Ambérac () is a commune in the

Charente Charente (; Saintongese: ''Chérente''; ) is a department in the administrative region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, southwestern France. It is named after the river Charente, the most important and longest river in the department, and also the r ...

département,

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

in the

Nouvelle-Aquitaine Nouvelle-Aquitaine () is the largest Regions of France, administrative region in France by area, spanning the west and southwest of Metropolitan France. The region was created in 2014 by the merging of Aquitaine, Limousin, and Poitou-Charentes ...

of southwestern France.

Geography

Ambérac is in the north-west part of the

department some 24 km north by north-west of Angouleme, 6 km south-east of

Aigre Aigre () is a commune in the Charente department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of southwestern France. The commune has been awarded one flower by the ''National Council of Towns and Villages in Bloom'' in the ''Competition of cities and vil ...

, and 8 kilometres north-west of Saint-Amant-de-Boixe. Access to the commune is by the D88 road from Aigre in the north-west which passes through the village and continues south-east to Xambes. The D69 road also comes from Marcillac-Lanville in the west to the village then continues east to Villognon. There are a number of hamlets in the commune apart from the village.Google Maps
/ref> The nearest railway station is that of Luxé, 5 km to the north-east which is served by a TER service to

Angoulême Angoulême (; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Engoulaeme''; ) is a small city in the southwestern French Departments of France, department of Charente, of which it is the Prefectures of France, prefecture. Located on a plateau overlooking a meander of ...

Poitiers Poitiers is a city on the river Clain in west-central France. It is a commune in France, commune, the capital of the Vienne (department), Vienne department and the historical center of Poitou, Poitou Province. In 2021, it had a population of 9 ...

, and

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...

Hamlets and localities

North-west of the town along the Aume and the ''Route d'Aigre'' there are a few hamlets: ''les Picots, les Citres, les Marais''; and some farms: le Cambouil, les Thibauds, and le Goyaud. To the east, on the road to Mansle, there is Les Granges.IGN Map on

Géoportail Géoportail is a comprehensive web mapping service of the French government that publishes maps and geophysical aerial photographs from more than 90 sources for France and its territories. The service, first developed by two public agencies (the ...

Geology and relief

The commune sits on a

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

bedrock dating from the

Upper Jurassic The Late Jurassic is the third epoch of the Jurassic Period, and it spans the geologic time from 161.5 ± 1.0 to 143.1 ± 0.8 million years ago (Ma), which is preserved in Upper Jurassic strata.Owen 1987. In European lithostratigraphy, the name ...

(

Kimmeridgian In the geologic timescale, the Kimmeridgian is an age in the Late Jurassic Epoch and a stage in the Upper Jurassic Series. It spans the time between 154.8 ±0.8 Ma and 149.2 ±0.7 Ma (million years ago). The Kimmeridgian follows the Oxfordian ...

). Alluvium dated from the

Quaternary The Quaternary ( ) is the current and most recent of the three periods of the Cenozoic Era in the geologic time scale of the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS), as well as the current and most recent of the twelve periods of the ...

period cover the alluvial valleys of the Aume and

, the most recent being on the floodplain. There are also some areas of

Sand Sand is a granular material composed of finely divided mineral particles. Sand has various compositions but is usually defined by its grain size. Sand grains are smaller than gravel and coarser than silt. Sand can also refer to a textural ...

on the slopes dating to the Quaternary glaciations. The relief of the commune is that of a low plateau and a confluence of two valleys. The highest point in the commune is at an altitude of 101 m located on the western boundary. The lowest point is 46 m located along the Charente on the south-western boundary. The town was built on the banks of the river at 62 m above sea level.

Hydrography

The

traverses the commune downstream from

Mansle Mansle () is a former Communes of France, commune in the Charente Departments of France, department in southwestern France. It is about 20 km north of Angoulême on the main Route nationale 10, N10 road. On 1 January 2023, it was merged into ...

and upstream from Angouleme. The village is built on the right bank and downstream of the confluence of the Aume, which flows north of the town. The Aume rises at

Bouin, Deux-Sèvres Bouin is a former commune in the Deux-Sèvres department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in western France. On 1 January 2019, it was merged into the new commune Valdelaume.Aigre Aigre () is a commune in the Charente department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of southwestern France. The commune has been awarded one flower by the ''National Council of Towns and Villages in Bloom'' in the ''Competition of cities and vil ...

Climate

As in the three-quarters in the south and west of the department, the climate is

oceanic Oceanic may refer to: *Of or relating to the ocean *Of or relating to Oceania **Oceanic climate **Oceanic languages **Oceanic person or people, also called "Pacific Islander(s)" Places * Oceanic, British Columbia, a settlement on Smith Island, ...

Aquitaine.

Toponymy

The place was attested in the forms ''Amberaco'' from 1080 to 1117, then ''Ambariaco'' from 1274 to 1297.''The Arch-priest of d'Ambérac''
René Fontroubade, 2005, ed. Histoires du Pays d'Aigre, consulted on 21 March 2010 It is a Gallic or Gallo-Roman toponymic form based on the suffix ''-acum'', either from the Gallic ''*-AKO'' or the Gallo-Roman ''-ACU''.

History

The town was inhabited as least as early as Roman times, as attested to by artifacts found in and round the commune such as a bronze likeness of Mercury wearing a winged

petasos A petasos () or petasus (Latin) is a broad brimmed hat of Thessalian origin worn by ancient Greeks, Thracians and Etruscans, often in combination with the chlamys cape. It was made of wool felt, leather, straw or animal skin. Women's versions ha ...

