Ensigné

Ensigné
The commandry The commandry
Ensigné
Location within Poitou-Charentes region Ensigné
Coordinates:
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

• Communes of the Deux-Sèvres department

References

• INSEE