Misplaced Pages

#326673

21-696: It is situated some 40 km (25 mi) north of Niort , 50 km (31 mi) west of Poitiers , 120 km (75 mi) south-east of Nantes , and 350 km (220 mi) south-west of Paris . Each July, Parthenay hosts the Festival Ludique International de Parthenay , otherwise known as the Festival de Jeux or FLIP , in which the town's streets and squares are filled with games of many types. The shorter indoor FLIP d'hiver runs in November. Legend has it that Parthenay

42-701: A by-pass road that encircles the town at a distance of about 2 km (1.2 mi). Parthenay railway station was formerly a junction on the SNCF rail system, with lines to Niort , Thouars , Poitiers and Bressuire . However, only the lines to Niort and Thouars survive, and these lines now only carry freight trains. The région of Nouvelle-Aquitaine provides inter-urban bus service that connects Parthenay to Niort, Bressuire, Thouars, Poitiers and other local towns and villages. The nearest airports are at Poitiers ( Poitiers - Biard Airport ) and Nantes ( Nantes Atlantique Airport ). The medieval centre of Parthenay contains

63-479: A covered market in the town since at least the 13th century. The present-day Halles de Niort , a steel and glass pavilion atop a vaulted stone base building, opened in 1871 and has been listed as a monument historique since 1987. Niort is the birthplace of the following people: Niort is featured or mentioned in the following fictional works: The football team is Chamois Niortais , which plays in National,

84-467: A number of sights, including: Niort Niort ( French pronunciation: [njɔʁ] ; Poitevin : Niàu ; Occitan : Niòrt ; Latin : Novioritum ) is a commune in the Deux-Sèvres department , western France. It is the prefecture of Deux-Sèvres. The population of Niort is 58,707 (2017) and more than 177,000 people live in the urban area. The town is located on

105-461: Is twinned with: Route nationale 149 The Route nationale 149 (N149) is a trunk road ( nationale ) in western France . The RN149 starts at the end of the RN249 to the north west of Bressuire , the road then bypasses Bressuire as a dual carriageway before heading south east towards Parthenay . It cuts through the villages of Saint-Sauveur and Chiche before turning south, cutting across

126-510: Is the French capital of mutual insurance and bank companies, with the headquarters of MAAF , MAIF, MACIF, SMACL and regional branches of national mutual companies such as Groupama , Banque Populaire . Despite its small size, Niort is a main financial centre of France (ranked fourth after Paris, Lyon and Lille ). Chemistry and aeronautics are the other main industries. Niort is a major administrative and commercial centre. There has been

147-592: The Communauté de communes de Parthenay , which provides a framework within which local tasks are carried out together. This intercommunality was merged into the Communauté de communes de Parthenay-Gâtine in 2014. The new intercommunality has 39 communes, a population of 37,817 (2014) in an area of 836.2 km (322.9 sq mi). Parthenay is located on the Route nationale 149 (RN149), which runs roughly east–west from Nantes to Poitiers , and which forms part of

168-473: The European route E62 from Nantes to Genoa . The RN149 is a conventional highway, and has to a certain extent been by-passed by a combination of the autoroutes A83 and A10 that passes some 25 km (16 mi) to the south of Parthenay. Other major roads link Parthenay to Niort , Saumur , Saint-Maixent-l'École and La Roche-sur-Yon . Through traffic can avoid passing through the old town by using

189-561: The A10 motorway, with Nantes by the A83, and with La Rochelle by the N11. It is the largest French city to offer free mass transit. The population data in the table and graph below refer to the commune of Niort proper, in its geography at the given years. The commune of Niort absorbed the former commune of Souché in 1964, Sainte-Pezenne in 1965, Saint-Florent in 1968 and Saint-Liguaire in 1971. Niort

210-792: The D24 and goes towards Ayron . From Ayron, it moves onward, crossing the D92 and going another 1.5 km until it intersects with the D62 and D7 at Vouillé . The road soon crosses the D45, and, 2 km later, the D30, both of which go to Cissé . The road continues towards the outskirts of Poitiers in Migné-Auxances , where it terminates into the N147 . The RN149 originally ran from Nantes , but has been bypassed by

