Bressuire

The town is situated on an eminence overlooking the Dolo, a tributary of the Argenton.

Bressuire
Subprefecture and commune
Chateau de Bressuire and the Eglise Notre-Dame
Coat of arms
Location of Bressuire
Bressuire Show map of France Bressuire Show map of Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Coordinates: 46°50′27″N 0°29′14″W / 46.8408°N 0.4872°W / 46.8408; -0.4872
Country	France
Region	Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Department	Deux-Sèvres
Arrondissement	Bressuire
Canton	Bressuire
Intercommunality	CA Bocage Bressuirais
Government
• Mayor (2020–2026)	Emmanuelle Ménard
Area 1	180.59 km2 (69.73 sq mi)
Population  (2021)	19,906
• Density	110/km2 (290/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	79049 /79300
Elevation	98–236 m (322–774 ft) (avg. 173 m or 568 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

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 "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.

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.

• Guillaume Rouger (born 1975), retired professional footballer

Bressuire is twinned with:

• Communes of the Deux-Sèvres department