France - Saintes

Saintes is a town and commune in France, in the Charente-Maritime département, of which it is a sous-préfecture.

History

n Roman times, the town was called Mediolanum Santonum. It was founded in about 20 BC. Some estimations show that Saintes had about 15,000 inhabitants in those days, and that its borders were almost the same as today.

Saintes was the capital of the former province of Saintonge. It was the scene of the second phase of the Saintonge War, in 1242, when the army of Hugh X was besieged by that of Louis IX and Alphonse of Poitiers.
Church tower of the Abbaye aux Dames
Church tower of the Abbaye aux Dames

The French Wars of Religion hit Saintes during most of the 16th century since many Protestants inhabited the region. Bernard Palissy, one of them, saw that difficult period.

In 1730 a new era began with the construction of the hôtel du Marquis de Monconseil which was the commencement of numerous changes in the city landscape.

During the early years of the French Revolution, the town was the political base of André Antoine Bernard, a Jacobin revolutionary who represented Saintes in the Legislative Assembly of 1791-1792 and the National Convention of 1792-1795 and was among those responsible for the Reign of Terror.

Guéau de Reverseaux and others created the principal thoroughfares of Saintes like the Cours National, which opened in 1815, or the Cours Reverseaux. In 1810, La Rochelle became the chef-lieu du département, but the displeasure of the population declined since Saintes kept the Cour d'Assise, which led to the construction of a new Palais de Justice in 1863.

In 1843 Prosper Mérimée saved the Arc de Germanicus, but the old bridge was destroyed. The Haras National de Saintes was created in 1846 and the town stretched out to the east. The right bank, which was formerly confined to a small faubourg surrounding the Abbaye aux Dames, evolved when the railway arrived in Saintes. The station was built in 1867 and the avenue Gambetta linked it to the Charente. The 20th century saw the destruction of parts of the station neighbourhood during World War II, but also the creation of new housing units and commerces in the areas of Bellevue and Recouvrance.