City for the first time en 989 in the cartulary of Saint-Hilaire de Poitiers, the town, installed in the limestone plain, dominates a small preserved marsh. Certainly one of the oldest market garden towns, the village is developing between a Benedictine priory and a lowland castle. At a place called Le Prieuré, its manorial and curial church falls under the diocese of Saintes. Thanks to the sale candlelit from one part from the communal marsh et with the stones of the ancient sanctuary, a new building is built by the Niort architect Bergeron from 1881 to 1882. Partly acquired by the Regional Conservatory of Natural Spaces of Poitou-Charentes, the marsh of Saint-Georges-de-Rex andAmure presents two major ecosystems: 40 ha of ash wooded islands to the west and 125 ha of wet meadows to the East. The flagship species of this confetti are the marsh spurge, the ophioglossa buttercup, the marsh fern, the marsh copper (butterfly), the Alpine rosalia (insect), the genet and the European otter. The municipality holds the national label Towns and Villages in Bloom (a flower).
What to see in Saint-Georges-de-Rex?
01. Saint-Georges Church
The building was built in 1882 thanks to the sale of part of the communal marsh and with the stones of the old priory church which was located at a place called Le Prieuré (conservation of the polychrome wooden tabernacle from the 1781th century (*) and the bell from XNUMX) . Its bell tower 32 meters high, struck by lightning on December 24, 1945, was restored in 1948, then hit again by the storm of 1999.
Unusual: a hand-cranked winch whose chain was once stretched up to the 2nd bay of the bell tower to dry the firefighters' leather hoses, without twisting them.
(*) Rehabilitated in 2017 thanks in part to the community heritage fund of the Niortais Urban Community.
02. The municipal port
The port of Saint-Georges-de-Rex is the only one not established on the edge of the hillside. The harbor and its access channel (Rimonboeuf channel), entirely dug in the limestone from 1850 to 1870 to approach the dock as close as possible to the village and the town with 150 ha of marshland, are connected to the Chail canal and the Great Rigole of LaGarette, in the direction of coulon, Marans or Niort. It is made up of a gently sloping grassy slipway, cut stone quays with two access points and a high masonry weir helping to maintain water in the port. The natural bulb port is restored as part of the Major Works of Poitevin marsh.
03. The wash houses
The discovery tour of the wash houses is a journey through time recalling these convivial places where the women of the village met exclusively to rinse their laundry and chat. Behind the church, in the street of the same name, the bakery washhouse, restored in 1993 as part of the Grands Travaux du Poitevin marsh, is fed by a spring and consists of an open-air basin of polygonal shape to adapt to the configuration of the site, a washerwomen's sidewalk sheltered by a lean-to roof (poplar truss and rafters, reed roofing and channel tiles called truss rods). Its name is due to an old dairy cooperative located nearby (use of milk in bread making to replace water, thus bringing more richness to the products, colors the crust while making it melting, contributes to the softness of the crumb and activates fermentation thanks to the sugars it contains). In the village and on the path of the same name, the wash house Reverend is a polygonal-shaped open-air pool fed by a spring and located on a property. THE Grande Fontaine wash house, located in the village, in the eponymous street, is fed by a source with a hand fountain and located along the road. Its open-air basin is quadrangular and has a cutaway to adapt to the plot and the road. In the village, the Richebert washhouse, whose water flooded the castle's moat, is a rectangular open-air basin fed by the stream of the same name through a reservoir. The small hold installed nearby served as a watering trough for livestock.
04. Geocaching Tèrra-Aventura: “The guardians of the marsh”
Terra Aventura offers captivating experience in Saint-Georges-de-Rex, with its route entitled “The Guardians of the Swamp”. This journey of fun and educational geocaching invites adventurers to explore the wonders of the swamp while solving intriguing puzzles. By following clues hidden in nature, participants let themselves be drawn into a thrilling quest, mixing discovery of local fauna and flora. An immersive adventure in the heart of nature which delights young and old.
Other curiosities to see:
- The remains of the seigniorial home and the Renaissance house of Lombarde (private)
- The wreck of the priory
- The polychrome wooden tabernacle from the 17th century et the bell cast in 1781 of the old priory preserved in the 19th century church
- The mansions (rue du Pigeonnier, du Port et du Moulin) et the farms
- The remains of the prioral mill (private)
- The dovecote tower
- Communal heritage site: small rural heritage. Rue du Pigeonnier, creation of an old-fashioned educational orchard and rehabilitation of a balet (barn), bread oven from 1830-50, ponne (ancestor of the washing machine) and shed. Picnic area.
- The vineyard huts (at a place called Guérinet and in the triangle between Arcais, Saint-Hilaire-la-Palud and Saint-Georges-de-Rex)
- The Pounivelle pond
- The Coq à l’Âne Park
