Archiac

Archiac Town Centre

Coat of arms

Archiac

Location within Nouvelle-Aquitaine region

Archiac

Coordinates: 45°31′21″N 0°18′20″W / 45.5225°N 0.3056°WCoordinates: 45°31′21″N 0°18′20″W / 45.5225°N 0.3056°W

Country

Haute-Saintonge

Government

• Mayor (2014–2020)

Didier Braud

Area¹

4.48 km² (1.73 sq mi)

Population (2009)²

812

• Density

180/km² (470/sq mi)

Time zone

CET (UTC+1)

• Summer (DST)

CEST (UTC+2)

INSEE/Postal code

17016 / 17520

Elevation

48–116 m (157–381 ft)
(avg. 111 m or 364 ft)

¹ French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

² Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once.

Archiac is a French commune in the Charente-Maritime department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of southwestern France.

The inhabitants of the commune are known as Archiacais or Archiacaises^[1]

Geography

Archiac is located in the south of the department of Charente Maritime in the historic region of Saintonge some 20 km south of Cognac, 15 km north-west of Barbezieux-Saint-Hilaire and 15 km north-east of Jonzac. The village has the status of a town and is located at the intersection of two main highways: the D699 from Arthenac in the south-west to Ambleville in the north-east; and the D731 from Cierzac in the north-west which continues south-east from the village. The north-eastern border of the commune is also the border between Charente-Maritime and Charente departments. Other access roads include the D149 which is a short-cut connection between the D699 and the D733 west of the village and the D152 which goes south from the village to Saint-Maigrin. There are also the hamlets of La Grue and Saint-Pierre north-east of the village. Apart from some wooded areas near the village the commune is entirely farmland.^[2]

Neighbouring communes and villages^[2]

Archiac

Arthenac

Brie-sous-Archiac

Saint-Eugène

History

Remains of the castle

In the reign of Charlemagne Archiac was the seat of a viguerie. [ref. needed]
Upon the removal of Emma, the wife of the lord of Cognac, by the lord of Barbezieux in the 11th century, the Lord of Archiac gave them asylum: the castle was attacked, taken, and burnt.^[3]
In 1219 the Lord of Archiac was Guillaume d'Archiac. During the Hundred Years War the castle was taken and retaken then became a den of Anglo-Gascon thieves before being taken and demolished.
In 1609 the Barony of Archiac was raised to a marquisate.
It was forbidden for the Protestant ministers Jacques Fountaines and Jean Hoummeau to preach and the temple was demolished in 1673.^[3]

Heraldry

	Blazon: Gules, two pales vairé, in chief Or.

Administration

List of Successive Mayors^[4]

From	To	Name	Party
1989	1995	Jacques Dusaud
1995	2008	François Robin	DVD
2008	2014	Carole Blanchard
2014	2020	Didier Braud

(Not all data is known)

Demography

In 2009 the commune had 812 inhabitants. The evolution of the number of inhabitants is known from the population censuses conducted in the commune since 1793. From the 21st century, a census of communes with fewer than 10,000 inhabitants is held every five years, unlike larger towns that have a sample survey every year.^{[Note 1]}

Population Change (See database)

1793	1800	1806	1821	1831	1836	1841	1846	1851
1,427	1,533	1,558	1,691	925	965	1,002	1,066	1,124

1856	1861	1866	1872	1876	1881	1886	1891	1896
1,148	1,263	1,227	1,172	1,178	1,110	1,097	974	927

1901	1906	1911	1921	1926	1931	1936	1946	1954
855	874	802	728	805	793	779	750	737

1962	1968	1975	1982	1990	1999	2006	2009	-
813	856	890	868	837	864	823	812	-

Sources : Ldh/EHESS/Cassini until 1962, INSEE database from 1968 (population without double counting and municipal population from 2006)

Arthenac was part of the Archiac commune until they were separated in 1831.^[5]

Distribution of Age Groups

The population of the town is relatively old. The ratio of persons above the age of 60 years (32.4%) is higher than the national average (21.6%) and the departmental average (28.1%). As for the national and departmental levels, the female population of the commune is higher than the male population. The ratio (53.2%) is higher than the national ratio (51.6%).

Percentage Distribution of Age Groups in Archiac and Charente-Maritime Department in 2009

	Archiac	Archiac	Charente-M	Charente-M
Age Range	Men	Women	Men	Women
0 to 14 Years	15.8	14.4	17.2	15.1
15 to 29 Years	15.5	16.0	16.5	14.4
30 to 44 Years	17.4	16.0	18.7	17.9
45 to 59 Years	20.8	19.7	21.0	20.8
60 to 74 Years	16.8	13.9	17.2	17.8
75 to 89 Years	12.9	16.4	9.0	12.4
90 Years+	0.8	3.7	0.5	1.5

Sources:

Sites and Monuments

General view of the church of Saint-Pierre

The Parish Church of Saint-Pierre has a fragment of a Statue from the Middle Ages depicting a mitred head which is registered as an historical object.^[6]
A Dolmen near Lavaure. [ref. needed]
A Chateau from the 9th century, repaired in the 11th century but now disappeared. It included the chapels of Our Lady and Saint-Martin. [ref. needed]
The House of the Vine and Fragrances^[7]

Notable People linked to the commune

Cardinal Simon d'Archiac (14th century) was born in Archiac.

Notes and references

Notes

↑ At the beginning of the 21st century, the methods of identification have been modified by Law No. 2002-276 of 27 February 2002, the so-called "law of local democracy" and in particular Title V "census operations" allows, after a transitional period running from 2004 to 2008, the annual publication of the legal population of the different French administrative districts. For communes with a population greater than 10,000 inhabitants, a sample survey is conducted annually, the entire territory of these communes is taken into account at the end of the period of five years. The first "legal population" after 1999 under this new law came into force on 1 January 2009 and was based on the census of 2006.

References

↑ Inhabitants of Charente-Maritime (French)
1 2 Google Maps
1 2 History of Cognac, Jarnac and Segonzac, Father Cousin, 1882, reprinted 2007, ISBN 2-84618-496-8 (French)
↑ List of Mayors of France
↑ Communal Notice Ldh/EHESS/Casini
↑ Ministry of Culture, Palissy PM17000628 Statue: Head (French)
↑ The House of the Vine and Fragrances website (French)

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Archiac.

Communes of the Charente-Maritime department

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Archiac