The best MTB trails around Forêt de Boixe

Imposing in this small village, the abbey is easy to find. Built in the 11th century, this abbey was not finally completed until 1170 by Eleanor of Aquitaine. If you are interested in Roman architecture, visit the local museum to learn about the origins of this abbey.

An imposing sight within this small village, the abbey is easy to find. Built in the 11th century, this abbey was only finally completed in 1170 by Eleanor of Aquitaine. If you are interested in Roman architecture, visit the local museum to learn about the origins of this abbey.

The dolmen of Petite Pérotte and its neighbor of Grosse Pérotte belonged to a vast group of funerary monuments dating from the Neolithic period (4500 to 4000 years BC) Its table, that is to say the enormous stone resting on vertical pillars, weighs about 40 tonnes and comes from a cliff on the banks of the Charente 4 or 5 km away ... In the Neolithic period, the dolmen was not visible: it is covered with a stone and earth construction called a tumulus. A covered corridor allows entry into the burial chamber. The excavations and then the restorations carried out in 2012 and 2013 made it possible to materialize on the ground the influence of this circular tumulus, the corridor and a secondary chamber under a stone table now resting directly on the ground.

The parish church of Saint-Martin has a gilded wooden tabernacle from the 17th century showing Saint Christopher, Saint Roch, the garden of olive trees, the flagellation of Christ and Christ on the cross which was classified as a historical monument as an object in 1911. It has kept its massive and defensive character, its groups of old water-leaf capitals, sober and crude in design, its facade, adorned with friezes and small columns, and its Romanesque nave, primitive and dark. A marble plaque bears witness to the memory of Father de La Brosse, a native of the country, a missionary in Canada still called Nouvelle France (1724-1782). The stained glass window of Saint Martin's Charity above the altar is one of his gifts to the church.

Nestled between the Charente river and the Boixe forest, the former abbey has watched over the north of Angoumois for over a thousand years. Mentioned in 888, the abbey church was rebuilt in the 11th and 12th centuries, thanks to the generosity of the Counts of Angoulême. This building constitutes an inescapable testimony of the Charente Romanesque art. In the 13th century, a large fire destroyed the site, forcing the reconstruction of the choir of the church, which was not completed until the 16th century. Listed as a historical monument in 1840 on the initiative of Mérimée, this vast monument has always impressed with its mass and its refinement: artists such as Eugène Delacroix and Maurice Utrillo are not mistaken. Each year, more than 13,000 visitors come to discover and appreciate this building with such a rich history. The abbey site has also given rise to several archaeological excavations, enriching the historical and cultural interest of this high heritage site.

The church has a 12th century portal and an open-air bell tower.

Of the castle of Montignac, located in the town of Montignac-Charente, in Charente, only the keep remains. It is built on a terrace overlooking the Charente. Of the enclosure, there remains the gate with portcullis with two round towers at the top of an escarpment, the western part of the enclosure and a round tower.

The church of Saint-Denis in Vars, with the castle to the north, formed an episcopal complex of which the bishop was the lord. Although the church is not mentioned until 1110, the possession of this seigneury by the bishop is attested as early as the 1030s. Probably in connection with the building of the castle to the north, the very sober facade of the church has been altered: one can still distinguish traces of the old bell tower with two arches, in the upper part. The bell tower built on the south arm of the transept is therefore posterior. The apse has the particularity of having been raised in order to fortify it and to fit various defensive elements (heated room, bay windows with cushions, access to gateways, etc.)