1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.
Saintes (French:[sɛ̃t]ⓘ;Poitevin-Saintongeais:Sénte) is acommune and historic town in western France, in theCharente-Maritime department of which it is asub-prefecture, inNouvelle-Aquitaine. Saintes is the second-largest city in Charente-Maritime, with 25,518 inhabitants in 2021. The city's immediate surroundings form the second-most populous metropolitan area in the department, with 56,598 inhabitants. While a majority of the surrounding landscape consists of fertile, productive fields, a significant minority of the region remains forested, its natural state.
In Roman times, Saintes was known asMediolanum Santonum. During much of its history, the name of the city was spelledXaintes orXainctes.
Primarily built on the left bank of the Charente, Saintes became the first Roman capital of Aquitaine. Later it was designated as the capital of the province ofSaintonge under theAncien Régime. Following theFrench Revolution, it briefly became theprefecture of the department (then calledCharente-Inférieure) during the territorial reorganization of 1790, untilLa Rochelle was designated and superseded it in 1810.[3] Although it had the status only of a subprefecture,[N 1] Saintes was allowed to remain the judicial centre of the department. In the late 19th century, Saintes was chosen as the seat of the VIIItharrondissement of theChemins de Fer de l'État, railways, which enabled an era of economic and demographic growth.
Today, Saintes remains the economic heart of the centre of the department, and it is an important transport hub.[4] A few major industrial businesses operate (in electronics, rail repair, construction of hoists). The city's commerce and service sector is large, featuring the headquarters of Co-op Atlantique, and administrative functions of state, courts, and legal services; banks, schools, and a hospital. Beyond this, property maintenance, retail, and tourism sectors provide large numbers of jobs.
Because of its noteworthy Gallo-Roman, medieval and classical heritage, Saintes is a tourist destination. It has been a member of theFrench Towns and Lands of Art and History since 1990.[5] It has several museums, a theater, cinemas, and organizes numerous festivals.[6] A European centre of musical research and practice is based in its Abbaye aux Dames.[7]
Saintes is on the banks of the riverCharente, in the center-eastern part of the department. The city is based 60 km southeast of La Rochelle,[8] 33 kilometers northeast of Royan,[8] and about 100 km north of Bordeaux[8] (to which it is linked by theA10 autoroute).
Achronostratigraphic stage of sedimentary rock (in stratigraphy) has been named after the former name for inhabitants, theSantones, theSantonian (approximately 84 Ma ago, after theConiacian Age and before theCampanian Age in theCretaceous Period). Saintes is built on its eponymous subset of mainly limestone that consists of particularflint nodules ofquartz geodes and nodules ofiron. Ancient stone quarries in its 'Colline de la Capitole' (Capitol Hill) and Bellevue, partially filled or converted to permitfungiculture, are evidence for Santonian stone's use in the construction of various buildings, where unimproved quite vulnerable to frost.[9]
Nearer to the river, the Cretaceous plateau gives way to more or less recent alluvial grasslands composed ofbri, a type of clay.
The town is divided into 14 administrative areas: Les Boiffiers, Les Tourneurs, L'Ormeau de Pied, Recouvrance, La Fenêtre, Saint-Rémy, Saint-Vivien, Saint-Eutrope, Saint-Pierre, Saint-Pallais, Saint-Sébastien de Bouard, La Récluse, Le Maine-Saint-Sorlin and Bellevue.[10]
The Post Office on the left bank.City Hall on the left bank, district Saint-Pierre.
