history - heritage
Do you know the story of Sainte-Foy-la-Grande ? What if we took a little trip back in time?
The South West has around 350 Bastides (1) from the XNUMXth century. The bastide town of Sainte-Foy-la-Grande, which was originally called Sainte-Foy-en-Agenais, was founded in 1255 by Alphonse de Poitiers, brother of Saint-Louis, on an almost virgin territory located on the edge of the Dordogne.
However, we know that the Abbey of Conques had founded a religious establishment in 812 on the site of the bastide of Sainte-Foy-la-Grande, which was part of the diocese of Agen.
- From 1256, Alphonse of Poitiers grants a charter of customs (2) to the inhabitants.
- In 1326,, Alfonso of Spain (lord of Lunel and lieutenant of the King), grants to the consuls of the city the right to fortify the bastide of Sainte-Foy-la-Grande. Its strategic position as a border town with the English possession makes it an important stronghold.
- In 1377,, the Duke of Anjou, after having taken Bergerac, went to Sainte-Foy-la-Grande. The few troops, despite its strong walls, surrender in twenty-four hours. The city is devastated, the French do not keep their conquests for long. As a result, until the middle of the XNUMXth century, Sainte-Foy-la-Grande remains faithful to the King of England.
- In 1450, the French besieged the city, after the capture of Castillon, it sits alongside the King of France who confirms its former privileges. In 1498, the customs of the city were confirmed.
Built in the XNUMXth century, the Church of Notre-Dame was destroyed in 1561 by the Huguenots, shortly before the wars of religion.
From 1571, Protestantism was established in Sainte-Foy-la-Grande and this town became one of the Protestant strongholds of Agenois. Then began the persecutions of the Parliament against the preachers. A temple was even inaugurated in 1587, however the defeat of the Protestant troops against the royal armies of Louis XIII and the forced conventions carried out under Louis XIV reversed the situation and the temple was destroyed in 1683 and a new church was built on the same location.
The location of the bastide near the Dordogne, crossroads between agricultural land, Bordeaux and Bergerac, gives it an important economic role. Sainte-Foy-la-Grande has three ports: the Quai de la Brèche to the east, the Quai de Coreilhe to the west and Port-Sainte-Foy on the other bank.
The city is then one of the important ports in the hinterland which makes Bordeaux rich.. This wealth is found in the buildings, such as the town hall which is built on the central square or the numerous hotels built by the city's great families. Sainte-Foy-la-Grande also derives its wealth from its wine, the production of grisette, earthenware and other products.
In 1825,, the pastor of Sainte-Foy-la-Grande obtained from the rectorate of Bordeaux, the creation of a Protestant secondary school with a boarding school, it is then the only one in the South-West. Jacques Reclus teaches ancient languages there.
Notre Dame Church was enlarged in 1850, the first stone being laid by Pierre-Henri Gérault de Langalerie, former priest of the city, who became archbishop.
The Second Empire, a new golden age for the city, the current quays were built, many buildings date from this period, the town hall was rebuilt on its original site, the church was therefore enlarged and raised in the neo-Gothic style, the “grand temple” was renovated in a discreet neo-medieval style, the Evangelicals built their chapel on Boulevard Gratiolet.
The year 1870 is the culmination of this wealth with the end of the works of the town hall, the bell tower and the reformed temples.
In 1875, the Sainte-Foy-la-Grande station was put into service, it is also the arrival date of the railway line in town. It participated in its economic growth, which manifested itself until the beginning of the 1910s with the construction of 300 new buildings around the town hall in the rue des traders. These constructions therefore replace the half-timbered houses (3) dating back to the 1500s.
dubbed the "Petit Nice", the new district of the station located to the south of the bastide, is becoming urbanized, lined with palm trees, this road is home to bourgeois villas, the Limard room, which is used for shows, and the Café de l'Orient. However, the palm trees freeze during the winter of 1956 and eventually disappear. It is also in this street that in 1911 “the little temple” was built.
Et further west is Place Broca, where a statue of the same name was inaugurated in 1988.
Now that we know a little more about the history of the city, what if we look at some photos dated 1840!
- Place de la ville hall cutlery
- The birthplace of Élisée Reclus, which is located in Rue de Frères Reclus.
Élisée Reclus was born on March 15, 1830 and died in Belgium on July 4, 1905, he was a geographer, activist and thinker of French anarchism.
- The town hall with arcades and a hall below
- The old bell tower (Rue de la République in the XNUMXth century)
- The birthplace of Paul Broca (located at the northwest corner of the town hall square).
Paul Broca was born on June 28, 1824 in Sainte-Foy-la-Grande and died on July 9, 1880 in Paris, he was a French doctor, anatomist and anthropologist.
- The town hall square, the arcades
- Rue Jean-Louis Faure
- Republic Street
- The entrance to Rue de la République
I hope that this little trip back in time has provided you with new knowledge about the town of Sainte-Foy-la-Grande!
(1) Bastide: new walled town of county, or royal and ecclesiastical foundation built in the Middle Ages.
(2) Charter of customs: this is the appearance of communal freedoms, replacing the hitherto dominant feudal system.
(3) Half-timbered houses: or half-timbered house is a house made up of two main elements: the half-timbering and the set of beams forming the frame of a wall.
