Parthenay

French commune
nomcommune=Parthenay
région=Poitou-Charentes
département=Deux-Sèvres
("sous-préfecture")
arrondissement=Parthenay
canton=Parthenay
insee=79202
cp=79200
maire=Xavier Argenton
mandat=2008-2014
intercomm=Communauté de communes de Parthenay
longitude=-0.247800
latitude=46.646160
alt moy=
alt mini=114m
alt maxi=184m
hectares=1,138
km²=11.38
sans=10,466
date-sans=1999
dens=920
date-dens=1999

Parthenay is an ancient fortified town and "commune" in the Poitou-Charentes "région" of France, sited on a rocky spur that is surrounded on two sides by the River Thouet.

It is situated some convert|40|km|abbr=on north of Niort, convert|50|km|abbr=on west of Poitiers, convert|120|km|abbr=on south-east of Nantes, and convert|350|km|abbr=on south-west of Paris.cite book | title = French Atlantic Coast | publisher = Michelin Apa Publications Ltd | isbn = 978-1-906261-17-7 | pages = 332-335 | month = October | year = 2007]

Each July, Parthenay hosts the "Festival Ludique International de Parthenay", otherwise known as the "Festival de Jeux" or "FLIP", in which the town's streets and squares are filled with games of many types. The shorter indoor "FLIP d'hiver" runs in November.

History

Legend has it that Parthenay was created with a wave of the fairy Melusine's wand. However the name of Parthenay first appears in written records at the beginning of the 11th century and there is no evidence of previous significant human occupation in the Middle Ages.cite book | title = French Atlantic Coast | publisher = Michelin Apa Publications Ltd | isbn = 978-1-906261-17-7 | pages = 332-335 | month = October | year = 2007] cite web | title = Parthenay | publisher = Wikipedia France | url = http://fr.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Parthenay&oldid=29885681 | date = 2008-05-23 | accessdate = 2008-06-02]

The castle, situated on an easily defended site at the tip of the rocky promontory surrounded by the loop of the river, was built in the 13th century. At the same time the outer fortifications protecting the citadel, and the town itself, were completed.cite book | title = The Story of Parthenay | publisher = Communauté de communes de Parthenay ]

Economically, Parthenay benefited by being on one of the branches of the Way of St. James, the mediaeval pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostella in Spain. The main fortified gate, by which pilgrims would enter the town, still bears the name of Saint Jacques (the French name for Saint James).cite book | title = French Atlantic Coast | publisher = Michelin Apa Publications Ltd | isbn = 978-1-906261-17-7 | pages = 332-335 | month = October | year = 2007] cite web | title = Parthenay | publisher = Wikipedia France | url = http://fr.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Parthenay&oldid=29885681 | date = 2008-05-23 | accessdate = 2008-06-02]

Historically, Parthenay was considered the capital of the Gâtine Vendéenne, the hilly and wooded area that occupies the centre of the current department of Deux-Sèvres and is quite different in character to the plains to the south, around Niort. Because of the nature of the land, the area became known for the breeding of cattle, and the Parthenais breed is named after the town.cite web | title = Parthenay | publisher = Wikipedia France | url = http://fr.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Parthenay&oldid=29885681 | date = 2008-05-23 | accessdate = 2008-06-02]

It was not until the 19th century that the town expanded beyond its walls. Wide boulevards and squares were constructed following the line of the old town wall and moat to the east of the town. Beyond these, the railway station was built in 1880, and new districts and industries grew up around this.cite book | title = The Story of Parthenay | publisher = Communauté de communes de Parthenay ]

Geography

The mediaeval walled town of Parthenay is constructed in a bend of the River Thouet, which surrounds the town on the west and north sides. The highest ground within the walls lies to the south, where the current town centre lies. To the north and west, a spur of high ground runs above cliffs which descend vertically to the riverside park of "La Pree". At the northern end of this spur, with the river on two sides, are the remains of the towns fortified "chateau". Between the "chateau" and the town centre along the top of the spur is the "citadel", protected by the city wall along the top of the cliffs to the west, and by its own inner walls to the south and east.cite book | title = The Story of Parthenay | publisher = Communauté de communes de Parthenay ] cite book | title = Carte de Promenade - 33 - Cholet Niort | publisher = Institut Geographique National ]

