Attractions and Places To See around Archiac - Top 9

These ancient windmills are the best evidence that people were clever enough to harness the power of the wind centuries ago - long before the discovery of electricity and the resulting inventions. So what is celebrated today as modern (so-called green or renewable) energy is essentially “old hat” in a new guise.

The hunebed stands on a ledge halfway up the hill. The tumulus which covered it has disappeared. This dolmen is of an imposing and unusual height in the region. The deck table rests alone on three perfectly square pillars 2.20 m high. Several orthostats show traces of wear or write-off attempts by stonemasons [ 2 ] . All orthostats are of shell limestone [ 3 ] . The table, in sandstone , measures 5.40 meters long and 4.40 meters wide for a maximum thickness of 0.90  m, it weighs about 40 tons. The room opens to the southeast, the presumed entrance corridor that originally existed has completely disappeared [ 2 ] . The plan of the burial chamber seems to have been dictated by the shape of the deck table, making it a totally atypical dolmen [ 4 ] . The dolmen has been emptied a long time ago as it has been listed as such since 1826

An old windmill with breathtaking panoramic views.

This dolmen has an unusual and imposing height of more than 2m high. The crowning table at the top would weigh 40 tons.

An old windmill in the middle of the vineyards. Without her sails, it's a lovely place to stop and admire her.

An old windmill with breathtaking panoramic views.

The parish church of Saint-Martin de Meux, which was initially a seigniorial chapel, dates from the 12th century. Rectangular in plan, it has a fairly long nave which was probably modified after the Hundred Years Wars, in the 15th century and it was fortified by building an upper chamber pierced with arrow slits. In the upper part, a canopy covered with slate shelters two bays of campanile which would have replaced the bell tower demolished before the Revolution. A vault of plaster ribs built in 1861 and which covered the nave, gave way to the framework of the beginning of the 17th century. It was listed as a historic monument on May 15, 2000.

The land and lordship of Meux, in Saintonge, fell under the old regime of the castle and county of Jonzac and enjoyed the right of high, medium and low justice. The first lords of Meux date back to the 13th century, Agnès de Montlieu died without posterity, the land of Meux fell, around 1400, to Jeanne du Fresnay, wife of Aymard de La Laigne. Then, Blanche de La Laigne, daughter of the latter, brought it as a dowry to Louis Chesnel who had roots in Saintonge, whose family would form different branches which would own, in particular, the castles of Château Chesnel (in Cherves-Richemont, in Charente ) and Écoyeux (in Charente-Maritime). After nine generations, it was Charles-Maurice Colbert, marquis de Villacerf, abbot of Neauphle, acting on behalf of Angélique-Elisabeth Chesnel, who sold the Château de Meux in 1712 to Pierre Dudon, king's lawyer in Parliament of Bordeaux3. By this action, the purchaser invested the dowry of his wife, Brigitte de Laage, who died prematurely, in August 1713, a year after her marriage. For this reason, he had to give up his land in Meux in 1714 to his father-in-law, Jacques de Laage. From 1719, the latter sold the Château de Meux to Antoine Bonnet, Lord Count of Nègrepelisse (Tarn-et-Garonne), who was forced to hand it over in 1721 to Hélie de Laage (1676-1729). The land of Meux remains in the hands of the de Laage family, which adds to its name that of Meux, until 1853. Contrary to what has been written elsewhere, it is not Hippolyte de Laage (1811- 1883) which then separates from the castle, but Jérôme de Laage (1777-1856), lieutenant-colonel of the Engineers, former deputy of Charente-Inférieure (1824-1827). From then until the early 1970s, when it was acquired by Monique Guilbaud, who saved it from ruin, the Château de Meux became the seat of a farm. The entrance is through a porch which overlooks the garden bordered on three sides by low outbuildings with tiled roofs. Opposite, the dwelling, built in the 15th century during the period of reconstruction after the departure of the English, is in the Flamboyant style, with a polygonal tower with a hipped roof pierced by a window decorated with stone embroidery. Two towers have disappeared, which we know from engravings. It is a French-style garden reconstituted from 1972, with eight cone-trimmed yews marking the intersection of the paths and the four squares of lawn. It is worked in the greens of the lawn, yews and spindles and the red of the rows of small rosebushes. A rose garden completes this garden. A trimmed hedge separates the park planted with species chosen for their colors. The traditional vegetable garden and orchard complete this set of gardens. Possibility of visit from June 1 to September 30, from 2:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. (except Tuesdays).