Thesaurus

Poitiers is located on high ground where the Clain and Boivre rivers meet. It takes its name from the sites first settlers, a Gallic tribe called the Pictones, or Pictavi. It became a Christian center in the 4th century. The Visigoths settled in Poitiers in the 5th century but the site was taken over in 507 by the Frankish king Clovis. Poitiers was one of the pilgrimage sites on route to the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela. Control of Poitiers alternated between France and England between the 12th and 14th century. The French heroine Saint Joan of Arc was interrogated there in 1429. Poitiers suffered severely during the 16th-century Wars of Religion. Parts of Poitiers were destroyed during World War II. It contains many ancient monuments dispersed throughout the town. The Notre-Dame-la-Grande church is an example of Romanesque architecture, with a 12th century facade containing many sculptures. Located in Poitiers is the 4th-century rectangular Baptistère Saint-Jean, which is estimated to be the oldest Christian edifice in France; it now houses an archaeological museum containing tombs dating from the 5th to the 8th century. There has been recent industrial growth in the area of printing, rubber, electrical machinery, and chemical industries.