Last modified: 2024-04-06 by olivier touzeau
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![[Flag]](../images/f/fr-33-fh.gif)
Flag of Fargues-Saint-Hilaire - Image by Olivier Touzeau, 28 April 2022
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Fargues-Saint-Hilaire (3,404 inhabitants in 2021; 702 ha) is a commune in the Gironde department. It is located in Entre-deux-Mers, at the gates of the metropolis of Bordeaux.
In the Middle Ages, there were two parishes on the territory of the current municipality. The parish of Saint-John created by the order of the Hospitallers of Saint-John of Jerusalem, and the parish of Saint-Hilaire with its church located in the center of the current cemetery.
In the 14th century, a square tower, fortified and surrounded by ditches, was erected on the heights south-west of the village in order to serve as an advanced defense post for the lord of Cambes, on whom the territory depended. This construction, following the embellishments of its successive owners, took the name of “Château la Tour de Fargues” in the 19th century.
The "château de Beauséjour", located on the road to Branne, was built in 1734 according to the plans of the architect Gabriel. This Louis XV style residence has vast French gardens, sculpted facades, a chapel and a pond. Other beautiful residences were built between the 18th and 19th centuries. These properties then produced quality white and red wines, half of the area of the town being planted with vines. Windmills and a watermill allowed the population, mainly farmers, to grind their grain. A tile factory operated until the 1920s thanks to the clay reserves in the soil. Since limestone is also very present in the territory, several generations of quarry workers and stonemasons have followed one another.
Until the mid-1850s, the heart of the town was confined to the area around the cemetery where the old church stood. This church, which had cracks following the earthquake of 1759, was razed and rebuilt in 1845 on its current location. During the 1793 census there were 458 inhabitants in the town, the population grew slowly until 1954 (646 inhabitants), doubled in the mid-1960s, to be practically multiplied by 6 today.
Olivier Touzeau, 28 April 2022
The flag of Fargues-Saint-Hilaire is white with logo: photo (2016).
Olivier Touzeau, 28 April 2022