Saint-Maurin
Encyclopedia
Saint-Maurin is a commune
in the Lot-et-Garonne
department in south-western France
.
The village lies on the road from Agen
to Bourg-de-Visa
in the valley of the Escornebœuf, a tributary of the Séoune
. It is in the arrondissement of Agen
and the province of Aquitaine
The mayor is Jean-Philippe Ollier, elected in 2008 to replace André Gayral, who retired. The population is around 450.
The abbey was destroyed by the Albigeois war, then rebuilt. It was again ravaged in the 14th century, this time by troops on the English side in the Hundred Years War. It was again rebuilt in the 15th century but was then attacked once more by Huguenot
s.
The abbey passed into the ownership of the village in 1645 and was never rebuilt. Many of the walls were demolished as a source of building stone but much of the main arch still stands. The monks' garden exists and so do the stables, now houses. The abbey is now a Monument de France and is being restored.
Beneath and beside the town hall is a museum of artefacts from the village's agricultural past. The village has a school, sports ground, swimming pool and small businesses.
Communes of France
The commune is the lowest level of administrative division in the French Republic. French communes are roughly equivalent to incorporated municipalities or villages in the United States or Gemeinden in Germany...
in the Lot-et-Garonne
Lot-et-Garonne
Lot-et-Garonne is a department in the southwest of France named after the Lot and Garonne rivers.-History:Lot-et-Garonne is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790...
department in south-western France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.
The village lies on the road from Agen
Agen
Agen is a commune in the Lot-et-Garonne department in Aquitaine in south-western France. It lies on the river Garonne southeast of Bordeaux. It is the capital of the department.-Economy:The town has a higher level of unemployment than the national average...
to Bourg-de-Visa
Bourg-de-Visa
Bourg-de-Visa is a commune in the Tarn-et-Garonne department in the Midi-Pyrénées region in southern France.-References:*...
in the valley of the Escornebœuf, a tributary of the Séoune
Séoune
The Séoune is a long river in the Lot, Tarn-et-Garonne and Lot-et-Garonne départements, southwestern France. Its source is at Sauzet. It flows generally southwest...
. It is in the arrondissement of Agen
Agen
Agen is a commune in the Lot-et-Garonne department in Aquitaine in south-western France. It lies on the river Garonne southeast of Bordeaux. It is the capital of the department.-Economy:The town has a higher level of unemployment than the national average...
and the province of Aquitaine
Aquitaine
Aquitaine , archaic Guyenne/Guienne , is one of the 27 regions of France, in the south-western part of metropolitan France, along the Atlantic Ocean and the Pyrenees mountain range on the border with Spain. It comprises the 5 departments of Dordogne, :Lot et Garonne, :Pyrénées-Atlantiques, Landes...
The mayor is Jean-Philippe Ollier, elected in 2008 to replace André Gayral, who retired. The population is around 450.
History
St-Maurin, the only village in France of that name, is named after the saint to whom the village's 11th-century abbey is dedicated. The abbey, parts of which still stand beside the village square, was built by Benedictine monks. Reliefs cut into the stone of an archway portray Maurin having the top of his head cut off and his brain spooned out.The abbey was destroyed by the Albigeois war, then rebuilt. It was again ravaged in the 14th century, this time by troops on the English side in the Hundred Years War. It was again rebuilt in the 15th century but was then attacked once more by Huguenot
Huguenot
The Huguenots were members of the Protestant Reformed Church of France during the 16th and 17th centuries. Since the 17th century, people who formerly would have been called Huguenots have instead simply been called French Protestants, a title suggested by their German co-religionists, the...
s.
The abbey passed into the ownership of the village in 1645 and was never rebuilt. Many of the walls were demolished as a source of building stone but much of the main arch still stands. The monks' garden exists and so do the stables, now houses. The abbey is now a Monument de France and is being restored.
Beneath and beside the town hall is a museum of artefacts from the village's agricultural past. The village has a school, sports ground, swimming pool and small businesses.