, stone slabs engraved with oculi found on the Amberac plain; a stone slab with an oculus and coins from the eras of

Augustus Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian (), was the founder of the Roman Empire, who reigned as the first Roman emperor from 27 BC until his death in A ...

Marcus Aurelius Marcus Aurelius Antoninus ( ; ; 26 April 121 – 17 March 180) was Roman emperor from 161 to 180 and a Stoicism, Stoic philosopher. He was a member of the Nerva–Antonine dynasty, the last of the rulers later known as the Five Good Emperors ...

, and Maximin found in the Rue du bourg. Also found in the village have been fragments of lamps, digging tools, a vase made with grey clay, other iron objects, and fragments of a mosaic. A circular oven 1.50 m in diameter located near ''Granges'' together with pottery, tiles and bricks found in the same field date from the same period. In a nearby location, known as ''La Tour-des-Fades'', the remains of an ancient building were also discovered with rows of bricks and a vaulted gallery, the details of which are listed in ''La Statistique Monumentale de la Charente'' Ambérac was built near the ancient city of Oliba, and was a

fief A fief (; ) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form of feudal alle ...

dom of the La Rochefoucauld and Marcillac families. It was an archdiocese until the Revolution. It is mentioned for the first time as having an

archpriest The ecclesiastical title of archpriest or archpresbyter belongs to certain priests with supervisory duties over a number of parishes. The term is most often used in Eastern Orthodoxy and the Eastern Catholic Churches and may be somewhat analogo ...

around 1035 for the parish of Saint-Stephen of Ambérac, a perpetual vicariate which was given by the counts of Angoulême to the Abbey of Saint-Amand de Boixe. Shortly after this founding there was an obedience in 1080. Bishop Girard II confirmed this gift in 1117 but assigned an annual fee of 5 sols, payable on the feast of Saint-Hilaire. In 1146, the prior of Lanville, who already had some rights, demanded and got upon retirement 10 sols per year in favour of the Abbey. Since then, it has consistently remained dependent on the convent priory of Augustine de Lanville. The village of Ville-Babou was probably built by one of the two Babou's who were Bishops of Angoulême in the 16th century. An underground shelter was discovered in 1925.

Administration

Created as ''Embérac'' in the Canton of ''Lanville Marcillac'' in 1793, it became ''Ambeirac'' in the canton of ''Saint-Amand-de-Boixe'' in 1801 then ''Ambérac''. List of Successive Mayors

Population

The inhabitants of the commune are known as ''Ambéracois'' or ''Ambéracoises'' in French.

Distribution of age groups

Percentage Distribution of Age Groups in Ambérac and Charente Department in 2017 Source: INSEEÉvolution et structure de la population en 2017: Commune d'Ambérac (16008)
/ref> Out of a labour force of 145 people, there are 11 unemployed giving an unemployment rate of 7.6%. The average income is €11,750 per year

Equipment, services and local life

Education

The school is an intercommunal educational group between Ambérac and

Marcillac-Lanville Marcillac-Lanville () is a commune in the Charente department in southwestern France. Population See also *Communes of the Charente department * Canadian Prime Ministers Pierre and Justin Trudeau Justin Pierre James Trudeau (born Dec ...

. Marcillac-Lanville has an elementary school and Ambérac has a primary school.

Sites and monuments

Civil heritage

*The underground Gallo-Roman remains *A Rural heritage of fountains and houses some of which are very old. *The Mill at Brissac is the only remaining one of the many that operated in the 18th century. Image:Ambérac5.JPG, House with Balet Image:Ambérac6.JPG, Old rectory next to the church Image:Ambérac12.JPG,

Weigh house A weighhouse or weighing house is a public building at or within which goods are weighed. Most of these buildings were built before 1800, prior to the establishment of international standards for weights, and were often a large and representative ...

Religious heritage

The Parish Church of Saint-Etienne dates from the 12th century. It was one of the 13

s of

Angoumois Angoumois (), historically the County of Angoulême, was a county and province of France, originally inferior to the parent duchy of Aquitaine, similar to the Périgord to its east but lower and generally less forested, equally with occasional ...

. The church contains several items that are registered as historical objects: *A Bronze Bell (1773) *4 bas-reliefs: the

Annunciation The Annunciation (; ; also referred to as the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Annunciation of Our Lady, or the Annunciation of the Lord; ) is, according to the Gospel of Luke, the announcement made by the archangel Gabriel to Ma ...

, the Visitation, the Nativity, and the

Magi Magi (), or magus (), is the term for priests in Zoroastrianism and earlier Iranian religions. The earliest known use of the word ''magi'' is in the trilingual inscription written by Darius the Great, known as the Behistun Inscription. Old Per ...

(12th century) *An Iron die for

Sacramental bread Sacramental bread, also called Communion bread, Communion wafer, Sacred host, Eucharistic bread, the Lamb or simply the host (), is the bread used in the Christian ritual of the Eucharist. Along with sacramental wine, it is one of two elements ...

(14th century)Ministry of Culture, Palissy The church also has an Harmonium which was renovated in July 2013.

Environmental heritage

The banks of the

and the Aume are

Natura 2000 Natura 2000 is a network of nature protection areas in the territory of the European Union. It is made up of Special Areas of Conservation and Special Protection Areas designated under the Habitats Directive and the Birds Directive, respectiv ...

zones.

Notable people linked to the commune

* André Savignon, born in Tarbes on 1 January 1878, a French journalist and writer, married Berthe Desgranges on 27 September 1919 at Ambérac. *Louis Vatrican, born in Monaco on 7 May 1904, an agricultural engineer, director of the Exotic Garden of Monaco, married Suzanne Magnant on 5 May 1928 at Ambérac.