Pressignac

Pressignac
Commune
Town hall and school
Location of Pressignac
Pressignac Show map of France Pressignac Show map of Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Coordinates: 45°49′36″N 0°44′38″E
Country	France
Region	Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Department	Charente
Arrondissement	Confolens
Canton	Charente-Vienne
Intercommunality	Charente Limousine
Government
• Mayor (2020–2026)	Francis Beaumatin[1]
Area ^1	28.15 km^2 (10.87 sq mi)
Population  (2021)[2]	360
• Density	13/km^2 (33/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	16270 /16150
Elevation	163–282 m (535–925 ft) (avg. 264 m or 866 ft)
^1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km^2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Pressignac (French pronunciation: [pʁesiɲak]; Occitan: Pressinhac) is a commune in the Charente department in southwestern France.

The village has thirty or so hamlets scattered around the outskirts. These include: Bandes, Bonetève, Bors, Bouchet, Bournet, Château Banal, Chauffie, Croix, Fayolles, Fontceeverane, Fougeras, Gardette, Les Gouttes, Le Grand Wood, Grand Chalais, Guerlie, Guierce, Judie, Magniéras, Mandat, Chez Mariaud, Martin, Martinie, Mas du Baud, Minor, Pers, Petit Chalais, Puymis, Valette, Veilleraud, Vouéras.

The Asteroid

200 million years ago, an asteroid with a diameter of 1.5 km struck the earth between the current hamlets of Judie, Valette and Babaudus. The impact left a crater 21 km in diameter that has long since been destroyed by erosion. The rocks within it were substantially changed more than 5 km deep. The rocks resulting from this cataclysm around Pressignac are unique: they were fractured and melted, they are called impact breccias and these rocks have been used for the construction of houses and farm buildings in the immediate area.

Protohistory

The Hallstatt civilization during the Iron Age used a road from Narbonne to Nantes and Brittany. This old road crosses the municipal territory of Pressignac, passing by Mandat, the Bost de la Herse, the Motte, the Négrerie and Besses wood, skirting two buildings dating from this time.

Caesar's camp, on the Petit Chêne hill, between Bors and Mandat, is a 100-meter square surrounded on three sides by an embankment almost three meters wide and one meter high. Despite its name, it was not a Roman camp (although it is likely that the Romans reused it). One hypothesis is that this camp was to be a kind of caravanserai, a stage on this trading route of the Iron Age. Neolithic axes found in large numbers around this prehistoric site might also suggest its occupation. This land also served much later, shortly before the war of 1870, as a field of military maneuvers.

Population

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1968	665	—
1975	577	−2.01%
1982	519	−1.50%
1990	477	−1.05%
1999	449	−0.67%
2009	424	−0.57%
2014	394	−1.46%
2020	340	−2.43%
Source: INSEE[3]

See also

• Rochechouart impact structure
• Communes of the Charente department

References

1. "Répertoire national des élus: les maires". data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises (in French). 9 August 2021.
2. "Populations légales 2021" (in French). The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 28 December 2023.
3. Population en historique depuis 1968, INSEE