Hit in the face by history

​Step out the door in this part of France and you are retracing the footsteps of people across the millennia.  People have been walking, living, toiling and playing for centuries and centuries. 

​The closest regional city to us, Angoulême, has a long history, extending to neolithic times.  More recently, it was linked into the network of roman roads by the end of the Roman Empire. 
In the 800's the Vikings travelled up the Charente river and attacked the town. 
In the 1200s the Jewish community was attacked by crusaders.  
In 1360, during the Hundred Years War, the town passed into the hands of the English.  The English were expelled in 1373 by the troops of Charles V. 

​In WWII, Angoulême was located in the occupied zone under German authority. The border with the free zone passed about 20 kilometres east of Angoulême, splitting the Charente department in two.  The train station in Angoulême was a target during Allied air bombing raids as the rail route between Bordeaux on the coast and Paris run through Angoulême.

Likewise, history hits you in the face just walking down the street in Verteuil, our little village just north of Angoulême – our little house is wedged into a row of stone terrace houses built around 1775 (as far as we can gather), and sits below an 11th century Romanesque church, and is just down the street from a medieval château. Across the river is an ancient Franciscan monastery where the remains of the local nobility were tossed into the river from their resting places during the French revolution.

The terrace row roof tops looking down Rue du Temple toward the château in Verteuil.

Le Couvent des Cordeliers (Franciscan monastery) in Verteuil where the remains of the local nobility were tossed into the river during the French revolution.

​Venture 20-30 minutes further afield and there is evidence of places and structures created in neolithic times.  Dolmens and tumulus are sprinkled across the Charentaise countryside where people lived, held rituals and were buried.

THe Charente is dotted with ancient dolmen.

One of the many tumulus in the area.

Roman civilization had a huge impact on the local area as the Roman empire spread into and across Gaul.  Roman settlements can be found in the local Charente area as they travelled along the roman roads from Rome to Lyon and across to Saintes, just a little to the west of here. ​

​The Gallo-Roman Theatre of Bouchauds is an impressive complex located on the Bouchauds hill, the highest point in the local landscape, providing expansive views to the east.  The complex includes an amphitheatre, built in the 1st century AD and added to between the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD.  This Gallo-Roman theatre, 105.6 meters in diameter, is one of the largest in rural Gaul.

The Gallo-Roman Theatre of Bouchauds, near Rouillac in Charente.

Cassinomagus, the ancient Roman settlement near Chassenon, in Charente.

Also close by are the ruins of Cassinomagus, a Roman settlement thriving between the first and third centuries, and including a theatre, temple and a substantial thermal baths complex.

Scattered across the landscape are numerous 10th, 11th and 12th century churches.  These are typically beautiful, simple stone structures, stripped of any finery during the French revolution.  Steeped in history, they offer calm, cool, contemplative environments.  A few may even have the remnants of beautiful and colourful wall frescos, perhaps with the plaster slowly falling away, and mould reaching up from the damp stone floors.

Église St Médard in Verteuil.

Église St Nicolas in Civray.

Église St Denis in Lichères

Église St Martial in Mouton.

Perhaps the most obvious signposts for a land steeped in history are the imposing medieval châteaux located across the region.  One step outside our front door and one benefits from the Rupunzel-like château at the end of the street.  Small or large, the local châteaux make an impression, and remind us of the long history of Charente.

Château de La Rochefoucauld.

Château de Verteuil.

​See other blogs from Verteuil at http://www.houseinverteuil.com/house-in-verteuil-blog