The neighbourhood of Saint-Pierre lies between the hill of the Capitole and the river Charente. It possesses a significant number of historic monuments justifying its forming the core of a conservation area that spans over 65 hectares (0.25 sq mi).[11] Built around thecathedral Saint-Pierre, theplace du marché and theplace du Synode, it is crossed by pedestrian alleys around which can be found numerous medieval, renaissance and classic buildings.[12]
Almost immediately west lies the neighbourhood of Saint-Eutrope, that has developed over the centuries around a rocky elevation bounded by two small valleys at right angles to the river. Dominated by the Saint-Eutrope basilica, it also contains the remains of a Clunian priory and several hillside houses. Little valleys lead to thevallon des Arènes (meaning arenas vale) below, where a Roman amphitheatre survives, in a park named "Parc des Arènes".[12]
Thecours Reverseaux andcours des Apôtres de la liberté separate Saint-Eutrope (and its hill) in the west from thefaubourg Berthonnière. These partly separate the hill of the Capitole to the north. Once outside the walls, the faubourg included some hostelries and inns for pilgrims.[12] The streets of thefaubourg converge toward theplace Saint-Louis, theplace de l'Aubarrée and theplace Blair, dominated by a column ofLiberty (in France popularised as fictional Marianne at the time) erected during the Revolution.[13] Thesquare Goulebenéze stands between theplace Blair and the river.
The neighbourhoods ofles Boiffiers andBellevue are separated from the rest of the city by theavenue de Saintonge; they consist mainly of low-rent housing (HLM) and suburban housing, standing on a plateau bounded by the Charente. Bellevue has 1,560 inhabitants and spans 17 hectares (42 acres); it is listed as azone urbaine sensible (ZUS).[14]
La Recouvrance, in a triangle formed by thecours du maréchal Leclerc, thecours Genet and therocade ouest (bypass), contains alycée, the former seminary, the Yvon Chevalier stadium and a shopping mall. The water tower of Recouvrance is decorated with frescoes by contemporary artist Michel Genty.
In the north of the urban area, the Saint-Vivien neighbourhood has an old faubourg (exurb) which has been inhabited since antiquity. Here, thethermes de Saint-Saloine, ancient Roman baths, are found.[12]
The neighbourhood of Saint-Pallais was probably urbanised in antiquity. Structured around the main access way of the Roman city, it was then linked to the town centre by a bridge with a monumental entrance, theArch of Germanicus. During the Middle Ages, a funeral basilica, dedicated to the bishop Palladius, was established (and later replaced by the église Saint-Pallais, which gives its name to the neighbourhood), then a Benedictine abbey of women amongst the largest in the region, theAbbaye aux Dames de Saintes. The presence of this monumental heritage led to the integration of part of the neighbourhood into a conservation area. It was during the 19th century that the neighbourhood began to develop. The antique bridge was destroyed and replaced in 1879 by thepont Bernard-Palissy, a few metres upstream; theavenue Gambetta and theplace Bassompierre were created; the railway station, theGare de Saintes, the prison, the Haras national de Saintes, theparc Pierre-Mendès France, theJardin public Fernand Chapsal and the protected area of theprairie de la Palu[12] were subsequently created.
The autoroute A10 leaving Saintes towards Bordeaux
Saintes is a transportation hub of some importance, connected by twomotorways and several secondary roads, national and departmental, that converge towards therocade (partly a 2x2) that bypasses the city on its western and southern sides.
TheA10 autoroute (France), operated locally by Autoroutes du Sud de la France, passes through the commune in its western part, in a north–south axis. It can be accessed by the interchange 35. By the A10, Saintes is 125 km (78 mi) fromBordeaux, 140 km (87 mi) fromPoitiers, 470 km (290 mi) fromParis.
TheA837 autoroute is a spur road of the A10 linking the area toRochefort, the third city in the department.
The Saint-Eutrope basilica from the Avenue de Saintonge
Saintes is on the Route Centre-Europe Atlantique, an expressway that links it toLimoges andLyon in the east – its dualled western section Saintes-Saujon opened to traffic in 2008 making the two 25 minutes apart by car. An extension towardsRoyan on the coast completed in the following decade.
Therocade is formed in its western part by the national road 137, that meets two key roads, the departmental road 728 (that links Saintes to theIsland of Oleron byMarennes) and the departmental road 150 that intersects near the locality of Diconche. In its southern part, the rocade integrates the national road 141, that runs east towardsCognac,Angoulême andLimoges. The departmental road 150, at the end of the east part, runs towardsNiort bySaint-Hilaire-de-Villefranche etSaint-Jean-d'Angély. The town centre of Saintes is bypassed by theavenue de Saintonge or departmental road 24, that crosses the Charente using the bridge de Saintonge, opened in 1969.
