Parthenay

Parthenay (in Poitevin-saintongeais Partenaes ) is a common French, located in the department of the Two-Sevres and the area Poitou-Charentes.

Its inhabitants is called Parthenaisiens.

Geography

Parthenay is located (by Route) at 30 to 40 minutes of the towns of Thouars, Niort, Bressuire. Large Agglomeration S close relations of the West: Poitiers, Angers, La Rochelle, Turns.
Parthenay is regarded as the capital of the Country of Gâtine which occupies one the central third of the department of Deux-Sèvres.
The site of Parthenay is in a loop of Thouet, in the middle of a campaign bocagère.
The Citadel, opened by the strengthened door of the same name and always enclosure of its ramparts, occupies a rocky outcrop which dominates this rivière.
It also remains of many vestiges of the external enclosure and one of its doors is always upright, the Saint-Jacques.
door Below the ramparts is an easily flooded meadow, Prée.
Downstream, part of the river was arranged to shelter a base of loisirs.
The city of the the Middle Ages and modern times included/understood the citadel, the district of Vau Saint-Jacob (or low city), the plate the St. Lawrence (current malls and commercial), as some suburbs with each door of city (St-Paul, St-Jacques, Sépulcre, Marchioux, Bourg Bleated) and finally the borough of Parthenay-the-old man, isolated a long time from the remainder of the agglomération.
The urbanization took again fine 19th century initially in the district of the gare.
After war, the construction of allotments in the east of the city made it possible to connect the borough of Parthenay-le-vieux.
In the years 1970, a reach development concerted developed of share and others of the by-pass is, open at that time, with establishment of a shopping mall and new hôpital.
It is not that in 2003 qu ' was open the western by-pass. The city counts relatively few collective residences. The countryside is very close. The agglomeration has industrial and commercial parks close to the station, road of Bressuire (on the commune of Châtillon-on-Thouet which touches Parthenay) and road of Poitiers. A hypermarket is established in the vicinity immediate of the center town, with the site of the old Allard barracks, which constitutes a characteristic of local town planning.

History

The Middle Ages

The name of Partenay appears at the beginning of the 11th century and then indicates perhaps the current village of Parthenay-the-Old man. There is not trace of important human occupations former to the Moyen-âge.

The first dynasty of local lords is known as " Parthenay the archevêque" because it was enorgueillissait to have an ancestor archbishop of Bordeaux. These lords were powerful barons and controlled an important part of Poitou, which enabled them to often revolt against their suzerains the counts of Poitiers, then against the kings of France or England.

It is in Parthenay that was held the meeting between saint Bernard and the duke of Aquitaine Guillaume X which recognized a antipape then and ends up converting.

The city becomes a crossing point of a minor road of the Pèlerinage of Saint-Jacques-with-Compostelle. For this reason the principal strengthened door, preserved well still today, bears the name of Saint-Jacob door and became the symbol of the city. The main artery of the city to the Middle Ages was the street of Vau Saint-Jacob (one always finds there a whole of houses with wood sides of the end of the Middle Ages) who led to the door of the citadel, entry of the second strengthened enclosure. At the end of this rocky outcrop dominating Thouet the castle of the lords of Parthenay was.

The city is taken in 1207 by Philippe Auguste.

The imposing fortifications of Parthenay were built with the assistance financial kings of England, whose lords of Parthenay were vassal. In XVe century, they were still reinforced by the constable Arthur de Richemont, which accepted the seigniory of Louis XI.

Under the Old Mode, the small town counted many parishes: Holy-cross, Our-Lady-with-the-Couldre (in the enclosure of the Citadel), the St. Lawrence, Midsummer's Day, Saint-Jacob, Saint-Paul, Saint-Pierre of Parthenay-the-old man, and the Sepulchre. It is also necessary to add the convent of Cordeliers, House-God and Maladrerie. Suburbs were built around these religious establishments.

Modern time

The dukes of Meilleraye, cousins of Richelieu, were lords of Parthenay with XVIIe and XVIIIe S. One of them refonda the hospital of Parthenay and resided in its castle of Meilleraye (commune of Beaulieu-under-Parthenay).

In the Revolution, Parthenay failed to be chosi as chief town of the department of Two-Sevres but this privilege returned finally in Niort. Blue and white disputed the control of the city which took the party of the Republicans however.

XIXe and 20th centuries

The local economy is dominated in old times by the textile, the work of leather (tanneries of the Saint-Paul suburb) and the trade of the cattle (gone important Wednesday). At the end of the XIXe century, the production of earthenware is recognized. A pole of mechanical engineering industries is established thereafter in the sub-prefecture.

