Surgères | |
|---|---|
 The gardens near the town hall in Surgères | |
 Coat of arms | |
 Location of Surgères | |
  Surgères  Surgères | |
| Coordinates:46°06′23″N0°44′58″W / 46.1064°N 0.7494°W /46.1064; -0.7494 | |
| Country | France |
| Region | Nouvelle-Aquitaine |
| Department | Charente-Maritime |
| Arrondissement | Rochefort |
| Canton | Surgères |
| Government | |
| • Mayor(2020–2026) | Catherine Desprez[1] |
Area 1 | 28.71 km2 (11.08 sq mi) |
| Population (2022)[2] | 6,861 |
| • Density | 239.0/km2 (618.9/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
| INSEE/Postal code | 17434 /17700 |
| Elevation | 16–57 m (52–187 ft) (avg. 25 m or 82 ft) |
| Website | http://www.ville-surgeres.fr/ |
| 1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. | |
Surgères (French pronunciation:[syʁʒɛʁ]) is acommune in theCharente-Maritimedepartment, southwestern France. It is the home of theSurgères 48 Hour Race.
The site of Surgères was occupied inNeolithic times, but the earliest recorded history comes from theMiddle Ages. The Duke of Aquitaine wanted to guard his lands inAunis againstNorman invasion, so he built a stone and wood defence on the marshes, a bridgehead against the invaders which was known as Latin:Castrum Surgeriacum. At the end of the 10th century, theCounts of Poitiers started to acquire power inAunis and appointed Guillaume Maingot to take charge of the fortress and part of the lands around it.
In the 12th century this defence had become a small city, whose lords entertained the grandees of the parliament ofSaintonge. During this time a large castle was built on the ramparts, as was theRomanesque church of Notre-Dame. In 1152Eleanor of Aquitaine marriedHenry II of England, thus putting her lands including Surgères into English hands.
Coming back under French rule with SaintLouis IX of France, the English took the town in a surprise raid in 1332 during theHundred Years' War.[3]
The history of Surgères is equally marked by Hélène de Fonsèque (1546–1618),Pierre de Ronsard's muse, whose beauty he celebrated in hisSonnets pour Hélène. QueenCatherine de' Medici encouraged the affair between the fifty-year-old Ronsard and the beautiful Hélène, so that she could be part of the royal court as one of the ladies-in-waiting.[4]
Hélène was the daughter of Louis de Clermont and Roderic de Fonsèque, a Spanish family from Monterey. She married Philippe de Barbezières.[5]
Surgères regained some prosperity during the 16th century before theFrench Wars of Religion. A coveted stronghold, it was occupied byCalvinists and then byCatholic troops after the fall of La Rochelle in 1628, whenCardinal Richelieu knocked down its ramparts.
After theFrench Revolution of 1789, life in this little village becamefeudal with the domination of a ruralbourgeoisie who took, as in all of France, a good deal of the lands of the Dukes of Rochefoucauld-Doudeauville, later Lords of Surgères.
Winemaking and the distillery contributed to a "Golden Age" for the town, butphylloxera brought it to an end in 1878. Afterwards, the dairy college (l'ENILIA : École nationale d'industrie laitière et d'industries agroalimentaires, "National College of Dairy and Agricultural Food Industries") contributed to the revival of Surgères.
In 1850 Surgères absorbed part of the old commune ofSaint-Pierre-de-Surgères, the other part being reattached to the neighbouring commune ofSaint-Germain-de-Marencennes.
To the north lies the town ofSaint-Georges-du-Bois, to the northwestPuyravault andVouhé, to the westPéré, to the southwestSaint-Germain-de-Marencennes, to the southVandré, to the southeastBreuil-la-Réorte, to the eastSaint-Mard, and to the northeastSaint-Saturnin-du-Bois.
Surgères is in the north of the department ofCharente-Maritime, equidistant from the towns ofNiort,La Rochelle,Rochefort andSaint-Jean-d'Angély. The village is south of theMarais Poitevin and east of the ancient province ofAunis.
The town's name came from the Gères, the stream that runs through it.[14] It empties into theDevise, which flows into theCharente.[15]
Surgères has a temperate climate but in December 1999, like all of the department, was hit by the secondEuropean windstorm of the season, codenamedMartin.
TheA10 autoroute gives access at Exit 33 (Niort-La Rochelle) to the northeast of the town and Exit 34 (Saint-Jean-d'Angély) to the southeast.
The oldRoute nationale 11 (RN11) passes through the town. This road, reclassified to Route Départementale 911, connectsMauzé-sur-le-Mignon toRochefort.Route nationale 139, running fromLa Rochelle toPérigueux, passed through Surgères andAngoulême and has been declassified to Route Départementale 939.
Surgères railway station connects the capital byTGV, and is also on theTER Nouvelle-Aquitaine regional railway network. It is part of the program ofGares en mouvement, which aims to modernise the largest stations of theSNCF (French National Railway Company).
The railway arrived in Surgères in 1857 thanks to theChemin de fer de Paris à Orléans. ThePoitiers–La Rochelle line was electrified in 1993 to allow the TGV to run up toLa Rochelle railway station.[16] The line from Surgères toMarans which was part of theFreycinet Plan can also be traced.