To the east of the citadel and the north of the town centre, the land slopes more gently down to the river. Here can be found the "Rue de la Vau Saint-Jaques", a narrow mediaeval street that climbs up from the bridge and gateway of the "Porte Saint-Jacques" to the centre of town. In time of the pilgrimage, this would have been the main pilgrimage route south through the town, and was occupied by weavers. Many of the timber-framed houses that still line this road retain the wooden ground floor shutters that folded down to form a stall.cite book | title = The Story of Parthenay | publisher = Communauté de communes de Parthenay ] cite book | title = Carte de Promenade - 33 - Cholet Niort | publisher = Institut Geographique National ]

Outside the city walls, the district of Saint-Jacques occupies land at the northern side of the Saint-Jacques bridge, and was also an area of weavers in mediaeval times. To the west of the town centre, the district of Saint-Paul spills down the steep hill to the river, across the Saint-Paul bridge and around the former Saint-Paul's Priory, founded in the 11th century. The Saint-Paul's district was the home of the town's tanners.cite book | title = The Story of Parthenay | publisher = Communauté de communes de Parthenay ] cite book | title = Carte de Promenade - 33 - Cholet Niort | publisher = Institut Geographique National ]

Later expansions to the east and south of the walled town date from the 19th century and later, and were encouraged by the construction of the railway and, more recently, the town's eastern by-pass road.cite book | title = The Story of Parthenay | publisher = Communauté de communes de Parthenay ] cite book | title = Carte de Promenade - 33 - Cholet Niort | publisher = Institut Geographique National ]

Government

Parthenay is in the "département" of Deux-Sèvres, within the "région" of Poitou-Charentes. It is the "sous-préfecture" of the "arrondissement" of Parthenay, and the "chef-lieu" of the "canton" of Parthenay. [cite web | title = Code Officiel Géographique | publisher = Institut National de la Statistique et des Études Économiques | accessdate = 2008-05-31 | url = http://www.insee.fr/fr/nom_def_met/nomenclatures/cog/ListeC.asp?TABLEZ=ARROND&numreg=54&numdep=79&numar=3&numct=22#res ]

In 2001, the "commune" of Parthenay joined together with five neighbouring "communes" to establish the "communauté de communes" of Parthenay, which provides a framework within which local tasks are carried out together. The "communauté" has a population of 17,767 in an area of convert|89|km²|abbr=on, which compares to the "commune" with a population of 10,466 in an area of convert|11.38|km²|abbr=on. [cite web | url = http://portail.cc-parthenay.fr/Portail2007/ElusEtTerritoire/presentationgenerale/ | title = Présentation générale | publisher = Communauté de communes de Parthenay | accessdate = 2008-06-04] [cite web | url = http://portail.cc-parthenay.fr/Portail2007/Lescommunes/ | title = Les Communes | publisher = Communauté de communes de Parthenay | accessdate = 2008-05-31]

Transport

Parthenay is located on the "Route nationale" 149 (RN149), which runs roughly east-west from Nantes to Poitiers, and which forms part of the European route E62 from Nantes to Genoa. The RN149 is a conventional highway, and has to a certain extent been by-passed by a combination of the "autoroutes" A83 and A10 that passes some convert|25|km|abbr=on to the south of Parthenay. Other major roads link Parthenay to Niort, Saumur, Saint-Maixent-l'École and La Roche-sur-Yon. Through traffic can avoid passing through the old town by using a by-pass road that encircles the town at a distance of about convert|2|km|abbr=on.cite book | title = Carte de Promenade - 33 - Cholet Niort | publisher = Institut Geographique National ]

Parthenay railway station was formerly a junction on the SNCF rail system, with lines to Niort, Thouars, Poitiers and Bressuire. However only the lines to Niort and Thouars survive, and these lines now only carry freight trains. Instead the station is served by a long distance bus service from Nantes to Poitiers that forms part of the SNCF's TER Poitou-Charentes network. The "département" of Deux-Sèvres also provides the "Réseau des Deux-Sèvres", an inter-urban bus service that connects Parthenay to Niort, Bressuire, Thouars and other local towns and villages.cite book | title = Carte de Promenade - 33 - Cholet Niort | publisher = Institut Geographique National ] cite web | title = Ter-sncf.com - Poitou Charentes - Carte et Horaires | url = http://www.ter-sncf.com/poitou_charentes/carte_horaires/index.asp | publisher = SNCF | accessdate = 2008-05-04] cite web | title = Plan-RDS | publisher = Conseil général des Deux-Sèvres | url = http://www.deux-sevres.com/transports/document/2007-12/Plan-RDS.pdf | date = 2008 | accessdate = 2008-06-04]