With XIXe S., important urban modifications take place: earthworks with the site of what remains Castle (same if two turns remain debouts), demolitions of strengthened doors and part of the ramparts, installation of the principal place known as of the Flag, construction of a new district around the station, arrival of the railroad, etc the city accommodates the Teacher training school of the teachers of the department, where in particular Ernest Pérochon taught, future Goncourt price.

In spite of the man and ravages of time, the medieval inheritance of Parthenay is quickly appreciated with its right value. The church of Parthenay-the-old man (1846) and Our-Lady-of-the-Couldre (1862), the door Saint-Jacob (1885) are then classified historic buildings.

Since 1945, the urban extension continues and the city obtains with equipment and infrastructures (Palate of the Congresses, bases leisures, removals of the Fairground then of the hospital, campus of the trades, by-pass of skirting). Capital of the small country of Gâtine, the city suffers from the industrial crisis and the ageing of the population of its rural country. It launches out however in the technological innovation and the electronic administration, projects financed originally by European programs. She also seeks to preserve and develop her rich person historical heritage and monumental.

Heraldic

Blasonnement : burelé of money and azure, with the band of mouths stitching on the whole
These weapons were those of the Seigneurs of Parthenay.

Administration

Demography

Economy

Under the old mode, the city sheltered a production Artisanal E of cloths, street of Vau Saint-Jacob. A whole of Tannerie S settles in Parthenay at the XVIIIe-XIXe centuries, in particular in the Saint-Paul district, before disappearing at the 20th century. The Blot-Bardet spinning mill, on the site of Pompairain in edge of Thouet, remains the principal industrial plant of the 19th century. Two principal poles of activities develop thereafter: the agro-alimentary one (presence of a significant market to the cattle, a regional center of demolition, company of Aubrun manures,…) and the Metallurgy - Mechanical (Workshops of the Chain, Safmatic, SOVAM-Etalmobil,…). Other remarkable companies: the Brickyard AYRAULT (or ERO) now disappeared, the company of BTP Esmery (currently Me RY), old the cabinet work Dargenton, etc Lastly, it should not be forgotten that the first establishment of Mr. Panzani was in Parthenay.

Parthenay has an appendix of the Chamber of commerce and industry of Two-Sevres.

Ox the race known as Parthenaise is very known and after a certain decline since the appearance of the tractors which made useless the draft animals knows an renewed interest since a score of years like beef breed.

Numerical city

The municipality of Parthenay launched out very early in the adventure of new technologies of information and communication. Initiated by the former mayor Michel Herve, the project “digitized City” aimed at the appropriation by the citizens of the NTIC (New technologies of Information and the Communication) and the public development of an offer of service on line.

Since 1996, the city is selected to take part in the European pilot programs “Mind” and “Metasa” (in 1998, the project “Imagines” will take over). The district of Parthenay becomes its own supplier of access: the local actors see their first free lodged Internet sites. The city creates an Internet site: the “intownet”. An experimental mail server is installed for the citizens: the BBS (Bulletin Board System). Each citizen has an address of transport lodged by the community.

To facilitate the training of these new technologies, a first “space digitized” (accessible computers free) with workshops of formation is created. Thereafter, other spaces will open their doors on the territory of the district. An operation “1000 microphones” (purchase grouped by the town of 1000 computers in order to lower of it the cost of purchase for the citizens and local actors) is launched in 1997. The schools are gradually equipped. Partnerships are tied with industrialists, in particular Microsoft.

The city organizes or takes part in many demonstrations of studies or promotion of NTIC (Catch, Netday, multi-media Démocratie meetings and networks, Devnet, etc). Researchers in social sciences were interested in the experiment parthenaisienne. The step of the municipality of the time was indeed very related to the concept of “participative democracy”. The first interactive services (form of request for registry office for example) are then proposed to the citizens.

The new projects, initiated in partnership with the State (in fact the Agency for the development of the electronic administration then Head office of the modernization of the State), relate to the development of the electronic administration and the téléprocédures (projects Carte of daily life, Hélios, electronic Act-Control of legality, Adeline, etc).

Heritage of this ten years of immersion in the NTIC, the city has an important gate Internet and received without interruption since 2001 the label “City Internet @@@@@”, that is to say the maximum reward recognized in France in term of density of online services.

Within the framework of the orientations 2007-2010, public meetings are organized around a title: “Let us imagine together the Web city of tomorrow”.

