Sancerre is a medieval hilltop town (ville), commune The following is a list of the 290 communes of the Cher département in France and canton The cantons of France are territorial subdivisions of the French Republic's 342 arrondissements and 100 departments in the Cher Cher is an administrative department located in the centre of France. It is named after the Cher River department The departments of France and many of its former colonies are administrative divisions. The 100 French departments are grouped into 22 metropolitan and four overseas regions, all of which have identical legal status as integral parts of France. The departments are subdivided into 342 arrondissements, which in turn, are divided into cantons. Each of central France France (pronounced /ˈfrænts/ frantss or /ˈfrɑːnts/ frahnts; French pronunciation (help·info): [fʁɑ̃s]), officially the French Republic (French: République française, pronounced: [ʁepyblik fʁɑ̃sɛz]), is a state in Western Europe with several of its overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, overlooking the Loire River The Loire is the longest river in France. With a length of 1,013 kilometres (629 mi), it drains an area of 117,000 km2 (45,000 sq mi), which represents more than a fifth of France's land area. It rises in the Cévennes in the département of Ardèche at 1,350 m (4,430 ft) near Mont Gerbier de Jonc, and flows for over 1,000 km (620 mi) north. It is noted for its wine.
Contents |
History
Located in the area of Gaul Gaul is a historical name used in the context of Ancient Rome in references to the region of Western Europe approximating present day France, Luxembourg and Belgium, most of Switzerland, the western part of Northern Italy, as well as the parts of the Netherlands and Germany on the left bank of the Rhine settled by the powerful Celtic The Iron Age and Roman-era Celts were a diverse group of tribal societies in Europe who spoke Celtic languages (Gaule Celtique) tribe, the Bituriges, or the "Kings of the World", and after their defeat at Bourges Bourges is a commune in central France on the Yèvre river. It is the capital of the department of Cher and also was the capital of the former province of Berry (Avaricum), part of Roman Ancient Rome was a civilization that grew out of a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 10th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea, it became one of the largest empires in the ancient world Aquitania. Some evidence points to the existence of an early hillside Roman temple dedicated to Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Cæsar/Caesar was a Roman military and political leader. He played a critical role in the transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire; located on the Roman road The Roman roads were roads built by the Roman empire, intended for quick transport of material from one location to another, for cattle, vehicles, or any similar traffic along the path. They were essential for the growth of the Roman Empire. Roman roads enabled the Romans to move armies and trade goods and to communicate news. The Roman road (Gordaine) from Bourges Bourges is a commune in central France on the Yèvre river. It is the capital of the department of Cher and also was the capital of the former province of Berry to the river town of Gordona (Castle-Gordon), now Saint Thibault and Saint Satur. Name possibly derived from "Sacred to Caesar" and later Christianized to "Saint-Cere". During the Carolingian The Carolingian dynasty was a Frankish noble family with its origins in the Arnulfing and Pippinid clans of the 7th century. The name "Carolingian", Medieval Latin karolingi, an altered form of an unattested Old High German *karling, kerling (meaning "descendant of Charles", cf. MHG kerlinc), derives from the Latinised name of period there was a small village on the hillside, clustered around the Saint Romble Church. An Augustinian The Augustinians, named after Saint Augustine of Hippo , are several Christian monastic orders and men and women living according to a guide to religious life known as the Rule of Saint Augustine. Prominent Augustinians include the only English Pope Adrian IV, Italian Pope Eugene IV, mystic Thomas à Kempis, Dutch Christian humanist Desiderius abbey was founded in Saint Satur in 1034. A natural fortress 312 meters in height, Sancerre is a former feudal possession of the Counts of Champagne The Counts of Champagne ruled the region of Champagne from 950 to 1316. Champagne evolved from the county of Troyes in the late eleventh century and Hugh I was the first to officially use the title "Count of Champagne". When Louis became King of France in 1314, upon the death of his father Philip IV, Champagne became part of the Crown's (1152) in the province The Kingdom of France was organised into provinces until March 4, 1790, when the establishment of the département system superseded provinces. The change was an attempt to eradicate local loyalties based on feudal ownership of land and focus all loyalty on the central