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 ...
Sainte-Neomaye is composed of several villages:
* Sainte-Neomaye (le Bourg)
* La Chesnaye
* Aiript
* Les Fontenelles
* La Corbeliere
* Fontramier
Each village has its own identity, and its own particularities.
Traditions
A legend says that Sainte-Neomaye takes his name from a young a very virtuous woman, Neomaye, who was promised, against her will, to a local ugly lord. Rather than accepting the wedding, and in order to keep her virtue, she asked that her foot be changed in a goose leg, and was fulfilled after she dived it in a source. This source is still said to have some magic power.
Sainte-Neomaye has been famous for its Donkey Fair (La Foire aux Mules) since the 18th century. Nowadays, this social event still takes place on the gorgeous central square of the village, but is less about commerce, and more about entertainment.
At this occasion, a race, "Les Chemins du Roy", takes place around the village, through tiny paths used, a long time ago, by donkey merchants.
Geography
Sainte-Neomaye is located in the south-east of Deux-Sèvres. It is 14 km east of
Niort
Niort (; Poitevin: ''Niàu''; ; ) is a commune in the Deux-Sèvres department, western France. It is the prefecture of Deux-Sèvres.
The population of Niort is 58,707 (2017) and more than 177,000 people live in the urban area.
Geography
T ...
, 60 km south-west 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 ...
.
The town is crossed by several rivers. The most important is the
Sèvre Niortaise
The Sèvre Niortaise () is a long river in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine and Pays de la Loire regions in western France, flowing into the Atlantic Ocean. Its source is in the Deux-Sèvres department, near Sepvret, north of Melle.
It flows through t ...
.
Sainte-Néomaye is very accessible, only 2 hours 15 minutes from
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 ...
via
TGV
The TGV (; , , 'high-speed train') is France's intercity high-speed rail service. With commercial operating speeds of up to on the newer lines, the TGV was conceived at the same period as other technological projects such as the Ariane 1 rocke ...
, and 2 hours from
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 ...
by
car
A car, or an automobile, is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of cars state that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people rather than cargo. There are around one billio ...
. It is also very close from Poitiers and its malls and universities (60 km), and La Rochelle and the Atlantic Ocean.
Architecture
* The roman church was built in the 12th century and has been recently renovated.
* The castle of Sainte-Neomaye is a manor built in the 19th century.
* The castle of Les Fontenelles is a nice example of romantic architecture from the 19th century.
* Sainte-Neomaye's central square is also well known for the beautiful houses erected on its sides. These very typical Poitevin houses used to be hostels. The square is planted with trees and has large grass areas.