Deux-Sèvres
Deux-Sèvres (, Poitevin-Saintongese: ''Deùs Saevres'') 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 ...
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
Saint-Léger-de-la-Martinière
Saint-Léger-de-la-Martinière () is a former commune in the Deux-Sèvres department in western France. On 1 January 2019, it was merged into the commune Melle.Saint-Martin-lès-Melle were merged into Melle.
It is today best known as the home town of
Ségolène Royal
Ségolène Royal (; born Marie-Ségolène Royal; 22 September 1953) is a French politician who took part in the 2007 French presidential election, losing to Nicolas Sarkozy in the second round. She was the first woman in France's history to r ...
, the 2007
Socialist
Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...
Laurent Cantet
Laurent Cantet (; 11 April 1961 – 25 April 2024) was a French director, cinematographer and screenwriter. His film ''Entre les murs'' ('' The Class'') won the top prize at the Cannes Film Festival in 2008.
Biography
Laurent Cantet was born in ...
was born here as well as the archaeologist
Gaston Deschamps
Charles Pierre Gaston Napoléon Deschamps (5 January 1861 – 15 May 1931) was a French archaeologist, writer and journalist.
After he joined the École normale supérieure in 1882, Deschamps was appointed a member of the French School at Athe ...
(1861–1931).
History
During the early Middle Ages, Melle was an active center of minting, thanks to important silver mines located under and around the city. These were mined from 602 to at least 995. The mined ore was
galena
Galena, also called lead glance, is the natural mineral form of lead(II) sulfide (PbS). It is the most important ore of lead and an important source of silver.
Galena is one of the most abundant and widely distributed sulfide minerals. It crysta ...
:
lead
Lead () is a chemical element; it has Chemical symbol, symbol Pb (from Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a Heavy metal (elements), heavy metal that is density, denser than most common materials. Lead is Mohs scale, soft and Ductility, malleabl ...
containing
silver
Silver is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag () and atomic number 47. A soft, whitish-gray, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and reflectivity of any metal. ...
. The lead served first of all to pay a tribute to the Frankish kings: under
Dagobert I
Dagobert I (; 603/605 – 19 January 639) was King of the Franks. He ruled Austrasia (623–634) and Neustria and Burgundy (629–639). He has been described as the last king of the Merovingian dynasty to wield real royal power, after which the ...
, eight thousand pounds were sent to
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
every year, where he served for the cover of the
Basilica of St Denis
The Basilica of Saint-Denis (, now formally known as the ) is a large former medieval abbey church and present cathedral in the commune of Saint-Denis, a northern suburb of Paris. The building is of singular importance historically and archite ...
.
Under the reign of
Charlemagne
Charlemagne ( ; 2 April 748 – 28 January 814) was List of Frankish kings, King of the Franks from 768, List of kings of the Lombards, King of the Lombards from 774, and Holy Roman Emperor, Emperor of what is now known as the Carolingian ...
it was a mining centre and was, for a time, the home of the French
mint
Mint or The Mint may refer to:
Plants
* Lamiaceae, the mint family
** ''Mentha'', the genus of plants commonly known as "mint"
Coins and collectibles
* Mint (facility), a facility for manufacturing coins
* Mint condition, a state of like-new ...
Charlemagne
Charlemagne ( ; 2 April 748 – 28 January 814) was List of Frankish kings, King of the Franks from 768, List of kings of the Lombards, King of the Lombards from 774, and Holy Roman Emperor, Emperor of what is now known as the Carolingian ...
to be found at his capital of Aachen/Aix, was minted at ''Metullo''. The silver mines which supplied the mint continued to function off and on before being forgotten altogether in the 18th century, not to be discovered again until the 20th century. The mine is now a tourist attraction and can be visited most days of the year.
In the Middle Ages, Melle flourished as a town, as we can see from its surviving medieval houses and the three churches, built in the
Romanesque style
Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of medieval Europe that was predominant in the 11th and 12th centuries. The style eventually developed into the Gothic style with the shape of the arches providing a simple distinction: the Ro ...
during the 11th and 12th centuries.
Population
Sights
Melle is an ancient town which has traditional French architecture, some dating back before the 17th century.
The silver mine in Melle is claimed to be the oldest silver mine in Europe still open to the public. The mine itself is some long, and visitors can explore 350 m of it, with guided tours each day.
The church of Saint-Hilaire was listed as a
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...
World Heritage Site
World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...
as part of the
World Heritage Sites of the Routes of Santiago de Compostela in France
UNESCO designated the Routes of Santiago de Compostela in France as a World Heritage Site in December 1998. The routes pass through the following regions of France: Aquitaine, Auvergne, Basse-Normandie, Bourgogne, Centre, Champagne-Ardenne, Ile- ...
.
Among other places to visit are the wash-houses and fountains of Melle. 400m from the church of Saint-Pierre is a small octagonal building with an arcade around its perimeter. There a fountain pours from the rock, into the basin where women gathered to do their washing. In the meadow nearby is a medieval fountain and basin, known as the Pré de la Maladerie, which was reserved for
lepers
Leprosy, also known as Hansen's disease (HD), is a Chronic condition, long-term infection by the bacteria ''Mycobacterium leprae'' or ''Mycobacterium lepromatosis''. Infection can lead to damage of the Peripheral nervous system, nerves, respir ...
.
Melle also boasts a walk known as the '' Arboretum du Chemin de la Découverte''. This walk passes more than 1000 species of trees and shrubs from the temperate areas of the world, and a collection of over 100 roses.
Melle today
Today, Melle is a vibrant small town. It is the major hub of business for the nearby towns of Saint-Léger, Chef-Boutonne, and
Celles-sur-Belle
Celles-sur-Belle () is a commune in the Deux-Sèvres department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in western France. It is the site of an abbey dating from the 11th Century which was reconstructed between 1660 and 1685 on the orders of Louis XIV. ...
and this is demonstrated by its business community and by the fact that it is home to the ''
lycée
In France, secondary education is in two stages:
* ''Collèges'' () cater for the first four years of secondary education from the ages of 11 to 14.
* ''Lycées'' () provide a three-year course of further secondary education for students between ...
'' (high school) for the region. Melle and the surrounding countryside is known for its own particular type of goat's cheese, ' chabichou'.
Every Friday, a weekly market is being held on Place Bujault.
The town is home a variety of traditional shops, as well as two large supermarkets and several restaurants.