Personalities related to the commune

Michel de Parthenay († 1491), lord of Parthenay, Chamberlain of the duke of Brittany.
Jean de Parthenay († 1488, with the Battle of Saint-Aubin of Cormier), wire of the precedent.
Aimery Picaud, monk of the 12th century, author of the Guide of the Pilgrim, reference book of the Pilgrimage of Saint-Jacques-to-Compostelle.
Writer local S, scholars and Historian S: Ernest Pérochon, Georges-Julia Picardy, Bélisaire Ledain, Maurice Poignat, Gabriel Dazelle, etc
Faience: Prosper Jouneau, Henri Amirault, Edouard Knoepflin, Clementine Petrault-Emonneau
Politicians: Louis Aguillon, Michel Herve.
Painter S and Draftsman S: Maurice Benezech, Maurice Caillon, Raoul Salaun, Ernest Pidoux, etc
Georges Turpin: collector.

Inheritance, tourism and culture

The country of Parthenay is classified country of art and history. Atemporelle association proposes within this framework of the guided visits, cycles of conferences, animations teaching, etc

Parthenay still has remainders of its old man Château. Are still visible: the tower of the Explosives magazine, the tower of Harcourt, the bastille of Richemont and the Artillery boulevard.

It still remains of many vestiges of the medieval enclosure (one even could speak about " Carcassonne of Ouest"), of which the most remarkable element and symbol of the city: the " Carry Saint-Jacques". Another door known as " of Citadelle" carry the Clock of the city.

One counted in Parthenay many parish churches: Holy-cross, the St. Lawrence (still in activity), Saint-Jacob, Saint-Paul, Saint-Pierre of Parthenay-the-Old man, Our-Lady-of-the-Couldre (transforms, unused), the Holy Sepulchre, Midsummer's Day (disappeared). One can also quote the vault of the Rosary and the old convent of Cordeliers, like on the common neighbor of Châtillon-on-Thouet the church Holy-Catherine of House-God.

The church of Our-Lady-of-the-Couldre has a particularly remarkable Romance gate.

The street of Vau Saint-Jacob still presents a whole of houses to wood sides, of medieval style. Several animations of the Association of safeguard of the district of Vau Saint-Jacob emphasize this inheritance: " Cellars in Garden s" (at the time of the Days of the Inheritance), the Gone medieval, etc

Parthenay also has the House of the Cultures of Country, close to the Saint-Jacob Door. One finds there association UPCP (" Union for the popular culture in Poitou-Charentes-Vendée")- Métive which promotes the songs, musics and traditional dances of the area (organization of the festival " Of mouth with oreille"). It is also occupied to collect all the oral tradition of the countries of the West thanks to the CERDO (documentation and research, studies Center on orality), in pespective of conservation of the ethnological inheritance. The House of the Cultures of Country shelters also the municipal Museum Georges-Turpin (earthenware " collection; of Parthenay" , models of the city, etc).

Are held in Parthenay several Festival S:

NPAI (" New Artistic Tracks Inclassables" : impromptu Music and sound creations), in the past “Jazz with the current” (with horse also on the commune of Secondigny).
Festival “Of word of mount” organized by Métive (news traditional musics)
Festival of the Plays (also called FLIP for International Ludic Festival of Parthenay)
Festimages (cinema festival, Short film amateur)

Another popular event: " Festivals of Pentecôte" with the " Cavalcade" and the " Fair-exposition".

The city has some cultural equipment: the Media library, the School of visual arts (with a Multi-media Space Culture), the Georges-Migot Music school, the Palate of the Congresses (with a room of theater), the House of the Inheritance (showroom of the inheritance; Municipal files), Public space digitized Armand-Jubien (computers in free access, data-processing training center of the citizens), the Férolle Home.

Panzani, the first mark of pastes in France was created at the origin in a warehouse vis-a-vis the station of Parthenay by Jean Panzani (1911-2003) and his wife.

Festival of the Plays

With regard to also the cultural activity(AP)s, Parthenay accommodates the FLIP (international ludic Festival of Parthenay), called also more simply the Festival of the Plays. This Festival lasts twelve days in summer in the open air, of one Wednesday to Sunday, one week and half later, and two days in weekend in space covered at the end of November.

The FLIP is one of the greatest festivals of plays in the most important world and in France (See the site).

Twinnings

References

Georges Bernage, “Parthenay, medieval city 1012-1427”, in the Middle Ages , n° May 28th, th and th - June 2002, p. 24-43.
Georges Bernage, “the city of Parthenay (1427-1491)”, in the Middle Ages , n° July 29th, th and th - August 2002, p. 12-26.

See too

Common of Two-Sevres

External bonds

community of communes
Plane old
photo
TerritoireTouristique
photo
history of Parthenay
Parthenay on the site of the national geographical Institute
Parthenay on the site of INSEE
Parthenay on the site of Quid
Localization of Parthenay on a chart of France and communes bordering
Plane on Parthenay on Mapquest

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