231-680: The D46 at Amailloux before coming into Parthenay. It then heads east, then south, around Châtillon-sur-Thouet and through a number of roundabouts, before heading east again towards Poitiers . After a long stretch of country road outside of Parthenay which crosses the D165, the N149 meets the D121 and D22 in La Ferrière-en-Parthenay . The road then leads to Chalandray , where it intersects

SECTION 10

#1732791504327

252-472: The centre of town. In time of the pilgrimage, this would have been the main pilgrimage route south through the town, and was occupied by weavers . Outside the city walls, the district of Saint-Jacques occupies land at the northern side of the Saint-Jacques bridge, and was also an area of weavers in mediaeval times. To the west of the town centre, the district of Saint-Paul spills down the steep hill to

273-534: The city wall along the top of the cliffs to the west, and by its own inner walls to the south and east. To the east of the citadel and the north of the town centre, the land slopes more gently down a small valley to the river. Running down the middle of this valley can be found the Rue de la Vau Saint-Jaques , a narrow mediaeval street that climbs up from the bridge and gateway of the Porte Saint-Jacques to

294-529: The river Sèvre Niortaise and is a centre of angelica cultivation in France. Near Niort at Maisonnay there is one of the tallest radio masts in France (height: 330 metres). Niort has a railway station on the TGV route between Paris and La Rochelle , Gare de Niort . Direct TGV to Paris Montparnasse station takes 2 hours and 15 minutes. Niort is a road and motorway junction, connected to Paris and Bordeaux by

315-542: The river, across the Saint-Paul bridge and around the former Saint-Paul's Priory, founded in the 11th century. The Saint-Paul's district was the home of the town's tanners . Later expansions to the east and south of the walled town date from the nineteenth century and later, and were encouraged by the construction of the railway and, more recently, the town's eastern by-pass road. In 2001, the commune of Parthenay joined together with six neighbouring communes to establish

336-535: The same time the outer fortifications protecting the citadel, and the town itself, were completed. Economically, Parthenay benefited by being on one of the branches of the Way of St. James , the mediaeval pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostella in Spain . The main fortified gate, by which pilgrims would enter the town, still bears the name of Saint Jacques (the French name for Saint James ). Historically, Parthenay

357-462: The third-highest league in French football . Rugby team Stade Niortais celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2009. The city also is home to a professional basketball club named ASN Niort. The team plays at the second highest league in French basketball. The team celebrated its 100th birthday in 2021. Upper secondary schools: There is a post-secondary institution, Pôle universitaire de Niort. Niort

378-489: The town expanded beyond its walls. Wide boulevards and squares were constructed following the line of the old town wall and moat to the east of the town. Beyond these, the railway station was built in 1880, and new districts and industries grew up around this. The mediaeval walled town of Parthenay is constructed in a bend of the River Thouet, which surrounds the town on the west and north sides. The highest ground within

399-400: The walls lies to the south, where the current town centre lies. To the north and west, a spur of high ground runs above cliffs which descend vertically to the riverside park of La Prée . At the northern end of this spur, with the river on two sides, are the remains of the towns fortified chateau . Between the chateau and the town centre along the top of the spur is the citadel , protected by

420-531: Was considered the capital of the Gâtine Vendéenne , the hilly and wooded area that occupies the centre of the current department of Deux-Sèvres and is quite different in character from the plains to the south, around Niort . Because of the nature of the land, the area became known for the breeding of cattle , and the Parthenais breed is named after the town. It was not until the 19th century that

441-459: Was created with a wave of the fairy Melusine 's wand. However the name of Parthenay first appears in written records at the beginning of the 11th century and there is no evidence of previous significant human occupation in the Middle Ages . The castle, situated on an easily defended site at the tip of the rocky promontory surrounded by the loop of the river, was built in the 13th century. At

SECTION 20

#1732791504327
#326673