government in Paris of Berry Berry is a region located in the center of France. It was a province of France until the provinces were replaced by départements on March 4, 1790. They built a chateau on the hill and ramparts to protect the city. The chateau had six towers including the Tower of the Strongholds (Tour des Fiefs) and the Tower of Saint George. In times of war, a fire was lit on the top of the Saint George tower that could be seen for 40 kilometres (25 mi)around. The Customs of Lorris (1155), a charter granted by Stephen I ( Étienne I ) to the merchants of Sancerre was considered one of the most progressive in the Capetian The House of Capet, or The Direct Capetian Dynasty, , also called The House of France (la maison de France), or simply the Capets, which ruled the Kingdom of France from 987 to 1328, was the most senior line of the Capetian dynasty - itself a derivative dynasty from the Robertians. As rulers of France, the dynasty succeeded the Carolingian dynasty kingdom. In 1184, the Count of Sancerre led a band of rebels called the Brabançons against the king. They were defeated by the Confrères de la Paix, the Confraternity of Peace, a group charged with keeping order in the kingdom. In 1190, Stephen I was among the first feudal lords to abolish serfdom. The fortified city repelled the English forces twice during the Hundred Years' War The Hundred Years' War was a series of separate wars lasting from 1336 to 1454 between two royal houses for the French throne, which was vacant with the extinction of the senior Capetian line of French kings. The two primary contenders were the House of Valois and the House of Plantagenet, also known as the House of Anjou. The House of Valois but much of the surrounding area, including the Augustine Abbey in Saint Satur and Saint Romble, were destroyed by the forces of Edward, the Black Prince. Sancerre was the seat of Joan of Arc Saint Joan of Arc or The Maid of Orléans is a national heroine of France and a Catholic saint. A peasant girl born in eastern France, she led the French army to several important victories during the Hundred Years' War, claiming divine guidance, and was indirectly responsible for the coronation of Charles VII. She was captured by the Burgundians,'s great comrade-in-arms, Jean V de Bueil.
Sancerre was also the site of the infamous Siege of Sancerre (1572-1573) during the Wars of Religion The French Wars of Religion is the name given to a period of civil infighting and military operations, primarily fought between French Catholics and Protestants (Huguenots). The conflict involved the factional disputes between the aristocratic houses of France, such as the House of Bourbon and House of Guise (Lorraine), and both sides received where the Huguenot The Huguenots were members of the Protestant Reformed Church of France (or French Calvinists) from the sixteenth to the eighteenth centuries. Since the eighteenth century, Huguenots have been commonly designated "French Protestants", the title being suggested by their German co-religionists or "Calvinists". Protestants in population held out for nearly eight months against the Catholic forces of the king. The siege was one of the last times in European history where slings A sling is a projectile weapon typically used to throw a blunt projectile such as a stone. It is also known as the shepherd's sling (trebuchet A trebuchet or trebucket is a siege engine that was employed in the Middle Ages either to smash masonry walls or to lob projectiles over them and into the castle under siege. It is sometimes called a "counterweight trebuchet" or "counterpoise trebuchet" in order to distinguish it from an earlier weapon that has come to be), the "Arquebuses of Sancerre", were used in warfare. The siege was documented by a Protestant minister who survived the battle, Jean de Léry Jean de Léry was an explorer, writer and Reformed Pastor born in Lamargelle, Côte-d'Or, France. Little is known of his early life; and he might have remained unknown had he not accompanied a group of Protestants to their new colony on an island in the Bay of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The colony, France Antarctique was founded by the Chevalier de, in The Memorable History of the Siege of Sancerre. In 1621 much of the feudal chateau and city walls were destroyed by orders of the king to prevent further resistance. In 1640 the county became the possession of the Prince of Condé, Henry II of Bourbon, the governor of Berry. The area suffered economically from the mass exodus of Protestant merchants, tradesmen and others during the 17th century, especially after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes The Edict of Nantes was issued on April 13, 1598 by Henry IV of France to grant the Calvinist Protestants of France (also known as Huguenots) substantial rights in a nation still considered essentially Catholic. The main concern was civil unity, and the Edict separated civil from religious unity, treated some Protestants for the first time as more (1685).
