Surgères

Surgères (pronounced: [syʁ.ʒɛːʁ]) is a commune in the Charente-Maritime department in southwestern France. It is the home of the Surgères 48 Hour Race.

History

Middle ages

The site of Surgères was occupied in Neolithic times, but the earliest recorded history comes from the Middle Ages. The Duke of Aquitaine wanted to guard his lands in Aunis against Norman invasion, ao he built a stone and wood defence on the marshes, a bridgehead against the invaders which was known as Latin: Castrum Surgeriacum. At the end of the 10th century, the Counts of Poitiers started to get their hands on Aunis and appointed Guillaume Maingot to take charge of the fortress and part of the lands around it.

In the 12th century this defence had become a small city, whose lords entertained the grandees of the parliament of Saintonge. During this time a large castle was built on the ramparts, as was the Romanesque church of Notre-Dame. In 1152 Eleanor of Aquitaine married Henry II of England, thus putting her lands including Surgères into English hands.