tower to the wall Helena in the garden.
- The house was flanked by 8 laps all like it. The first lords to live in this home were the Maingot, representative of the Counts of Poitiers Surgères, which later became the owners through the kindness of Eleanor of Aquitaine. And became one of the largest families of French chivalry, Maingot's played an important political role throughout their rule.
- Head towards the church.
- Third stage: The Romanesque church of Our Lady of Surgères:
- The churches of Aquitaine and more particularly those counties and Baronneries the coastline, are a reflection of the people who live there. In Aunis and Saintonge, they are often quiet and serene, solidly rooted to the ground, always open and welcoming, often small, richly decorated, but without ostentation. Our Lady of Surgères is among the latter. Assigned at the request of the Lords of Surgères, to masters of famous works, the monks of the Abbey of Vendôme, it is nonetheless a multitude of local workers who is master of the yard. The facade is in itself the traditional stereotype of Roman art, which, although altered many times, remains today one of the finest examples of Aunis and Saintonge. The date is not easy but the quality of the sculptures is readily believe in the 12th century: The first register is composed of a central doorway flanked by three blind arches, but the second left from the main entrance, which serves TODAY 'hui secondary input. The second register we note that this symmetry is broken by the decay of arcades: the apparent discrepancy seems due to creative freedom of the supervisor. The pediment is plain, without decoration. Note that the decoration is everywhere on this front: there are sculptures in high relief for the most capitals, cornices and arches. This decoration was not a purely aesthetic, but also educational. Indeed, only people from the bourgeoisie and the nobility could read and had the right to religious education, so was it with these sculptures that villagers could learn about religion, differentiate right from wrong, Hell of Heaven. In some churches we can also find whole scenes from the Bible such as the Crucifixion, the Last Judgement ... Here we have little representation Bible, but many legendary figures, foliage, animals, fantastic or monstrous, most often symbols of evil, pushed outside the shrine. It will be noted among them, including the brackets, face deformed women, representation of original sin and temptation. The geometric shapes were also often used in the decoration of churches here are found on the arches. The second register can admire two beautiful high relief surrounding the central bay. Their state of degradation makes their identification difficult, but we shall see, however, on the left, "Christ winner entering the left hand of God in Jerusalem" and right "the Emperor Constantine, the Pagan foot trampling of his horse." Initially, we could see 6 statues in the niches of the rising arches of the first register. There remains more than 2, one representing "Christ Blessing" and one "battle of Samson and the Lion."
- Inside: As you can see inside, unlike the facade is stripped to excess, thus symbolizing the serenity of the place and the Pays d'Aunis. We perceive some sculptures on the capitals of the pillars that support the cruciform nave. The sanctuary, behind the altar, consists of a vault in bottom of oven that was originally lighted by two large windows. This shrine is decorated with these relatively small columns, their capitals and their acanthus high reliefs representing 2 dogs evil. The capitals of the central bay express all the anguish of the medieval world: the duality between heaven and hell, between good and evil. So that left two demons are a man with hands tied to the flames of Hell, thus symbolizing the sin and punishment, right, 2 angels, remove a naked man carrying the balance of Judgement, witness good deeds.
- Down in the crypt.
- The Crypt: This crypt was built here after the construction of the church, running the 12th century, and thus begat the raised sanctuary. Here it is built around a central pillar and arches house some modest 16th century frescoes. By a staircase, one reaches two graves beneath the pavement, one of them might be that of Helen of Fonseque.
- Exit the crypt and the church through the side door.
- The apse of the church: the foothills and gutter walls of Romanesque churches are very thick and very strong but most often devoid of decoration. Here we can only see a border of stars, interlacing, acanthus leaves and animals on the capitals and a few shells St Jacques on the sidewalls, thus confirming the passage of pilgrims to Compostela. The sanctuary is not original. Initially framed by two Romanesque chapels destroyed in the 14th century, it is now flanked by two Gothic chapels and 2 chapels. So it is interesting now that its central apse with 5 bays and 3 still visible whose cornice is richly carved corbels in the image of the facade.
