Aubeterre-sur-Dronne


Aubeterre-sur-Dronne is a commune in the Charente department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of south-western France. It has been officially listed as "One of the most beautiful villages in France," since 1993. Aubeterre-sur-Dronne is also well known for its Church of Saint Jean, an underground, Monolithic Church.
The inhabitants of the commune are known as Aubeterriens or Aubeterriennes.

Geography

Aubeterre-sur-Dronne is located in the extreme south-east of Charente department some 42 km south of Angoulême, 14 km east of Chalais and 16 km west by north-west of Ribérac. The entire eastern border is the Dronne river which is the boundary between the Charente and Dordogne departments. Access to the commune is by the D2 road from Saint-Romain in the west which passes around the town and continues east to Saint-Antoine-Cumond. The D17 road comes from Laprade in the north passing through the village and then forming the western border of the commune as it goes south to Bonnes. The village is on the northern border of the commune with the rest of the commune entirely farmland.
The commune is part of Les Plus Beaux Villages de France.
The Dronne river forms the entire eastern border of the commune as it flows south to join the Isle at Coutras. In the south of the commune a branch off the Dronne passes through the commune and is called Astier du Poulard.

Geology and terrain

The vast area west of the commune is occupied by the slopes of Campanian chalky limestone which covers a large part of southern Charente. The hills north of the town are covered with Tertiary deposits of sand, clay, and pebbles. The lower part of the commune in the Dronne valley is covered with alluvium from the Quaternary period, the oldest of which have accumulated in terraces and the most recent is on the flood plain.
Aubeterre is on a hill in the concave bank of a meander of the River Dronne and forms a spur to the south.
The highest point of the commune is at an altitude of 111m and is located on the plateau near the northern boundary. The lowest point is 38m located on the southern boundary next to the Dronne. The commune is spread between the valley of the Dronne and the top of the hill.

Toponymy

The name Aubeterre is derived from Albaterra which dates to 1004. Alba Terra means "White earth" which comes from the white chalk rock face overlooking the village.
Aubeterre is located in the Occitan part of Charente and its name in Occitan is Aubaterra.

History

Middle Ages

There has been a lordship of Aubeterre since the 11th century. The first known lord was Géraud at the beginning of that century. Aimeri d'Aubeterre was the name of a monk at the Abbey of Saint-Cybard.
On the hill on top of the white chalk cliffs the lords of Aubeterre erected a castle above the monolithic Church of Saint-Jean in the 12th century. Aubeterre was then a Viscounty which passed by marriage to Pierre II from the house of Castillon.
In 1246 the lord of Aubeterre recognized Hugh X of Lusignan - the Count of Angoulême - as his Suzerain.
In 1278 Pierre V was stripped of the Viscounty of Aubeterre and paid homage to the Count of Angoulême. His youngest daughter married Pierre Raymond, Lord of Ozillac, who thus became Viscount of Aubeterre. The Raymond family retained Aubeterre throughout the 14th century and was on the side of the King of France against the English during the Hundred Years War.
In September 1346, during the Hundred Years War, the Earl of Derby took the village.
The King of England, Edward III, gave the Lord of Mussidan custody of the village, which he retained in 1360 at the Treaty of Brétigny which retro-ceded Angoumois to England as well as Saintonge.
Viscount Gardrad Raymond, the son of Pierre Raymond, swore allegiance to Edward of Woodstock, Prince of Wales on 29 September 1363.
In 1366 Aubeterre was one of nine castellanies in the Seneschal of Angoumois which was held by the English Seneschal Henri de la Haye. Between 1356 and 1412 the lordship of Aubeterre changed hands seven times between the English and the French. Gardrad Raymond, lord of Aubeterre, was a great recruiter and headed bands of Anglo-Gascons before being engaged by Bertrand Du Guesclin to go to war with Spain in 1366.
The granddaughter of Gardrad Raymond married Guy Bouchard, a knight, and Aubeterre remained in the hands of the Bouchard family for the next two centuries.

Modern Times (16th -18th century)

