Bressuire
Bressuire (Berceorium; Poitevin: Beurseure) is a commune in the French department of Deux-Sèvres, region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. The town is situated on an eminence overlooking the Dolo, a tributary of the Argenton.
Bressuire
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- Bressuire
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Institutions cited
Etalab API Découpage administratif · Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names
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Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Bressuire • Commune Status — Subprefecture and commune • Arrondissement — Bressuire • Canton — Bressuire • Insee — 79049 • Postal Code — 79300 • Mayor — Emmanuelle Ménard • Term — 2020–2026 • Intercommunality — CA Bocage Bressuirais • Elevation M — 173 • Elevation Min M — 98 • Elevation Max M — 236 • Area Km2 — 180.59
Documentary record
Bressuire is a place documented in the authority records of the Etalab API Découpage administratif and the Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names. The authority records of the Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names record Bressuire as an inhabited place. Etalab API Découpage administratif records Bressuire as a commune. The authority records of the Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names record Nouvelle-Aquitaine as the administrative unit of Bressuire. Etalab API Découpage administratif records Deux-Sèvres as the administrative unit of Bressuire. Etalab API Découpage administratif records Nouvelle-Aquitaine as the administrative region of Bressuire. Etalab API Découpage administratif records France as the country of Bressuire.
Notable buildings
Notable buildings
Bressuire has two buildings of interest: the church of Notre-Dame, which, dating chiefly from the 12th and 15th centuries, has an imposing tower of the Renaissance period; and the castle, built by the lords of Beaumont, vassals of the viscount of Thouars. The latter is now in ruins, and a portion of the site is occupied by a modern château, but an inner and outer line of fortifications are still to be seen. The whole forms the finest assemblage of feudal ruins in Poitou.
The name
The name
The name "Bressuire" comes from two elements, being Berg (hill) and Durum (fortress). These two are linked in the name "Berzoriacum" recorded in 1029, and "Bercorium" from the start of the crusading era in 1095. The name Bressuire thereby defines a fortress on a hill.
History
History
Bressuire dates back to Celtic times, and was at the meeting point of roads during the Gallo-Roman period. The earliest surviving evidence of the town's existence, around the chapel of Saint Cyprien, dates back to the eleventh century. Medieval Bressuire ("Castrum Berzoriacum") belonged to the viscounts of Thouars and comprised, in the tenth century, the three parishes of Notre Dame (Our Lady), St John and St Nicholas. The parish of St Nicholas, which has since disappeared, was located within the walls of the castle and belonged to the Abbey of Saint-Jouin-de-Marnes. Among the disasters suffered at various times by the town, its capture from the English and subsequent pillage by French troops under du Guesclin in 1370 is the most memorable. Bressuire was part of the Ancien Régime Province of Poitou. In January 1973 Bressuire absorbed the former communes Beaulieu-sous-Bressuire, Boismé, Breuil-Chaussée, Chambroutet, Clazay, Noirlieu, Noirterre, Saint-Sauveur-de-Givre-en-Mai and Terves.
Documentary record
The area of Bressuire is 18,241.53 hectares, according to the Etalab API Découpage administratif. The Etalab API Découpage administratif records the postal code 79300 for Bressuire.
Population
Population
Population data refer to the area corresponding with the commune as of January 2025.
Notable people
Notable people
• Guillaume Rouger (born 1975), retired professional footballer
Twin towns – sister cities
Twin towns – sister cities
Bressuire is twinned with: • Fraserburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom • Friedberg, Germany • Hodac, Romania • Kpalimé, Togo • Leixlip, Ireland • Mequinenza, Spain • Parczew, Poland • Ryazan, Russia • Arica, Chile
Licensing
Text attribution
Part of the biographical narrative on this page reuses licensed material. Its origin, revision and licence are recorded here.
The biographical narrative on this page is based on the Wikipedia article Bressuire, revision 1370463258 (EN edition), by its contributors. VALÉORINE has edited that text and built its own documentary record around it. The reused material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, and this page's reuse of it is offered under the same licence. Everything else on this page — the chronology, the holdings, the evidence, the plates and the connections — is VALÉORINE's own record. Sources and licences.
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 26 September 2026.
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