- The bell: the bell tower is located at the crossing. It is an octagonal tower consists of 16 clusters of columns about 10 m high.
- Fourth stage: The entrance porch:
- The fortifications, which are developed by an elliptical shape along a length of 600m have been built in the 12th century following the construction of the medieval castle. Initially composed of some twenty laps, it was rebuilt many times following the various wars. This chamber was surrounded by a moat wide and deep, put in water by the diversion of Ceres. The main access road to the castle was then formed by the front porch where we are.
- The gate was flanked by a double drawbridge which remains today the cells had to stay vertical when the lifting beams apron of 2 parts of the bridge. At left, a small bridge was connected to the pedestrian entrance. This entry is now walled up, but still has its door to large nails probably dating from the 16th century.
- Above the doorway, a rectangular frame bears the Latin inscription "Charles Fonseque, Baron Surgères, firmly establishes these walls leveled to the ground and fallen in decay - 1576 year of piety", and below the cartridge, "4th civil war." This allows us to date its last reconstruction of the era of religious wars. Above the porch is installed a guard, himself capped by a hipped roof of slate.
- Crossing the porch.
- You can see at right guard, a small walled-up door that opens onto the remains of a circular path.
- To the left of the gate, three had small doors give access to dungeons, and an external staircase to access the room from the guard.
- Step Five: The Renaissance door:
- It's a beautiful building that was made in the 17th century, but the decoration is borrowed from the previous century. This door was intended to mark the entry of the private domain of the castle. Originally there was only one gate open a door hanger and trampling, also arched, his right. The reconstruction of the left gate, designed to complete the symmetry of the whole is much more recent.
- The fluted columns and acanthus leaves clips, moldings and arches, cornices the palmettos, rosettes, triglyphs and cattle skulls adorned with cords and tassels of the entablature, all these elements constitute the elegant decoration that is this is its name. The pinnacle, adorned with a large rectangular frame, an oval shield surmounted by a lion's head and embedded clusters of fruit and flowers, is a heavier bill, more reminiscent of the 17th century. Above the doors are painted, left, the arms of Maingot who were the first lords of Surgères for 4 centuries, and to the right, the arms of De La Rochefoucauld, who were lords of Surgères 17th and 18th century even some time after the revolution. Grids in this beautiful wrought iron door complete Renaissance.
- Step Six: The stately home - the City Council:
- What is the town hall of the castle today is the beginning of the 18th century, sold to the city in 1856 by the widow of Baron Coupe, last owner of the Château and its outbuildings.
- This castle was built by François de la Rochefoucauld, younger son of Charles Francis, Marquis of Surgères, who had bought from her parents Baronnerie Surgères. It replaced the "evil dungeon habitable" mentioned a manuscript quoted by the engineer Mass in 1703. At the time of construction, it was a mansion rectangular, with thick walls. Built with stones from the old castle there are 3 apartments main opening to the south of the gardens, with large patio doors to double doors. The centerpiece, wedding hall today, is decorated with beautiful woodwork Renaissance. To the north, a beautiful stone staircase leads upstairs to three beautiful rooms with many windows. The two houses that give the building a plan horseshoe were added later. The roofs are covered with slates. The whole maintains a very sober, almost severe, but not without elegance.
- The castle was accompanied by a delivery that can be seen behind the church, which were stored on the ground floor, carts, and upstairs, the grain.
The market in the halls renovated animates the town on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturday mornings throughout the year (seafood and other fresh produce).
The monthly fair is held the third Tuesday of the month
 | Church of Our Lady of Surgères |  |
| |  | Renaissance door | |
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 | metal Halles - market | |
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| www.tourisme-surgeres.com | Tourist Office of the Community of Communes Surgères |
| Tuesday 14 February | Day
 | Night
 | | Min. 3°C - Max. 5°C |
| | Wednesday 15 February | Day
 | Night
| | Min. 1°C - Max. 7°C |
| | Thursday 16 February | Day
| Night
 | | Min. 3°C - Max. 8°C |
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