Balzac () is a commune in the Charente department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of south-western France.

Geography Balzac is located some 7 km north-west of Angoulême. Access to the commune is by the D737 from Angoulême which passes through the east of the commune and the town continuing north to Montignac-Charente. The D105 branches off the D737 north of the town and goes east to Champniers. The D406 also branches off the D737 and goes west to Vindelle. Apart from the town there are the hamlets of Coursac, La Chapelle, Les Chabots, and Les Courlis in the commune. The commune is mostly farmland with a small forest in the south-west and a significant urban area for the town.Google Maps

Geology and terrain Balzac occupies the interior of a wide bend of the Charente. The bedrock of the large eastern half of the commune, which is the highest in altitude, consists of limestone dating from the Upper Jurassic (Kimmeridgian) period.

The centre of the town, between Labbés, Genin, and Texier, is located on old alluvium from the Quaternary period.

The western part of the commune, between La Chapelle and Chabots, contains other alluvial deposits which form a low terrace. The river bed (floodplain) is itself made up of more recent alluvium (silt, sandy clay, and peat).Infoterre Visualiser , BRGM website BRGM Map on Géoportail Notice on the Mansle page, BRGM, 1984, Infoterre website, consulted on 13 November 2011 Notice on the Angoulême page, BRGM, 1973, Infoterre website, consulted on 17 November 2011

The terrain that separates the valley of the Charente from that of the Argence forms a kind of long cliff, very high and steep in its northern part, which is the concave side of the bend in the river near the villages of Coursac and Font-Saint-Martin, which gradually decreases in height to end at the foot of the Chateau of Balzac.

The highest point in the commune is at an altitude of 102 m east at Puylebin to the east of Coursac. The lowest point is 30 m on the Charente river at the confluence of the Argence. The village is about 60 m above sea level.IGN Map on Géoportail

Hydrography The river Charente forms the entire south, west, and north-west border of the commune as it flows around the commune and continues south-east to eventually join the Atlantic Ocean at Rochefort. The Argence flows from the north-east and forms much of the eastern border where it joins the Charente in the south-eastern corner of the commune.

Climate The climate is oceanic Aquitaine and similar to the town of Cognac where the departmental weather station is located.

Neighbouring communes and villages

Toponymy Old forms of the name Balzac are Balazacum and Balazaco in 1298. Book of Fiefs of Guillaume de Blaye, Bishop of Angoulême (the "Liber feodorum"), Jean Nanglard, Vol. 5, Société archéologique et historique de la Charente, 1905 (1st ed. 1273), 404 p., p. 96, 228, 253, 274

According to Dauzat, the origin of the name Balzac dates back to a Gallo-Roman person Ballitius, which itself is derived from Ballius, to which is added the suffix -acum which would give Ballitiacum or "Domain of Ballitius".Albert Dauzat and Charles Rostaing, Etymological Dictionary of place names in France, Paris, Librairie Guénégaud, 1989, 738 p. (), p. 50 According to other sources, Balatius was the name of a Gallic man, derived from Balatos.Revue celtique, 1907, p.94 Jean Talbert, Origin of Place Names, 1928

History Aerial archaeology has revealed evidence of a Neolithic Bronze Age Promontory fort on the slopes of Coursac in a position dominating the Charente.Fouilles Claude Burnez and José Gomez de Soto in, Jacques Dassié, Aerial Archaeology. Archaeological and Touristic Heritage of Charente, Alan Sutton, 2001, 176 pages, p. 64 (photo),

A Chateau existed in the 12th century and Balzac was a former fief under the Bishopric of Angoulême and the barony of Tourriers which was acquired in 1398 by Guy de La Rochefoucauld. From the 12th to the 17th century the chateau passed through many hands. The present chateau was rebuilt on the same site in 1600 by Guillaume Guez and his wife who left from time to time for their house in Angoulême. It was the residence of the family Guez de Balzac and Jean-Louis Guez de Balzac, the "Restorer of the French Language", lived there.

From 4 March to 29 August 1619 Marie de' Medici was hosted there by the Guez family, "not wishing to stay elsewhere until the peace that made her son Louis XIII". The castle became the crossroads for personalities of the time during her stay - such as Cardinal Richelieu, the Duke of Épernon, the Cardinal de La Rochefoucauld, and the Count of Bethune.Jean-Paul Gaillard, Châteaux, Lodgings, and old Houses of Charente, Paris, librairie Bruno Sépulchre, 1993 (reprinted 2005), 893 p., p. 91

The road to Vars was a transport route by donkey for Salt to the port of Basseau.André Debord, Lay Society in Charente country 10th-12th century, Picard, 1984, 585 p., , p. 356 The name la Montée des Sauniers (Ascent of Salt workers) above Coursac came from this.

Formerly the Terrier de Bourguignol, then called the Plantier de Bourguignone, located near the Pont Suraud (Suraud Bridge) on the Argence was a dolmen called the Tomb of Bourguignon which was still visible in 1760.Vigier de la Pile, History of the Angoumois, Paris, Derache (1846, Laffite reprint 2002), 1760, 160 p. , p. 139 François Corlieu, Reports in the form of History, Paris, Derache (1846, Laffite reprint 2002), 1576, 81 p., , p. 6

At the beginning of the 20th century cherries and peas from Balzac were particularly appreciated from Angoulême to Paris. The fields provided milk feeding two major dairy factories in the commune, run by Messrs. Hortolan and Rochier.Jules Martin-Buchey, Historical and Communal Geography of Charente, published by the author, Châteauneuf, 1914-1917 (reprint Bruno Sépulchre, Paris, 1984), 422 p., p. 67

Heraldry

Administration

List of Successive MayorsList of Mayors of France From To Name 1995 2026 Jean-Claude Courari

Demography The inhabitants of the commune are known as Balzatois or Balzatoises in French.Le nom des habitants du 16 - Charente, habitants.fr Balzac lost 30% of its population in the second half of the 19th century which then stabilised and experienced consistent growth in the last quarter of the 20th century.

Facilities

Education The school is an Inter-communal Educational Grouping (RPI) with Vindelle. Balzac has a primary school (Nursery and from CP to CE2) and Vindelle has an elementary school (from CE2 to CM2). The Jean Caillard High School for Balzac is located in Genins.Inspectorate of the Academy of Charente website

Sites and monuments

The Chateau of Balzac (17th century) is registered as an historical monument.Ministry of Culture, Mérimée was built by the father of Jean-Louis Guez de Balzac. This chateau has lodgings which overlook the Charente and is surrounded by a park enclosed by walls with pierced portals. There are also a canal, a fishpond, a lavoir, and a feudal church. The Parish church of Saint Martin is located in the town next to the castle. It is of Romanesque architecture and dates from the 12th century.Church of Saint-Martin, Balzac official website, 2012, consulted on 14 March 2014

Balzac is also the location of the headquarters of the Community of communes of Braconne and Charente.

Chateau of Balzac Picture Gallery

Notable people linked to the commune Jean-Louis Guez de Balzac (1597–1654), French writer, lived in the Château of Balzac.

See also Communes of the Charente department

References

External links Balzac official website Balzac on Villages of France website, 2000 Balzac on Géoportail, National Geographic Institute (IGN) website Balzac on the 1750 Cassini Map