Hiers-Brouage

Hiers-Brouage
Citadel Citadel
Coat of arms
Hiers-Brouage
Location within Poitou-Charentes region Hiers-Brouage
Coordinates:
Country	France
Region	Aquitaine-Limousin-Poitou-Charentes
Department	Charente-Maritime
Arrondissement	Rochefort
Canton	Marennes
Government
• Mayor (2008–2014)	Patrick Pellet
Area1	31.35 km2 (12.10 sq mi)
Population (2008)2	639
• Density	20/km2 (53/sq mi)
INSEE/Postal code	17189 / 17320
Elevation	0–26 m (0–85 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.

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

History

File:Citadelle de Brouage Plan-relief.jpg

Citadel of Brouage - reproduction of a 17th-century scale model

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
Year	Pop.	±%
1793	391	—
1800	413	+5.6%
1806	326	−21.1%
1821	372	+14.1%
1831	764	+105.4%
1836	804	+5.2%
1841	778	−3.2%
1846	901	+15.8%
1851	760	−15.6%
1856	840	+10.5%
1861	742	−11.7%
1866	708	−4.6%
1872	695	−1.8%
1876	708	+1.9%
1881	766	+8.2%
1886	733	−4.3%
1891	687	−6.3%
1896	715	+4.1%
1901	668	−6.6%
1906	663	−0.7%
1911	639	−3.6%
1921	534	−16.4%
1926	550	+3.0%
1931	546	−0.7%
1936	560	+2.6%
1946	514	−8.2%
1954	500	−2.7%
1962	541	+8.2%
1968	519	−4.1%
1975	440	−15.2%
1982	476	+8.2%
1990	498	+4.6%
1999	472	−5.2%
2008	639	+35.4%

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 remparts 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.

See also

• Communes of the Charente-Maritime department

References

• INSEE

External links

• Official site
• Tourist office, with pages in english
• Hiers-Brouage