Saint-Martin-l'Ars is a commune in the Vienne

department Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

and Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of western France.

Geography

The

Clouère The Clouère (french: la Clouère, ) is a river that flows through the west-central French departments of Charente and Vienne. Its source is at Lessac, from which it flows generally northwest. It is a right tributary of the Clain, into which ...

flows north-northwest through the middle of the commune. The Clain flows northwest through the south-western part of the commune and crosses the village.

Geology and terrain

The commune is part of the region known as the Civraisien and has a beautiful landscape of hills.

Hydrography

202 ponds have been identified across the municipality (out of 30,000 recorded in the Poitou-Charentes region). They were created by humans, especially to meet the water needs of people (community ponds), livestock or after extraction (clay, marl, millstones). Rich in botanical life they play a major role for

amphibian Amphibians are tetrapod, four-limbed and ectothermic vertebrates of the Class (biology), class Amphibia. All living amphibians belong to the group Lissamphibia. They inhabit a wide variety of habitats, with most species living within terres ...

s ( newts, frogs),

reptile Reptiles, as most commonly defined are the animals in the class Reptilia ( ), a paraphyletic grouping comprising all sauropsids except birds. Living reptiles comprise turtles, crocodilians, squamates (lizards and snakes) and rhynchocephalians ( ...

s ( snakes) and dragonflies. They are a symbolic element of the rural heritage and contribute greatly to the maintenance of biodiversity in both the plains and the woodlands.

Climate

The climate is oceanic with mild summers.

Toponymy

The village's name comes from Saint

Martin of Vienne Saint Martin of Vienne was the legendary third bishop of Vienne, in France, believed to have lived in the 2nd (or 3rd) century. He is venerated as a saint by the Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church, with a feast day celebrated locally in ...

, bishop of Vienne in the 2nd century, the evangelist of Poitou. The suffix "ars" means "burnt".

Demographics

History

During World War II, the battle line crossed the commune, from 22 June 1940 to 1 March 1943, leaving the settlement in the free zone and a small part of the territory of the municipality in the occupied zone. On 14 July 1941, the population showed their strength of will by celebrating the National Day, which was banned in 1940, around a bonfire and singing the

Marseillaise "La Marseillaise" is the national anthem of France. The song was written in 1792 by Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle in Strasbourg after the declaration of war by France against Austria, and was originally titled "Chant de guerre pour l'Armée du R ...

. In 1945, to celebrate the liberation and return of the Republic, a lime tree was planted as a "tree of liberty".

Abbey of Notre-Dame de la Réau

The Abbey of Notre-Dame de la Réau, located on the left bank of the Clain in a secluded corner on the borders of Poitou and the Lower Marche, was founded in the 12th century by canons following the rule of St. Augustine.François Eygun, ''L’Abbaye de la Réau'', Poitiers, 1956, p. 24 It was a very important house, the influence of which, as a result of its many subsidiaries, extended far beyond the region as far as Anjou and Brittany. It was dissolved during the French Revolution. Having reviewed the history and archaeological survey in 1937, François Eygun wrote in the Poitevin Press in 1970 that this was "one of the most prestigious monuments of the Haut-Poitou".v

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saintmartinlars Communes of Vienne