During the French Revolution The French Revolution was a period of radical social and political upheaval in French and European history. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years. French society underwent an epic transformation as feudal, aristocratic, and religious privileges evaporated under a sustained assault from liberal political, Sancerre was the site of a royalist rebellion led by Louis-Edmond de Phelippeaux – small "Vendee Sancerroise". Sancerre was designated the seat of government for the district during the First Republic, but in 1926 the sous-préfecture and other administrative services were transferred to Bourges Bourges is a commune in central France on the Yèvre river. It is the capital of the department of Cher and also was the capital of the former province of Berry. Count Jean-Pierre de Montalivet, of Chateau de Thauvenay Thauvenay is a commune in the Cher département of the Centre region of France, Minister of the Interior under Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte , was a military and political leader of France and Emperor of the French as Napoleon I, whose actions shaped European politics in the early 19th century, was a large landowner in Sancerre during the 19th century.
Area transportation was improved by the construction of a suspension bridge at Saint Thibault (1834), the Lateral Canal of the Loire (1838) and later, the Bourges-Sancerre railroad line (1885). A mansion was built on the ruins of the original Chateau de Sancerre in 1874 by Mlle de Crussol d'Uzès Uzès is a commune in the Gard department in southern France in the style of Louis XII Louis XII , called "the Father of the People" (French: Le Père du Peuple) was king of France and the sole monarch from the Valois-Orléans branch of the House of Valois. He reigned from 1498 to 1515 and pursued a very active foreign policy. In 1919, the mansion and part of the vineyards were purchased by Louis Alexandre Marnier-Lapostolle, the liqueur manufacturer. During World War I World War I was a military conflict that lasted from 1914 to 1918 and involved most of the world's great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances: the Allies and the Central Powers. More than 70 million military personnel, including 60 million Europeans, were mobilized in one of the largest wars in history. More than 15 million people were, Sancerre was the site of a military hospital.
During World War II Albania · Australia · Austria · Azerbaijan · Belarus · Belgium · Brazil · Bulgaria · Burma · Cambodia · Canada · Ceylon (Sri Lanka) · Channel Islands · China · Czechoslovakia · Denmark · Dutch East Indies · Egypt · Estonia · Finland · France · Germany · Gibraltar · Greece · Greenland · Hong Kong · Hungary · Iceland ·, Sancerre was a regional command center for the French Resistance The French Résistance is the name used to denote the collection of French resistance movements that fought against the Nazi German occupation of France and against the collaborationist Vichy régime during World War II. Résistance cells were small groups of armed men and women , who, in addition to their guerrilla warfare activities, were also. "Operation Spencer” in 1944 was to prevent the Germans from crossing the Loire River The Loire is the longest river in France. With a length of 1,013 kilometres (629 mi), it drains an area of 117,000 km2 (45,000 sq mi), which represents more than a fifth of France's land area. It rises in the Cévennes in the département of Ardèche at 1,350 m (4,430 ft) near Mont Gerbier de Jonc, and flows for over 1,000 km (620 mi) north between Gien Gien is a commune in the Loiret department in north-central France and Nevers Nevers is a commune in the Nièvre department in the Bourgogne region in central France and reinforcing troops in Brittany Brittany (French: Bretagne [bʁətaɲ] ; Breton: Breizh, pronounced [brɛjs]; Gallo: Bertaèyn) is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Previously as a kingdom and then as a duchy, Brittany was a fief of the Kingdom of France. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain (as opposed to Great. The French Resistance The French Résistance is the name used to denote the collection of French resistance movements that fought against the Nazi German occupation of France and against the collaborationist Vichy régime during World War II. Résistance cells were small groups of armed men and women , who, in addition to their guerrilla warfare activities, were also and Free French Forces The Free French Forces were French fighters in World War II who decided to continue fighting against Axis forces after the surrender of France and subsequent German occupation and, in the case of Vichy France, collaboration with the Germans blew up the bridge at Sancerre and sabotaged communication, road and railway lines. On June 25, 1944, German troops based in Cosne-sur-Loire set fire to the village of Thauvenay Thauvenay is a commune in the Cher département of the Centre region of France in reprisal for an ambush of the French Resistance The French Résistance is the name used to denote the collection of French resistance movements that fought against the Nazi German occupation of France and against the collaborationist Vichy régime during World War II. Résistance cells were small groups of armed men and women , who, in addition to their guerrilla warfare activities, were also, burning fifty houses, executing six men and taking eleven people hostage.
