Siaugues-Sainte-Marie
Encyclopedia
Siaugues-Sainte-Marie is a commune
Communes of France
The commune is the lowest level of administrative division in the French Republic. French communes are roughly equivalent to incorporated municipalities or villages in the United States or Gemeinden in Germany...

 in the Haute-Loire
Haute-Loire
Haute-Loire is a department in south-central France named after the Loire River.-History:Haute-Loire is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790...

 department in south-central France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

.

The commune is a creation from the bringing together of several local village and hamlets, most importantly Saint-Marie-des-Chazes and Siaugues-Saint-Romain. The Mairie is located in Siaugues.

Chateau de Saint Romain

Siaugues is overlooked by the ruined towers of a castle established in the 13th century by Saint Louis IX to repel Angevin
House of Plantagenet
The House of Plantagenet , a branch of the Angevins, was a royal house founded by Geoffrey V of Anjou, father of Henry II of England. Plantagenet kings first ruled the Kingdom of England in the 12th century. Their paternal ancestors originated in the French province of Gâtinais and gained the...

 forces based to the west on the opposite side of the River Allier.

The castle changed hands several times, coming into the possession of the La Fayette family
La Fayette family
Gilbert du Motier, marquis de Lafayette married Marie Adrienne Françoise de Noailles , the daughter of Jean-Paul-François, 5th duc de Noailles, and Henriette d'Aguesseau...

 in c.1400 under Gilbert Motier de La Fayette
Gilbert Motier de La Fayette
Gilbert Motier de La Fayette, Lord of La Fayette, Pontgibaud Ayes, Nébouzac, Saint-Romain and Monteil Gelat was a Marshal of FranceHe was brought up at the court of Louis II, Duke of Bourbon...

. It remained in the family until the French Revolution when it was taken by the commune and pillaged for stone. The castle has recently been taken into private ownership, and some restoration work has begun.

Maurice Fombeure

The village is also known, more recently, as the country home of French poet "Maurice Fombeure", one of a school of post-war writers who exalted the French countryside. Very active in the literary circles of Paris, he was awarded the Grand Award for Poetry from the City of Paris in 1958 and his works continue to be studied in France.
Although not born in the area he married Carmen Javaugues, a girl from Siaugues and a published poet in her own right, and it was through her family that he developed his strong and lasting sense of connection to Siaugues and to the Auvergne.

Writing of Siaugues, he said;

External links

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