Ensigné

Commune in Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France

Location of Ensigné

(2020–2026) Bernard Belaud^[1]Area

20.30 km² (7.84 sq mi)Population

(2021)^[2]

288 • Density14/km² (37/sq mi)Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET) • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)INSEE/Postal code

79111 /79170

Elevation55–149 m (180–489 ft)
(avg. 413 m or 1,355 ft)¹ French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Ensigné (French pronunciation: [ɑ̃siɲe]) is a commune in the Deux-Sèvres department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in western France.

Geography

The surrounding countryside is densely wooded. The village is close to the forest of Ensigné and of Aulnay.

The kindergarten and primary school have been merged with those of Asnières-en-Poitou and Paizay-le-Chapt, none of the three individual villages having a population above 300 by the start of the twenty-first century.

History

The history of the village is closely linked to that of the Knights Templar. Ensigné contains a Templar command post comprising fortifications, a chapel and a castle.

Today the site is privately owned: the castle itself is in a ruined condition, but two separate properties have been created from the part including the former chapel.

References

^ "Répertoire national des élus: les maires". data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises (in French). 2 December 2020.
^ "Populations légales 2021". The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 28 December 2023.