The closest airports areLa Rochelle – Île de Ré Airport[17] andRochefort – Saint-Agnant Airport.[18]
 |
| Term | Name | Party | Occupation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014–2026 | Catherine Desprez | DVD | General councillor |
| 2001–2014 | Phillippe Guilloteau | UMP | General councillor |
| 1983–2001 | Jean-Guy Branger | UDF |
TheCanton of Surgères is part of theCharente-Maritime's 2nd constituency where the delegate isFrédérique Tuffnell.
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The town of Surgères is known for its activities in the food farming industry, especially milk processing. Of equal promininence isboilermaking andengineering.
The town is principally known for itsbutter which hasAOC designation "Beurre des Charentes" or "Beurre Charentes-Poitou". The "Glac" (French:Groupement des Laiteries Coopératives, "Group of Dairy Co-operatives") distribute many brands of butter, milk and cheese such as Bougon, Saint-Loup, Lescure, Surgères, Le Petit Vendéen andMottin charentais.
With its brand Saint-Loup, the Glac is the shirt sponsor of theChamois Niortais when they play at home, and has been a partner in the club for many years.[21]
The town is also home to theSyndicat des Laiteries Charentes-Poitou, a syndicate that developed at the end of the 19th Century to get Charentes-Poitou butter to the shops of Paris in under 48 hours. The syndicate is a partner of theSurgères 48 Hour Race and appears on the shirt of the best climber.[22]
The dairy industry was started by Eugène Biraud after thePhylloxera crisis, with the first co-operative created in 1888 in an old distillery at Chaillé, to the northwest of Surgères.[23] In 1907, a dairy college completed the picture.
Training in the food industry is under the control of theFrench:Pôle de Formation ENILIA ENSMIC (École Nationale d'Industrie Laitière et des Industries Agroalimentaires et l'École Nationale Supérieure de La Meunerie et des Industries Céréalières ("Training policy of the National College of the Dairy and Food Industries and Higher National College of Milling and Cereals"). These groups provide training from granting new licences (theory and apprenticeship) onwards, with the aim of meeting the needs of employers. The college takes students from all over France, and foreigners. Research activities are conducted on behalf of companies. The college works with 2,500 companies in 80 countries.
The engineering sector with Poyauddiesel engines becameSociété Alsacienne de Constructions Mécaniques, thenWärtsilä Diesel. The Surgères site producedChar Leclerc engines but also engines forrailcars andlocomotives, and marine engines. This technology is also used in the production of largeelectric generators for hospitals, industry and offices of large companies.
There are many other companies at this site, such asSassaro (specialising instainless steel for the dairy and pharmaceutical industries) and Saro (specialising inprecision engineering).
The Sibcasslaughterhouse employs around fifty people and is near the creamery. Every October Surgères hosts alivestock show.
Despite there being acarpentry school there is no furniture industry. In the neighbouring commune ofSaint-Germain-de-Marencennes there is the Sofec factory, owned by Teissa the kitchen designer.
The town has two major media for the north ofCharente-Maritime:
TheAcadémie de Cuivres et Percussions ("Academy of brass and percussion") organises a festival each summer which lets artists get together in Surgères and the surrounding communes.
Since 2005, the summer Sérénade festival has been promotingstringed instruments with open-air concerts. This event is directed byPierre Lénert, aviolist and soloist in the orchestra of theOpéra national de Paris at theOpéra Bastille.
The bandLes Verres Luisants ("The Shiny Glasses") was champion of France in 2007 and 2008. This band won a Palme d'Or in the 2008 festival atCondom, Gers and have long accompanied the town's rugby team.
TheCollège Hélène de Fonsèque is a professional school specialising inwoodworking. There are also the School of the Pays d'Aunis and the dairy college of ENILIA-ENSMIC.
As mentioned above, near toSaint-Pierre-d'Amilly isINRA's site for bird farming, snail farming and beekeeping.[24]
The town was named the Most Sporting Village in France (of fewer than 10,000 inhabitants) in 1987. The most popular sport is rugby.
The Sporting Club Surgèrien was founded in 1912 and is in the Poitou-Charentes league. It is now in the French Championship, Federal Division 3. The club was champion of this division in 1997. The final took place inGraulhet againstSolliès-Pont.
TheSurgères 48 Hour Race is anultrarunning competition created in 1985. In 2009 it was won by Australian Martin Fryer, the 2008 world champion of 24-hour racing, and in 2008 by Ryoichi Sekiya. The 25th race, in 2010, took place from Friday 21 May to Sunday 23 May.
Showjumping in Surgères takes place every August. For the fifteenth meeting in 2008, it was one of the stages of Showjumping Grand National, with the best French showjumpers. Unfortunately the 2009 event was cancelled[25] but it will return in 2010.[26]
TheRallye d'Automne regularly has a show of its private collection on the Place du Château. In 2000Yvan Muller won. He had previously trained to win theAndros Trophy which he won after a season inBTCC on British circuits.
Surgères is twinned with:
– Wipperfürth,North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.
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