Annepont () is a commune in the Charente-Maritime department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of southwestern France.
Geography Annepont is located some 15 km south-west of Saint-Jean-d'Angely and 13 km north of Saintes. The A10 autoroute (E5) passes through the west of the commune but has no exit in or near the commune. Access to the commune is by the D127 from Taillebourg to the south-west passing through the village and continuing north to Mazeray. The D230 road also goes east from the village to Juico. The D231 also passes through the south of the commune forming part of the southern border and continues to Écoyeux to the south-east. The commune has extensive forests in the east covering some 40% of the land area with the rest of the commune farmland.
The Ruisseau de la Blanchardiere rises in the east of the commune and flows west joining with numerous other streams.Google Maps
Toponymy Toponymists do not mention an old form for this place name so that the etymology of Annepont remains hypothetical. Albert Dauzat saw a compound of the elements Anna, a Germanic personal name, followed by the Gallo-Roman Ponte (from the Latin pons) meaning "bridge".DNLF 20b.
Ernest Nègre agreed on the nature of the second element -pont but interpreted the first in a radically different way: it is possibly the local term asne meaning "humpbacked" - i.e. "humpbacked bridge".Ernest Nègre, General Toponymy of France Read online
N.B.: There is a Germanic personal name Anna which is unrelated to the Hebrew personal name Hanna(h) (giving Anna then Anne). This anthroponym is an hypocoristic Germanic anthroponym beginning with the element Arn-. The final a rather indicates a Saxon origin. This hypothesis is supported by the existence of a number of place names in the region (notably in -ville) so the first element could be a Saxon anthroponym. In addition, archaeological excavations confirm the presence of Saxons in the region. This far south a compound structure is expected rather than the Romanesque *Pontanne but Annepont is more reminiscent of a toponymic type of northern France marked by Germanic influence and made from a Germanic anthroponym as for Radepont, Senarpont, Hubertpont, Carlepont, etc. The solution advocated by Ernest Nègre, if possible phonetically, is even more hypothetical inasmuch as an ancient form of the type *Asnepont is required.
Administration
List of Successive MayorsList of Mayors of France From To Name Party 2001 2026 Francis Boizumault DVD
Population The inhabitants of the commune are known as Annepontois or Annepontoises in French.Le nom des habitants du 17 - Charente-Maritime, habitants.fr
Culture and heritage
Civil heritage The Logis of Maine-Moreau (17th century), located in the Annepont countryside, is registered as an historical monument.Ministry of Culture, Mérimée
Religious heritage
The Church of Saint-André (12th century) is registered as an historical monument.Ministry of Culture, Mérimée The Romanesque church is located on a promontory and distinguished by a gate without a tympanum surrounded by Corinthian capitals and its ornamented chevet beautifully executed. Old houses surrounding the building give a special character to the whole.
Transport
Railway stations and halts Taillebourg (Halt) 2.7 km Saint-Savinien (Halt) 6 km Saint-Hilaire-de-Villefranche, Brizambourg (Halt) 6.3 km Saintes 10.6 km Saint-Jean-d'Angely 13.6 km
Airport and aerodrome Rochefort-St-Agnant 28.9 km Cognac 31 km Royan-Medis Aerodrome 36.6 km
See also Communes of the Charente-Maritime department
References
External links Annepont on the National Geographic Institute website Annepont on the 1750 Cassini Map