Attractions and Places To See around Sauvignac - Top 6

The Church of Our Lady of the Navitiy was built in the 12th century. This Romanesque-style monument was considerably altered with age, so much so that only the foundations are original today. The walls, for example, were raised shortly after the Hundred Years' War to allow refuge rooms to be built under the roof. The Romanesque façade, for its part, was remodeled during the Gothic period. The use of grison, a local grey stone very common in this area of Charente, limited the sculpted decoration to its strictest expression; this stone was unsuitable for sculpture. On the other hand, the church has a painted fresco, rediscovered in the sanctuary during restoration work. Like all medieval churches, Notre-Dame de Brossac was once surrounded by its cemetery, abandoned in 1843. Outside, in the north wall of the nave, there remain two funerary recesses intended to shelter the burial of high-ranking figures. https://www.sauvegardeartfrancais.fr/projets/brossac-eglise-notre-dame-de-la-nativite

Artificial natural site formed by the exploitation of a clay quarry

Beautiful route, there is a restaurant at the lake and from Rioux-Martin you can make a nice round trip

This is a fishing lake. A path allows you to follow the banks in a very nice environment.

The trail offers a beautiful view of the blue lake of Guizengard. The water takes on a thousand azure hues, creating an almost unreal setting. The site has great ecological value with the presence of numerous plant and animal species. Among the most remarkable, the bee-eater, this beautiful, brightly colored bird has found refuge here to the delight of walkers.

Church built in the 12th century, having subsequently suffered from wars, in particular that of the Hundred Years. Restored in the 15th century. Single nave plan, ending with a straight apse. The nave is divided into three bays. The walls have large arches resting on very wide pilasters. Ribbed brick vaults were built in 1881 and rest on round columns. The transept is slightly wider. Cupola on pendants. A wall separates the used part of the building from the old chancel, which had three bays of 15th century ribbed vaults. These were destroyed. The bedside wall is straight and lit by three windows. The western facade opens with a semicircular portal with three arches and circular columns of primitive appearance, and is decorated with two blind doors. Two heads adorn the tympanum of the south blind door. The triangular gable has been truncated and ends in a modern campanile. The north side retains the square tower of the old 15th century bell tower.

Between 1975 and 2013, the exploitation of white clay by humans dramatically changed this forest environment. At the origin of this supernatural landscape, this old kaolin quarry produced a beautiful white earth intended for the manufacture of porcelain, tiles, bricks, and cosmetic and pharmaceutical products. To extract and process the kaolin, operators moved thousands of cubic meters of material by digging up to 40 meters deep. After the end of the industrial exploitation of white clay, the vegetation regained its rights and this huge open-air quarry filled with rainwater, giving rise to a deep artificial lake. This new environment is still very young and the acidity of the soils of the different geological layers prevents any development of aquatic life in the lake (algae, fish, amphibians). The water is crystal clear, transparent, and has no suspended matter that can absorb light. This is fully reflected in the lake which thus sports a shades of blue, from turquoise to azure blue, to the delight of walkers and nature lovers. Two trails allow you to discover this disconcertingly beautiful site: the Grand Bois du Marais circuit and the Guêpiers circuit.