The nearest airports are at Poitiers (Poitiers - Biard Airport) and Nantes (Nantes Atlantique Airport).

ights

In the town remain part of the walls of the church of St. Jean: the ossuary is incorporated in the ramparts which overlook the Boulevard de la Meilleraye today, and towered over an impressive defensive system of moats in the Middle Ages. It is impossible to forget the famous carved façade of Notre Dame de la Couldre, the church of Parthenay's archipriest, or Sainte Croix: the Church of the Holy Cross which, with its bell tower added at a later date, dominates the Citadel. There is too, the town centre church of Saint Laurent which was originally surrounded by a cemetery. It too has been built and rebuilt several times.

In the 13th century, between 1202 and 1227, the town was shielded by a solid network of walls and moats. The lords of Parthenay received a considerable sum of gold from their overlord The English King to help them to defend themselves against the forces of the French King. The town was completely fortified. Four great gates were built or consolidated. The Saint Jacques Gate, which takes its name from the pilgrims on their way to SantIago de Compostela in Spain, is the best example. The Castle was completely rebuilt. All that remains today of this structure are the Harcourt Tower and the massive Poudrière Tower. During the restoration of the castle since 1986, archaeologists have uncovered many objects that can be seen in the town museum.

There are no houses left standing from that time as in order to build more quickly and thus more cheaply, houses were constructed with wooden frames, a sort of wall of beams with the gaps filled with earth and straw or later on with bricks. These buildings were nowhere near as solid as the great walls of castles and churches built with lime and sand. Their particular weakness was that they burned easily when the town was under attack or being pillaged by enemy forces.

The town also had a convent of the Cordeliers: the Middle Ages were the times of priests and monks: in every town in western Europe brother preachers spread the word of the Gospels, inviting the townspeople to attend Mass and to perform an act of penance before the great Christian Feasts of Christmas and Easter. The order of the Cordeliers described the monsters and torments of hell on the one hand to frighten sinners, and on the other , to encourage good acts they taught about Saint Francis and his miracles. In those times there were great religious feasts and youth festivals. It was a time when the bourgeois, the middle classes, left goods and income to the church in their wills in return for hundreds or thousands of memorial masses.

Medieval tradesmen and craftsmen in Parthenay

The tanners with their workshops in St Paul's quarter were specialists who cleaned and tanned hides. The weavers and their looms in Saint Jacques worked with thread and wool which was brought in from the whole region. The merchant drapers and merchant butchers were all thriving, and there were a few goldsmiths and money changers who worked with gold and silver. The wealthier they were, the closer they moved towards the Citadel and the main street leading to the church of Saint Laurent. When the Lords of Parthenay left to join the King's court at the end of the Middle Ages, the trade in luxury goods ceased, but the thriving trade in cloth and hides kept the town wealthy. The streets and alleyways bustled not just with people but with flocks and herds brought in for the Wednesday cattle, meat and dairy markets and feast days. On the Place des Bancs and in the surrounding streets in the heart of the town, peasant women dressed in rustic hessian sold what they had produced on their small holdings and let themselves be tempted by the peddlers' wares. Their menfolk, after negotiating the sale of their livestock in the great feudal market hall beside the Citadel gate, closed the deal over a jug of dry or sour wine.

The lords of Parthenay built convents and churches too: they made many gifts of land and gave what were considerable sums of money at the time to the church. Thus were built or rebuilt the Houses of God. The best preserved monument is to be found on the outskirts of the present-day town, on the Niort road. There can be seen the remains of the Priory of St. Pierre – most of the walls and some of the buildings with their richly carved ornamentation are visible.

ee also

*Communes of the Deux-Sèvres department

References

External links

* [http://www.cc-parthenay.fr Web site of the "communauté de communes"] (in French)
* [http://france-for-visitors.com/atlantic/poitiers/parthenay.html Basic information on Parthenay] (in English)
* [http://www.ign.fr/affiche_rubrique.asp?rbr_id=1087&CommuneId=73653 Parthenay on the web site of the Institut Géographique National] (in French)