The best traffic-free bike rides around Semoussac

Former railway from 1888, now an excellent smooth bike trail to the Gironde estuary.

A resort located on the pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela, this historic town owes its prosperity to its geographical location. The ancient Roman road, which connected Saintes to Blaye, was in use for fourteen centuries. In the 12th and 13th centuries, it was used by pilgrims on the road to Santiago de Compostela. A hospital located near the road, run by monks, provided travelers with a rest. National Route 137 was known as the "Royal Route" (an imperial route under the Empire) and dates back to the reign of Charles VIII (1483-1498). Its creation led to the establishment of hotels, inns, and stagecoach services along the road. The name Étauliers is mentioned in 1730. The railway, now removed, dates from 1888.

The Château de Meux is located in the Charente-Maritime in the municipality of Meux . It is adjacent to the Romanesque church.

The Castle of Meux (French: Château de Meux) is a castle in the French commune of Meux.

Of the first, very well placed at the top of a high mound, there are hardly any more than vague sections of walls and of the second some carved stones incorporated, with the base and the shaft of an old cross, in the masonry of the current building. This one is almost entirely modern. The side chapels are from the last century and the Romanesque bell tower dates from 1890. It rises on two floors with semicircular bays, crowned with a stone spire, in front of the nave, its base forming a porch. The basket-handle capped nave and the chevet have no decoration. The stoup is from the 17th century. The church of Soubran houses a very beautiful painted canvas (1.90 x 1.30), from the 18th century representing a crucifixion, listed in the Mobilier Historique. The bell dated 1629 is also listed in the Mobilier Historique. From 1970, restoration work on the church of Soubran was undertaken in order to repair the numerous degradations due to time, on the one hand, but also to man. Many valuables had been stolen including ....... the altar, yes the altar!!! The mayor, Bernard Louis-Joseph, then went in search of an altar which he ended up finding in the town of Coulgens in Charente. But during the installation in the church of Soubran, minor cleaning work revealed a small box containing relics They were accompanied by a short text in Latin that Father Genet, Father Cooperator of the parishes of Mirambeau, Jonzac and Saint-Genis-de-Saintonge, former Latin teacher, was happy to translate. "The year of the Lord 1884 on the 24th of November, I, Alexandre, Léopold Sebaux, bishop of Angoulême, consecrated in honor of Saint John the Baptist* an altar in this place of our diocese commonly called Coulgens and I have inserted therein the relics of Saints Amant, Bonosius and Serena, martyrs». These relics have now returned to their original place in the altar.

Since its construction in the 12th century, this small castle has changed hands many times. It is now the home of Monique Guilbaud, who saved it from ruin and created a farm there.

The small church of Soubran probably replaced the old chapel of a very close castle. Castle and chapel disappeared, destroyed, one and the other, at the time of the wars of Religion.

In 1073, the castle already exists; the first known lord was Guillaume de la Rochandry at the beginning of the 12th century. The 1449 inscription on the castle attests to its reconstruction following the destruction caused by the Hundred Years War. In 1505, Jean de Sainte-Maure, lord of Jonzac, founded the Carmelite monastery on the remains of an old chapel dedicated to Saint Nicolas. The cloister was built in 1657. The young Louis XIV, the Queen Mother and Mazarin stayed at the castle in 1659. The castle remained at Sainte-Maure until the end of the 17th century, then passed through marriage to Espardes de Lussan, which transformed the fortress in beautiful stately home with neat ornamentation and guard until the Revolution. Currently the north wing of the castle houses the buildings of the Town Hall (restored in the 19th century), and the south wing, those of the sub-prefecture. The cloister was restored between 1976 and 1978, and now houses a cultural center, with exhibition halls and an archaeological museum. The towers, postern and fountain in the basement date from the 12th century. Of the old feudal castle, only the postern and an isolated tower remain, connected to the main body by a large hall. The moat in front of the drawbridge was filled was filled in the 19th century. It was reopened at the beginning of the 21st century. The imposing gatehouse is marked 1549 and therefore dates from the 16th century, a period of work including the north-west tower, while the south-west tower, of a smaller diameter, is from the 17th century. The towers flanking the postern have retained their defenses. At each, the loopholes have been retained or enlarged. Stone stairs serve each floor and access the walkway. This passage seems to have been discovered, as evidenced by the gargoyles. The crenellation includes machicolations with archers in the middle of the merlons. The slate roofs are high pepperboxes on the towers, and a curious set with two sides connecting two pepperboxes for the gatehouse The fountain located in the basement of the sub-prefecture, has a niche and a niche frame decorated with sculptures imitating stalactites. Carved mask. The fountain was probably built by Léon de Sainte-Maure, Count of Jonzac, who enlarged and embellished the castle in the middle of the 12th century. In a former courtyard of the castle, a theater was built in the 19th century. It is a round building with approximately 300 seats.