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Hiers Brouage

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Country
  
France

Department
  
Charente-Maritime

Time zone
  
CET (UTC+1)

Area
  
31.35 km²

Local time
  
Saturday 5:25 AM

Region
  
Nouvelle-Aquitaine

Canton
  
Marennes

INSEE/Postal code
  
17189 / 17320

Population
  
472 (1999)

Arrondissement
  
Rochefort

Hiers-Brouage mw2googlecommwpanoramiophotosmedium815177jpg

Weather
  
7°C, Wind NE at 6 km/h, 91% Humidity

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

Contents

Map of 17320 Hiers-Brouage, France

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.

Sights

  • The village church dedicated to Saint Peter and Saint Paul built in 1608. Since 1982, several stained glass windows have been installed by Quebec and New Brunswick to commemorate historical figures of New France, including Samuel de Champlain who was living when young in the village.
  • The Samuel de Champlain Museum.
  • The walls of the ramparts of the citadel of Brouage.
  • The Porte royale or King's gate which gave access to the quais.
  • The Saint-Luc powderhouse (poudrière) with four flying-buttresses.
  • The Halle aux vivres or Warehouse built to store goods and supplies for the citadel.

    • References

    Hiers-Brouage Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA