Hiers-Brouage

Hiers-Brouage
Citadel
Hiers-Brouage
Administration
Country France
Region Poitou-Charentes
Department Charente-Maritime
Arrondissement Rochefort
Canton Marennes
Mayor Patrick Pellet
(2008–2014)
Statistics
Elevation 0–26 m (0–85 ft)
Land area1 31.35 km2 (12.10 sq mi)
Population2 639  (2008)
 - Density 20 /km2 (52 /sq mi)
INSEE/Postal code 17189/ 17320
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.
2 Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once.

Hiers-Brouage is a commune in the Charente-Maritime department in southwestern France.

Contents

History

Brouage was founded in 1555 by Jacques de Pons on the Bay of Biscay facing the Atlantic Ocean. Its economy was based on salt and access to the sea. The town was fortified between 1630 and 1640 by Cardinal Richelieu as a Catholic bastion in order to fight against the neighbouring Protestant town of La Rochelle. Gradually the harbour silted up in the last part of the 17th century, leaving the town stranded and useless as a port. It fell into ruin.

The town's most celebrated son is the French navigator Samuel de Champlain, who lived there when young, before being the co-founder of French settlement in Acadia (1604–1607) and Quebec (1608–1635).

In 1825 Brouage was joined to the village of Hiers, 2.5 km (1.6 mi) away, forming the commune of Hiers-Brouage.

Population

Historical population of Hiers-Brouage
Year 1793 1800 1806 1821 1831 1836 1841 1846 1851 1856
Population 391 413 326 372 764 804 778 901 760 840
Year 1861 1866 1872 1876 1881 1886 1891 1896 1901 1906
Population 742 708 695 708 766 733 687 715 668 663
Year 1911 1921 1926 1931 1936 1946 1954 1962 1968 1975
Population 639 534 550 546 560 514 500 541 519 440
Year 1982 1990 1999 2008
Population 476 498 472 639

Sights

See also

References

External links