Taillebourg, Charente-Maritime
Encyclopedia
Taillebourg is a commune
in the Charente-Maritime
department in southwestern France
.
It is built on a rock, overlooking the Charente River
, 9 km downstream from Saintes
.
It was the site of three battles that bear its name: Battle of Taillebourg
, on account of its strategically important position as a river crossing. There was also a fourth action, a siege.
The château dominates the town and was the garrison of Louis IX
(known as 'Saint Louis'), before the eponymous 1242 battle.
The ancient bridge over the Charente has since been destroyed but there is a long causeway, which spans the surrounding marshes and serves to keep the road open, even during times of flooding.
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 Charente-Maritime
Charente-Maritime
Charente-Maritime is a department on the west coast of France named after the Charente River.- History :Previously a part of Saintonge, Charente-Inférieure was one of the 83 original departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790...
department in southwestern 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...
.
It is built on a rock, overlooking the Charente River
Charente River
The Charente is a 381 km long river in southwestern France.Its source is in the Haute-Vienne département at Chéronnac, a small village near Rochechouart. It flows through the departments of Haute-Vienne, Charente, Vienne and Charente-Maritime...
, 9 km downstream from Saintes
Saintes
Saintes is a French commune located in Poitou-Charentes, in the southwestern Charente-Maritime department of which it is a sub-prefecture. Its inhabitants are called Saintaises and Saintais....
.
It was the site of three battles that bear its name: Battle of Taillebourg
Battle of Taillebourg
There were three military confrontations called the Battle of Taillebourg, site of strategic importance on the route between Northern and Southern France, via the bridge built over the Charente River. The first one was that which saw the victory of Charlemagne, in 808, over the Saracens...
, on account of its strategically important position as a river crossing. There was also a fourth action, a siege.
The château dominates the town and was the garrison of Louis IX
Louis IX of France
Louis IX , commonly Saint Louis, was King of France from 1226 until his death. He was also styled Louis II, Count of Artois from 1226 to 1237. Born at Poissy, near Paris, he was an eighth-generation descendant of Hugh Capet, and thus a member of the House of Capet, and the son of Louis VIII and...
(known as 'Saint Louis'), before the eponymous 1242 battle.
The ancient bridge over the Charente has since been destroyed but there is a long causeway, which spans the surrounding marshes and serves to keep the road open, even during times of flooding.