Cerizay () is a
commune
A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to:
Administrative-territorial entities
* Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township
** Communes of ...
in the
Deux-Sèvres
Deux-Sèvres () is a French department. ''Deux-Sèvres'' literally means "two Sèvres": the Sèvre Nantaise and the Sèvre Niortaise are two rivers which have their sources in the department. It had a population of 374,878 in 2019. department
Department may refer to:
* Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility
Government and military
*Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...
in the
Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Nouvelle-Aquitaine (; oc, Nòva Aquitània or ; eu, Akitania Berria; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Novéle-Aguiéne'') is the largest administrative region in France, spanning the west and southwest of the mainland. The region was created by ...
region
In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...
in western
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...
.
History
The name ''Cerizay'' probably originated during the
closing centuries of the Roman occupation. During the
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...
the old town centre was situated beside a
feudal castle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...
. The last two towers of the castle, along with its 12th century chapel, were destroyed when the present (rather flamboyant) church was constructed in 1890.
Economy
The automotive coachbuilder firm
Heuliez
Heuliez was a French company that worked as a production and design unit for various automakers. It specialized in producing short series for niche markets, such as convertibles or station-wagons.
The business activity ended on 31 October 2013. ...
had its main production plant on the outskirts of the town. They have been involved in the production of various niche models for French car manufacturers. The firm currently construct the roof module for the
Peugeot 206CC and till 2009 built the Vauxhall/
Opel Tigra Twin Top
The Opel Tigra name has been applied to two different cars engineered and produced by the German automaker Opel, both based on different iterations of the Corsa supermini, the first built in Spain, the second in France. The first Tigra was a sma ...
. Between June 2011 and December 2013, the "
Mia
Mia, MIA, or M.I.A. may refer to:
Music Artists
* M.I.A. (rapper) (born 1975), English rapper and singer
* M.I.A. (band), 1980s punk rock band from Orange County, California
* MIA., a German rock/pop band formed in 1997
* Mia (singer) (born 1983) ...
", an electric car developed in Germany, was built under contract with an annual output of 10,000 units.
People
Famous residents include:
*
Philippe de Mornay
Philippe de Mornay (5 November 1549 – 11 November 1623), seigneur du Plessis Marly, usually known as Du-Plessis-Mornay or Mornay Du Plessis, was a French Protestant writer and member of the anti-monarchist ''Monarchomaques''.
Biography
He ...
Twin towns
*
Chipping Ongar
Chipping Ongar () is a market town and former civil parish, now in the parish of Ongar, in the Epping Forest District of the county of Essex, England. It is located east of Epping, southeast of Harlow and northwest of Brentwood. In 2020 t ...
,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...
.
See also
*
Communes of the Deux-Sèvres department
The following is a list of the 256 communes of the Deux-Sèvres department of France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territ ...
References
Communes of Deux-Sèvres
{{DeuxSèvres-geo-stub