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 ...
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 ...
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 southwestern
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 ...
.
Located to the southeast of
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 ...
on a plateau above the river Échelle, Sers is on the edge of the forest of Horte to the south.
Dirac
Paul Adrien Maurice Dirac ( ; 8 August 1902 – 20 October 1984) was an English mathematician and theoretical physicist who is considered to be one of the founders of quantum mechanics. Dirac laid the foundations for both quantum electrodyna ...
communauté d'agglomération
An agglomeration community (, ) is a consortium of communes in France, communes (municipality, municipalities) in France, created as a government structure by the Jean-Pierre Chevènement, Chevènement Law of 1999. It is one of four forms of co ...
Grand Angoulême
Grand Angoulême is the ''communauté d'agglomération'', an Communes of France#Intercommunality, intercommunal structure, centred on the Communes of France, city of Angoulême. It is located in the Charente departments of France, department, in th ...
.
History
A rock with magnificent carvings from the Upper Palaeolithic period was discovered in 1927 at the place known as Roc de Sers, in the Échelle valley upstream from Sers. The carvings are in
Solutrean
The Solutrean industry is a relatively advanced flint tool-making style of the Upper Paleolithic of the Final Gravettian, from around 22,000 to 17,000 BP. Solutrean sites have been found in modern-day France, Spain and Portugal.
Detai ...
style.
A blast furnace and cannon foundry, built in 1514, was in operation until 1762 at Planche Meunier, near Sers.
The dairy and cheese farm built in 1896 on the site of an old flour mill closed at the end of the 20th century.
The population of the commune has increased steadily since the low point of the 1950s.
Population
People from Sers are called ''sersois'' in French.
Sights
The prehistoric carvings at Roc de Sers can be viewed by contacting the Mairie (Town Hall).
The parish church dedicated to St Peter dates from the 12th century. Its square Romanesque steeple has paired openings with semi-circular arches on the top two levels, and blind arcading below.
Image:Sers1.4.JPG,
Image:Sers - Eglise.JPG,
Image:sers eg3.JPG, Entrance to the church
Image:sers eg4.JPG,
The post office was built in the late 17th century-early 18th century as the vicarage for the church. Its main door is a protected historic monument.
Image:Sers1.3.JPG, Post office
On the first Sunday in August, a pilgrimage is made to the 6th century hermitage of Notre-Dame de Bellevau, carved out of the rock. The single pillar which supports the roof has Romanesque decorations.
Facilities
The village of Sers has a church, a post office, a doctor's surgery, a pharmacy, a school, a baker, a butcher-charcuterie, two bars (one with a restaurant and small grocery, the other also a newsagent) and a hairdresser.
The town hall of the commune is located in the village, in the area known as Le Bourg, near the church.
See also
*
Communes of the Charente department
The following is a list of the 359 communes of the Charente department of France on 1 January 2025.
The communes cooperate in the following intercommunalities (as of 2025):Communes of Charente