In 1894, the station was the starting point of a 3 km (1.9 mi) long network of tramways that was stopped in 1934. A secondary railway was built, also in 1894, 42 km (26 mi) long linking Saintes toMortagne-sur-Gironde, byGémozac, then a somewhat important economic centre; however, this railway was dismantled in 1947.[15]
The importance of this railway network is explained by the designation of Saintes as the seat of the Compagnie des chemins de fer des Charentes in 1867, then as the regional seat of the VIIIth arrondissement of the Chemins de fer de l'État from 1911 to 1971. TheSNCF is still a major employer in the city, and new depots and workshops were opened in 2009 and 2010.
Cathédrale Saint PierreThe Roman amphitheaterMuseum
TheArch of Germanicus, atriumphal arch, was built at the entrance to a bridge, where the mainRoman road crossed the Charente. The bridge was demolished in 1843 but the Arch was saved byProsper Mérimée and rebuilt at its present location on the bank of the river.
Ruins of theRomanamphitheatre on the main, left bank of the Charente, near the summit of the hill upon which the town was built. Its notable tiers (cavea) are built against the hill and an embankment.
Some remnants of thethermae of Saint-Saloine (1st century) are also visible, in particular anaqueduct.
Fragments of the third century rampart (to the city walls) can be seen in the Place des Récollets. It was built with stones taken from the Roman buildings.
Other churches: theBasilique Saint-Eutrope (Basilica of SaintEutropius) and theCathédrale Saint-Pierre,Saintes Cathedral:[1] Basilique Saint-Eutrope:[2],[3]
Museums
theMusée archéologique, which has a restored Roman cart/wagon of the first century amongst a collection of sculptures and inscriptions.
theMusée du Présidial, which has amannerist architecture and a collection of regional ceramics and paintings of the 15th to 18th century.
theMusée de l'Échevinage, which exhibits porcelain ofSèvres and paintings of the 19th and 20th century
^(in French) Synthèse des travaux de la commission de stratégie,L'abbaye aux Dames, centre européen de recherche et de pratique musicale de Saintes, note de réflexion stratégique, 2003,Read onlineArchived 27 November 2021 at theWayback Machine
(in French) André Baudrit,Saintes au XVIth siècle, (Thèse de Doctorat, Bordeaux 1957), 745 pages.
(in French) Jean Combes, Gilles Bernard,Histoire du Poitou et des Pays Charentais, Éditions de Borée, 2001ISBN978-2-84494-084-1
(in French) Robert Favreau, Régis Rech et Yves-Jean Riou (directeurs)Bonnes villes du Poitou et des Pays Charentais (XIIth–XVIIIth siècles), Actes du colloque tenu à Saint-Jean-d’Angély les 24-25 septembre 1999,Société des antiquaires de l'Ouestin Mémoires de la Société des antiquaires de l'Ouest et des Musées de Poitiers, fifth série, tome VIII (2002), à Poitiers.ISBN2-9519441-0-1
(in French) Michel Garnier, Christian Gensbeit,À la découverte de Saintes, Patrimoines Médias, 2000,ISBN2-910137-50-3
(in French) Daniel Massiou,Histoire politique, civile et religieuse de la Saintonge et de l'Aunis, A.Charrier, libraire-éditeur, Saintes, 1846.
(in French) Alain Michaud (sous la direction de),Histoire de Saintes, Privat, 1989,ISBN2-7089-8252-4
(in French) Pierre Rayssiguier (ouvrage collectif sous la direction de),Saintes, plus de 2,000 ans d'histoire illustrée, Société d'archéologie et d'histoire de la Charente-Maritime, Saintes, 2001
(in French) Henri Texier,Petite histoire de Saintes, Geste édition, 2003ISBN2-84561-092-0
(in French)Le patrimoine des communes de la Charente-Maritime, éditions Flohic, collection Le patrimoine des communes de France, 2002.
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