Esnandes () is a commune in the

Charente-Maritime Charente-Maritime () is a department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region on the southwestern coast of France. Named after the river Charente, its prefecture is La Rochelle. As of 2019, it had a population of 651,358 with an area of 6,864 square kil ...

department in the

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 southwestern

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 ...

. Its inhabitants are known as ''Esnandais'' ().

Geography

This small town north of

La Rochelle La Rochelle (, , ; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''La Rochéle''; oc, La Rochèla ) is a city on the west coast of France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime department. Wi ...

faces the bay of Aiguillon (formerly Gulf Pictons). It situates on the cliffs overlooking the bays where mussels and oysters are produced which are still culminating to this day.

History

The first written mention of Esnandes dates to 920. In 1987, archaeological excavations traced the history of Esnandes thousands of years ago. Prehistoric sites, including a salt mine is behind an Esnandes church. The Roman occupation left traces in the form of a Roman villa at the Saint-Clement. Esnandes is famous for its revamped church. In 1622, the Council of the City of La Rochelle ordered its destruction in place for a Catholic stronghold. Its main activity include mussel farming which date back to the 13th century. The names of the trustees of the parish have come down to us: *1737: François Dugas, mussel farmer *1754: Mathurin Michelon, innkeeper *1754–1759: François Maudet *1759–1765: Jacques Blanchard, merchant, elected on August 19, 1759 *1766: Jean-Baptiste Mesnard, merchant, elected on January 24, 1766 *1781: Jacques Choyau *1782–1787: Jean Maudet, died on July 13, 1787, at age 56 *1787–1789: Charles Valton, mussel farmer

Population

Administration

Esnandes is one of the 28 communes of the ''

Communauté d'agglomération de La Rochelle The Communauté d'agglomération de La Rochelle is the ''communauté d'agglomération'', an intercommunal structure, centred on the city of La Rochelle. It is located in the Charente-Maritime department, in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, South W ...

'' (Community of agglomeration of La Rochelle). It is the

intercommunality The () is a level of administrative division in the French Republic. French are analogous to civil townships and incorporated municipalities in the United States and Canada, ' in Germany, ' in Italy, or ' in Spain. The United Kingdom's equiv ...

with the highest population in ''Charente-Maritime''. Esnandes is twinned with

Thorens-Glières Thorens-Glières () is a former commune in the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France. On 1 January 2017, it was merged into the new commune Fillière.

Religious heritage

The Priory of St. Martin or Church of St. Martin belonged to the Royal Abbey of Saint-Jean-d'Angély since 1029. The original building dates back to the eleventh and twelfth century but was rebuilt and restored in the fourteenth century. Since then, it has been modified several times. In 1840, the church was recognised as a historic monument. To this date, it still retains its Romanesque style from the twelfth century, which is decorated and framed by two booths which form a complete set of reinforcements. The

bell tower A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell tow ...

is square-shaped and pierced with narrow windows. A spiral staircase gives access to walkways equipped with aliasing, machicolations and bartizans. The east wall is pierced by three windows, a postern and a ditch were added to the defense later. The nave is vaulted with warheads based on columns and form three ships and five spans with flat bed. The two Gothic sacristies are both located behind the side altars.''L'Architecture gothique en Saintonge et en Aunis'', Yves Blomme, Bordessoule editions, Religious wars have caused extensive damage. After the fall of La Rochelle (28 October 1628), repairs began in 1629 and continued until 1740. Repairs carried out throughout the building as well as the nave's vault and the choir. The church was restored again starting in 1864 then coverage was repeated in 1996.

Cultural Heritage

The House of Mussel Culture'' 'Mytiliculture' Mussel farms collect approximately 10,000 tons of shellfish products (including mussels) per year from the Bay of Aiguillon, which has been producing shellfish since 1235. The mussel farms of Esnandes (Labellisée Musée de France) reflect the strong local heritage: understanding activity and environment, the House of Mussel Farms offers films, a dynamic and interactive museum and temporary exhibitions (or closely related themes on the region, environment, fisheries, cultural exhibits are conducted jointly with various associations of the township.) Thus, young and old can follow Mollux, the mascot, throughout the visit (in the form of comics for children) to understand the biology of mold, its environment and its predators, and the production and marketing of the black pearl of our coasts. The coastal path called "customs" attract walkers.

Personalities

*Guy lords and Amaury de Vivonne (crusades of 1129 and 1194) who became kings of Cyprus and Jerusalem. *The family of Alcide d'Orbigny, French zoologist lived in a house in Esnandes. *Georges Simenon's books which are often referred to Esnandes and its neighborhoods.

External links

Le Piéton d'Esnandes Photographies d'Esnandes
{{authority control Communes of Charente-Maritime Populated coastal places in France