Ensigné

Ensigné

The commandry
Ensigné

Coordinates: 46°05′19″N 0°14′35″W / 46.0886°N 0.2431°W / 46.0886; -0.2431Coordinates: 46°05′19″N 0°14′35″W / 46.0886°N 0.2431°W / 46.0886; -0.2431
Country France
Region Aquitaine-Limousin-Poitou-Charentes
Department Deux-Sèvres
Arrondissement Niort
Canton Brioux-sur-Boutonne
Intercommunality Val de Boutonne
Government
 • Mayor (2008–2014) Bernard Belaud
Area1 20.30 km2 (7.84 sq mi)
Population (2006)2 277
 • Density 14/km2 (35/sq mi)
INSEE/Postal code 79111 / 79170
Elevation 55–149 m (180–489 ft)
(avg. 413 m or 1,355 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.

Ensigné is a commune in the Deux-Sèvres department in the Poitou-Charentes region in western France.

Geography

The surrounding countryside is densely wooded. The village is close to the forest of Ensigné and of Aulnay.

The kindergarten and primary school have been merged with those of Asnières-en-Poitou and Paizay-le-Chapt, none of the three individual villages having a population above 300 by the start of the twenty-first century.

History

The history of the village is closely linked to that of the Knights Templar. Ensigné contains a Templar command post comprising fortifications, a chapel and a castle. Today the site is privately owned: the castle itself is in a ruined condition, but two separate properties have been created from the part including the former chapel.

See also

References

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