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Bastide (planned town)Dordogne

Saint-Aulaye

Saint Aulaye-Puymangou

Dimensions
The central square, square in plan, has lost its market hall, demolished in 1862. Ramparts of the 15th century, partly collapsed after heavy rain, encircle the promontory; the castle, two of whose towers go back to the 13th century, has been rebuilt and houses the town hall, on terraces overlooking the Dronne. The Romanesque church of Sainte-Eulalie, of the 12th century, shows a porch and historiated capitals in the Saintonge manner. An old bridge crosses the Rizonne; a well and a wash-house survive.
Period
Town developed around the Romanesque church of the 12th century; bastide founded in 1288; castle of the 13th century, ramparts of the 15th; market hall destroyed in 1862.
What stands there
The church of Sainte-Eulalie has been inscribed as a monument historique since 1946. The northernmost bastide of the Périgord, Saint-Aulaye belongs to the Fédération des Bastides d'Aquitaine, which attaches it to the count of Angoulême. Since 2016 it has formed with Puymangou the new commune of Saint Aulaye-Puymangou; the castle motte of La Vallade lies a kilometre to the east.

On the borders of the Périgord and the Charente, on a promontory overlooking the Dronne, Saint-Aulaye is the northernmost bastide of the Périgord. It was founded on 12 December 1288 by the lord Pierre de Brémond, with a charter co-signed by Hugues de Lusignan, count of Angoulême, and by the abbot of Aubeterre, granting the inhabitants the freedom to stay or to leave, rights of use over woods, heaths and pastures, and releasing them from dues in kind. A castle was built and the town fortified. The town, which until the Revolution came under the élection of Angoulême, keeps its central square, square in plan, ramparts of the 15th century, its castle with two towers of the 13th century, now the town hall, and above all the Romanesque church of Sainte-Eulalie of the 12th century, with a porch and historiated capitals in the Saintonge manner.

Further reading

Getting there : Town freely accessible. Weekly market on Saturdays; the Latière fair, of very ancient origin, on 30 April and 1 May, the feast of Saint Eutropius.

Opening times and access details are given as a guide only: check before you set out.

See it on the map OpenStreetMap Directions

Ambient sound

Saint-Aulaye
JLPC · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

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In the same department

All places — Dordogne (80).