Épenède

Épenède
Épenède

Coordinates: 46°03′52″N 0°32′17″E / 46.0644°N 0.5381°ECoordinates: 46°03′52″N 0°32′17″E / 46.0644°N 0.5381°E
Country France
Region Poitou-Charentes
Department Charente
Arrondissement Confolens
Canton Confolens-Nord
Intercommunality Confolentais
Government
  Mayor (20082014) Roland Lhomme
Area1 15.62 km2 (6.03 sq mi)
Population (2008)2 211
  Density 14/km2 (35/sq mi)
INSEE/Postal code 16128 / 16490
Elevation 144–194 m (472–636 ft)
(avg. 192 m or 630 ft)

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.

Épenède is a commune in the Charente department in southwestern France.

Épenède, of which the Latin spina would mean thorn shrub, is bordered to the north by the department of Vienne and to the southwest by the valley of the River Transon. The village is situated on the dividing line of the waters of the Charente and the Vienne. The parish of Épenède was a dependant of the vast domains of the Benedictine abbey at nearby Charroux and in the diocese of Poitiers.

Population

Historical population
YearPop.±%
1793584    
1800510−12.7%
1806460−9.8%
1821620+34.8%
1831526−15.2%
1841507−3.6%
1846543+7.1%
1851586+7.9%
1856541−7.7%
1861504−6.8%
1866516+2.4%
1872473−8.3%
1876483+2.1%
1881512+6.0%
1886535+4.5%
1891554+3.6%
1896500−9.7%
1901468−6.4%
1906465−0.6%
1911487+4.7%
1921447−8.2%
1926419−6.3%
1931427+1.9%
1936425−0.5%
1946355−16.5%
1954350−1.4%
1962311−11.1%
1968323+3.9%
1975269−16.7%
1982256−4.8%
1990242−5.5%
1999208−14.0%
2008211+1.4%

Sights

The Holy Church of St. Hilaire is 12th century and is of Limousin style (except the steeple bell tower which is more recent). This structure was burned at the time of the Wars of Religion. The capitals of the four spans of the nave are ancient, and one of them represents a monster holding in its claws a human head that it is about to devour. Many water sources or fountains "miraculous" sprinkle the commune.

See also

References

    Wikimedia Commons has media related to Épenède.