Deux-Sèvres
Deux-Sèvres () is a French department. ''Deux-Sèvres'' literally means "two Sèvres": the Sèvre Nantaise and the Sèvre Niortaise are two rivers which have their sources in the department. It had a population of 374,878 in 2019.
Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Nouvelle-Aquitaine (; oc, Nòva Aquitània or ; eu, Akitania Berria; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Novéle-Aguiéne'') is the largest administrative region in France, spanning the west and southwest of the mainland. The region was created by ...
region
In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics ( physical geography), human impact characteristics ( human geography), and the interaction of humanity an ...
in western
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
. It is located on the River Thouet.
The inhabitants of Airvault are the and the in French.
On 1 January 2019, the former commune of Tessonnière was merged into Airvault.
Historical sites
A Romanesque bridge over the Thouet leads into the town. The Saint Pierre church in the center of town was built around 975 AD by Aldéarde, the wife of viscount Herbert I of
Thouars
Thouars () is a commune in the Deux-Sèvres department in western France. On 1 January 2019, the former communes Mauzé-Thouarsais, Missé and Sainte-Radegonde were merged into Thouars.
It is on the River Thouet. Its inhabitants are known ...
. Rebuilt in the 11th and 12th centuries, the church was used as a stop for pilgrims on their way to
Santiago de Compostela
Santiago de Compostela is the capital of the autonomous community of Galicia, in northwestern Spain. The city has its origin in the shrine of Saint James the Great, now the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, as the destination of the Way of S ...
. An underground fountain is located under the square in front of the church. One block from the church is the abbey, which houses a museum of traditional arts and crafts. In the vicinity of the church,
timber-framed
Timber framing (german: Holzfachwerk) and "post-and-beam" construction are traditional methods of building with heavy timbers, creating structures using squared-off and carefully fitted and joined timbers with joints secured by large woode ...
houses border narrow medieval streets. A medieval
castle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...
François-Marie Arouet might have chosen his pen name,
Voltaire
François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778) was a French Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher. Known by his '' nom de plume'' M. de Voltaire (; also ; ), he was famous for his wit, and his criticism of Christianity—e ...
, by inverting the syllables of the word “Airvault”. Although this is largely unsubstantiated, one of Voltaire's parents allegedly owned property in the area.Wade, Ida Owen. ''Voltaire's Name''. ''PMLA'', Vol. 44, No. 2. (Jun., 1929), pp. 546–564.
Airvault hosts a yearly
didgeridoo
The didgeridoo (; also spelt didjeridu, among other variants) is a wind instrument, played with vibrating lips to produce a continuous Drone (music), drone while using a special breathing technique called circular breathing. The didgeridoo wa ...
, Jew's harp, and overtone singing festival ''Rêve de l'Aborigène''.