Economy: Food and Wine
Known principally for the production of red wine from the Pinot Noir Pinot noir is a red wine grape variety of the species Vitis vinifera. The name may also refer to wines created predominantly from Pinot noir grapes. The name is derived from the French words for "pine" and "black" alluding to the varietals' tightly clustered dark purple pine cone-shaped bunches of fruit grape until the 20th century, the Sancerre area was devastated by phylloxera Grape phylloxera (Viteus vitifoliae Fitch , family Phylloxeridae); originally described in France as Phylloxera vastatrix; equated to the previously described Daktulosphaira vitifoliae, Phylloxera vitifoliae; commonly just called phylloxera (from Greek φύλλο, leaf, and ξερό, dry) is a pest of commercial grapevines worldwide, originally in the late 19th century. The vineyards were replanted in Sauvignon Blanc Sauvignon blanc is a green-skinned grape variety which originates from the Bordeaux region of France. The grape gets its name from the French word sauvage and blanc ("white") due to its early origins as an indigenous grape in South West France. It is now planted in many of the world's wine regions, producing a crisp, dry, and refreshing (also see Sancerre (wine)). In 1936 Sancerre white was given AOC Appellation d’origine contrôlée , which translates as "controlled term of origin" is the French certification granted to certain French geographical indications for wines, cheeses, butters, and other agricultural products, all under the auspices of the government bureau Institut National des Appellations d'Origine (INAO) (INAO) status; reds were classified in 1959. The area now produces white, red and rose wine. The following communes fall inside the "Sancerre" and "Sancerre-Loire Valley" controlled label of origin area: Bannay, Bué, Crésancy, Menetou-Râtel, Ménétréol, Montigny, Saint Satur, Sainte-Gemme, Sancerre, Sury-en-Vaux, Thauvenay Thauvenay is a commune in the Cher département of the Centre region of France, Veaugues, Verdigny et Vinon.
The area is also noted for its goat cheese Goat's milk cheese, goats' cheese, goat cheese or chèvre is cheese made from goat's milk. The nearby village of Chavignol, which gave its name to the cheese - Crottin de Chavignol - is located on the territory of the commune.
Retail shop of one of Chavignol's two cheese makersSights and Tourism
Of architectural significance: Belfry of St. Jean, a 16th century bell tower built by the prosperous merchants of Sancerre; Tour des Fiefs (1390), the lone remaining tower of the feudal chateau; and the ruins of Saint Romble, a medieval church destroyed by the English.
Maison des Sancerre: Wine exposition located in 14th-16th century house with tower.
The city is a cobweb of twisted streets with many buildings surviving from the Middle Ages.
Sancerre is "twinned" with the town of Eccleshall in England.
Famous people associated with Sancerre
- Stephen I of Sancerre (Étienne I), Count of Sancerre (1133-1191) Crusader; died at the Siege of Acre.
- Etienne II of Sancerre, Count of Sancerre (1252-1306) Grand Bouteiller of France
- Louis II de Sancerre, Count of Sancerre (d. August 26, 1346) One of the few French nobles to penetrate the English front line at the Battle of Crécy. Killed in the battle.
- Louis de Sancerre, Marshal of France, Constable of France (1342-1402) Buried in Saint Denis Basilica near King Charles V.
- Stephen of Sancerre, Lord of Vailly (d. 1390 in Tunis) Died fighting the Moors under the command of Louis II de Bourbon, Duke of Bourbon (1337-1410).
- Jean V de Bueil, Admiral of France (1406-1477) The Plague of the English and author of Le Jouvencel.
- Jean de Léry, Protestant minister and author, History of a Voyage to the Land of Brazil, 1578 and The Memorable History of the Siege of Sancerre, 1574.
- Samuel Bernard, comte de Coubert (1651-1739) Protestant Financier
- Count Louis of Sancerre, companion of explorer Sieur de la Salle, 1682.
- Étienne MacDonald, Duke of Taranto, Marshal of France (1765-1840) Napoleon made him Marshal of France on the battlefield at Wagram.
- Jean-Pierre Bachasson, comte de Montalivet (1766-1823) French statesman
- Louis Mairet, Commander of the Legion of Honor, Companion of the Order of Liberation (1916-1998) Parachutist with the Free French Squadron; destroyed the bridge at Sancerre in World War II.
| Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Sancerre |
Categories: Communes of Cher
|
Amy
2008-06-24 17:10:00
Variety (see below) points to Alsace, Germany, . Sancerre. or Burgundy. Though the acidity is austere, Alsace and Germnay would be expected to have an even more coarse mouthfeel (and Germany to have higher alcohol). . ...