After the wars of religion were over the Viscount of Aubeterre, François Bouchard, embraced the Protestant party with ardour. The assassin of Henry I, Duke of Guise, Jean de Poltrot, was one of his pages. François Bouchard fled to Geneva with his wife and Aubeterre was taken by the Duke of Anjou. His son, David Bouchard, returned from exile in Switzerland. He was supported by the Viscount of Bourdeilles, Seneschal of Perigord, who gave him his daughter Renée in marriage which then brought him to the Catholic religion. The young Viscount of Aubeterre died in 1593 as a result of a wound received at the siege of Lisle in Perigord by Leaguers.
Their only daughter Hippolyte married François d'Esparbes de Lussan in 1597 who became Viscount of Aubeterre. This remarkable man had Protestant ideas unlike his father and was the faithful companion of Henri IV both before and after his accession to the throne. He helped him to regain his kingdom against the Catholic League. He obtained the governance of Blaye and in 1612 he was Governor and Seneschal of Agenais and Condomois and was made Marshal of France in 1620.
He rebuilt the castle and created a Marquisate in Aubeterre. He died in January 1628 in his castle.
He had 12 children including seven boys. Succession gave rise to a long process which was ended in 1650 by a decree of the Parliament of Paris which stipulated that all property would be shared between the two eldest sons. The elder branch, which descended from Henri Joseph Bouchard d'Esparbès de Lussan d'Aubeterre, retained the title of Marquis of Aubeterre. The younger son took the title of Count of Aubeterre and lived in the Château de Bonnes.
In the 18th century the jurisdiction of Aubeterre extended over 19 parishes and 40 fiefs. The religious chapter depended on the Diocese of Périgueux and the Protestant church on the Synod of Angoumois.

Contemporary era

At the beginning of the 20th century Aubeterre had a station on the Parcoul to Riberac railway line.

Heraldry

Administration

List of Successive Mayors
FromToNamePartyPosition
20012004Pierre-Marcel Benoit
2004Jacques Mercier

Demography

In 2010 the commune had 418 inhabitants. The evolution of the number of inhabitants is known from the population censuses conducted in the commune since 1793. From the 21st century, a census of communes with fewer than 10,000 inhabitants is held every five years, unlike larger towns that have a sample survey every year.

Distribution of Age Groups

Percentage Distribution of Age Groups in Aubeterre-sur-Dronne and Allier Department in 2010
AubeterreAubeterreCharenteCharente
Age RangeMenWomenMenWomen
0 to 14 Years7.910.417.315.4
15 to 29 Years13.511.316.414.3
30 to 44 Years18.09.218.718.1
45 to 59 Years19.718.322.121.5
60 to 74 Years22.517.916.216.6
75 to 89 Years16.323.38.812.5
90 Years+2.29.60.51.6

Sources:
Aubeterre is the capital of the canton with the fewest people in the Charente department.

Culture and heritage

Civil heritage

Built on a rocky promontory and controlling the valley of the Dronne as well as being the meeting point of three provinces, the Chateau d'Aubeterre is mentioned in writings from 1004.
The main remnant of the chateau is the gatehouse: a rectangular tower of solid appearance rebuilt in the 16th century. It retains an appearance specific to medieval buildings including battlements and two vertical grooves on either side of the portal - the ultimate evidence of a former drawbridge. The whole is completed by the remains of four circular towers, part of the defensive walls, a small lodgings house, a Renaissance chapel, and some parts of an old curtain wall.
The Altar and Retable are registered as an historical object.
The lobed arch in the portal shows Hispano-Moorish influences and includes five arches decorated with geometric patterns. The upper parts include a Zodiac, a Romanesque arch, and symbolic representations of a stage on the Way of St. James to Saint Jacques de Compostela.
The interior of the church is very sober and divided into three aisles - the whole being covered with exposed timbers. The flat chevet is pierced by a large bay in which modern stained glass was installed in 1970. The south aisle houses a Madonna with child from the 16th century.
The Church of Saint-Jacques contains many items that are registered as historical objects:
;The Church of Saint-Jacques gallery
The subterranean monolithic church of Saint-Jean is an underground church carved into a cliff overlooking the Dronne in the 7th century and greatly enlarged in the 12th century by a community of Benedictine monks. From the nave to the centre of the vault with its semi-circular arches is nearly 20 metres. At about 15 metres high it is bordered on three sides by a gallery, a kind of triforium, which is accessed by a staircase carved into the rock. A series of large arches and massive columns mark the separation with the lateral nave.
This cave church has unique furniture comprising an imposing stone reliquary - a masterpiece of Romanesque art, a cave of relics, an early Christian baptismal font decorated with a Greek cross, and a crypt. The original chapel, carved in the 7th century contains nearly 80 medieval sarcophagi. These tombs were discovered between 1958 and 1961. Burials were performed in the nave until 1865 when the practice was prohibited for reasons of public health.
The Subterranean monolithic church of Saint-Jean is one of the main rock-hewn churches of France. It has two "sisters" in the region: the ''Monolithic church of Saint-Émilion and the Chapel of the Hermitage of Saint-Martial at Mortagne-sur-Gironde.
The Church of Saint-Jean contains the tomb of François d'Esparbes de Lussan, Marshal of Aubeterre, and Hippolyte Bouchard which is registered as a historical object.
;The Subterranean Monolithic Church of Saint-Jean Gallery
The school is an intercommunal educational grouping between Aubeterre, Bonnes, and Laprade. Aubeterre hosts the primary school while Bonnes and Laprade have elementary schools.

Notable people linked to the commune