To explore local culture and history, we’re making a stop today in Saint Amant de Boixe, about 20 minutes north of Angoulême by car.
If you’re following the cycling route of the Chemin Saint Jacques de Compostelle, it will be along your route through the Charente department on the D737.
The nearest intercity station is in Angoulême, with many trains daily to Bordeaux and Paris on the LGV Atlantic.
The largest regional airport is Bordeaux, about 2 hours by car from Aigre.
CREDITS
Car Driving Music – Arthur Vyncke – Thanks!
before we get started I do Consulting on traveling in France I can help you plan and organize your next trip to Europe as well as with translation there’s more information about my activities in the video [Music] [Music] hello welcome back to this episode of touring backloads France today we’re going to visit the town of Santa M de in shaant which is known for its Abbey and it’s quaint Village atmosphere so I hope you enjoy this episode and why don’t you follow me as we go down to the next town down the road but before I talk about the history what do you think are the current events that are causing political issues here in Santa M stick around until the end of the video and I’ll give you the inside scoop today we’ll break down the history of Santa M de B and its surrounding areas into three parts prehistoric more precisely Neolithic Middle Ages and modern while climate and topography have changed drastically over the centuries trees parts of the large forests remain to the north of santal in different sections of the woods we can still visit today some of the stone structures that were put down long before any accurate historical records were kept while we don’t know exactly where the stones came from or how they got here there have continually been modifications to certain sites over the centuries so here we are at the burial chamber uh which is an underground Stone structure that from prehistoric times at its origin we don’t really know when exactly it was built and as you can see it’s quite a large structure you can go uh back in there quite far and there are different burial Chambers inside and it has been reinforced just recently about 30 years ago there are some concrete structures that were put in to reinforce the top layer of stone which is incredibly heavy so if you’re in the area and especially if you’re on a cycling trip through this forested part of shant this is a very nice place to stop have a picnic and explore especially for kids looking inside and getting an idea for the history so here we have one of the dolman the large stones that you can see next to me here give you an idea of the size of these we find them throughout France Western Europe and there is one here in the forest of santal uh the forest of the BS no one really knows a lot about the history of these they are still somewhat mysterious but uh you can see this as you’re biking through the forest this is about 300 M from the chamber burial site that I was at it so what we have here are the remains of a stone site a stone building from the time of the Templars you can see it’s actually pretty well preserved it’s now in the middle of the forest uh this Forest used to extend out a lot further in all directions and this is dated from the time of the Crusades to the Middle Ages as a known site in this Forest used over the centuries for different reasons and today the remains of this which are without a roof are actually the historical association’s responsibility to maintain and upkeep this site and this is just North of Santa m in a village called bju which you can come and visit on the bike trails uh if you do want to come here by car you’re going to need Park and walk to the site but the local associations do offer uh guided tours in French of this site if you are interested in getting more information it is worth noting that Santa and its neighboring Town monyak Shah have some Roman archaeological sites of Interest being located along the Roman Road from Sant to luta or modern day Paris while there are some vestiges of Roman history in the area such as the castom dondon those won’t be the f focus of today’s video instead we’ll leave those for some later episodes the known history of Santa M began in the great forests surrounding it as far back as the 6th Century ad when Legend has it that the hermit Amo lived there a century later Abbey was founded by alno the count of urm mentioned for the first time in texts dated from the year 888 in the 11th century William ivth and his son saw that a church and the surrounding structures were built the monastery Abbey and church thrived throughout the centuries welcoming pilgrims and monks who dedicated their lives to Christianity and the church numerous Wars and conflicts led to countless hardships for santal with the 100 Years War being a time of Destruction and pillage a fire also destroyed the Abbey during the 13th century continuing architectural changes and rebuilding gave the structure an asymmetric and unusual shape which is visible from the interior as well as on the floor plan of the church Sanctuary but Santa Mal has always survived its hardships and struggles and by the time in the French Revolution in 1789 The Abbey became a parish under the control of the state falling into disre throughout the 19th century The Abbey was named a historical monument in 1935 bought by the Township in 1973 and restored starting in 1985 restoration and archaeological digs have continued since that time and today the beautifully restored and maintained abbey church and Museum are all a central focus of this charming French town so here I am at the lavoir a lavoir is a place where you wash your clothes and a lot of villages in France have these you can sort of see it in the background behind me here and it runs in the low point of the village next to the stream where we have a source of running water though in addition to being a place where you can wash a clothes which of course no one these days does because we invented electricity uh this is obviously the favorite local hangout for a lot of the kids this year we’ve had a large amount of rain but as you can see uh they do like to come down here and put tags on the walls occasionally and hang out and do whatever kids those age do in places like this but this is one of the first places you would come back in the day to get clean and uh all the villages around here do have some semblance of these older wash stations uh which run along the water waterways today Santa M and its neighboring town monak shant have a small daily Fresh Market at the crossroads of the D15 the d737 and the d113 which are all local roads here you can find a range of local products in season with friendly and personalized service if you don’t speak French however basic English should allow you to buy the essentials for a more in-depth conversation I spoke to local market manager for in this is also the side of a castle and a keep that dominated monak shant for centuries as a Str strategic crossing of the shaat River is located here next to the campground it’s no surprise that this spot has been a customary stop for centuries going back to Roman times in Santa M de blacks which is nestled into a hillside the small Avenues which are One Way North and South allow you to stop at several shops located on the higher southbound Street a bakery a catering service and a clothing shop are located here I stopped in to see what they had to offer fore [Music] [Music] France is currently facing a cultural pastry divide with this pastry being called a sh atin in shaant and other areas in the south north of the lexical pastry divide in areas such as Paris this would be called a whatever you want to call them they’re tasty just be aware that French people are very sensitive to being pastry correct so what do you think are the current events that are causing political issues here in Santa M if you said political district changes budget shortfalls and education Cuts then you’re right this town is currently facing a proposal to incorporate with two neighboring towns V and monak shant in order to create a community of three towns fused as one many local residents are worried that quality of education class sizes and school closures may be forthcoming I did have the opportunity to discuss the issues off camera with the mayor of Santa Mo fris jiru Maru however as she is busy with local issues she didn’t have time for an on camera interview the town and region are home to a fairly large number of English-speaking residents although she might not be comfortable speaking in English I do hope that she will give us some feedback and offer up some of her time to sit down together in the future if you’re interested in a broader perspective on the Middle Ages check out the Templars history and myth by Michael heg which I found in a local thrift shop in onm for all the local events in chant make sure to pick up S magazine which is a free month mon L publication listing numerous happenings in the region if you’re interested in the content on this channel please like And subscribe so that we can continue to bring you more as we develop our activity in the Shaun region please visit our website and take our survey about new technologies and translation tools that we are also developing to assist people to cross Language and Cultural barriers [Music]