Mazières-en-Gâtine (Municipality, Deux-Sèvres, France)

Last modified: 2023-11-11 by olivier touzeau
Keywords: deux-sevres | mazieres-en-gatine | escallop | saltire(red) |
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Flag of Mazières-en-Gâtinais - Image by Thierry Gilabert, 30 January 2022
Source: Société Vexillologique de l'Ouest

• Presentation of Mazières-en-Gâtine
• Flag of Mazières-en-Gâtine

See also:

• France
• Deux-Sèvres (Department, France)

Presentation of Mazières-en-Gâtine

Chauray (1,029 inhabitants in 2020; 1,906 ha) is a commune of the Deux-Sèvres department.

Mazières-en-Gâtine originates from an ancient Gallic, then Gallo-Roman village ravaged during the Barbarian invasions. In the Middle Ages, the lords of Mazières were the vassals of the lords of Verruyes, who themselves depended on the lords of Parthenay. During the Renaissance, the lordship of Mazières-en-Gâtine depended on the counts of Breuillac. The latter built the Château du Petit-Chêne there. The town, on the southern edge of the military Vendée, was partly burnt down during the Vendée wars. Long very isolated, the town only began its economic and social development during the second half of the 19th century thanks to the creation of roads linking it to the towns of Parthenay, Saint-Maixent and Niort. At the end of the 19th century, Mazières-en-Gâtine enjoyed a certain development thanks to the train station and the dairy. Today, the economic activity of the village is centerd around quarries, the stone of Mazières, very resistant, being famous for road or railway works, but also for sculpture.

Olivier Touzeau, 30 January 2022

Flag of Mazières-en-Gâtine

The coat of arms is blazoned Argent, a saltire embattled Gules charged with lozenge Sable and between four escallops of the same.

According to the Société Vexillologique de l'Ouest (source), the arms come from the arms of the Breuillac (Argent a chevron Gules flanked by three escallops Sable), the chevron has been transformed into an embattled saltire to evoke the name of Mazières (wall) and the particular shape of the territory of the commune in the shape of an "8" with the village in the center. The lozenge in the center recalls the work of stone, the main activity of the town. On June 29, 2006, by deliberation of the Municipal Council, were adoped the banner, coat of arms, arms and emblem of Mazières-en-Gâtine.
The flag is a banner of arms, ratio 1:2.

Olivier Touzeau, 30 January 2022