Altillac

Altillac
View across the river from Altillac
Coat of arms
Altillac
Location within Limousin region  Altillac
Coordinates: 44°58′40″N 1°50′48″E / 44.9778°N 1.8467°ECoordinates: 44°58′40″N 1°50′48″E / 44.9778°N 1.8467°E
Country	France
Region	Aquitaine-Limousin-Poitou-Charentes
Department	Corrèze
Arrondissement	Ussel
Canton	Mercœur
Intercommunality	Canton de Mercœur
Government
• Mayor (2001–2020)	Robert Vialard
Area^1	25.23 km^2 (9.74 sq mi)
Population (2010)^2	854
• Density	34/km^2 (88/sq mi)
INSEE/Postal code	19007 / 19120
Elevation	136–502 m (446–1,647 ft) (avg. 146 m or 479 ft)
^1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. ^2 Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once.

Altillac (Altilhac in Occitan) is a French commune in the Corrèze department in the Limousin region of central France.

The inhabitants of the commune are known as Altillacois or Altillacoises^[1]

Geography

Altillac is a large commune located in the central massif of the Dordogne in the extreme south of Limousin. It was formerly called Xaintrie.

It is located some 30 km south-east of Brive-la-Gaillarde, 130 km south-west of Clermont-Ferrand, and about 180 km east of Bordeaux. Access to the commune is on road D940 which goes to the village just 1 km east of Beaulieu-sur-Dordogne then continues south through the commune to Biars-sur-Cere. The D116E branches south-east from this road to join the D14 east of Gagnac-sur-Cere. There is also the D116 coming from Brivezac in the north and the D41 highway to La Chapelle-Saint-Géraud in the north-east.^[2]

The Dordogne river forms the western boundary of the commune with some streams from the commune flowing into it including the Ruisseau du Suquet. The eastern border of the commune is formed by the Ruisseau d'Orges which flows south into the Ceres river. The northern border is formed by the Ruisseau de Chauvac which flows west into the Dordogne. The Ruisseau de Laumond on the eastern side also flows east into the Orges as does the Ruisseau de Malaval in the south.^[2]

There are quite a number of villages and hamlets in the commune. These are:

• Andole
• Courbignac
• Esclaux
• Fontmerle
• Freyssignes
• Gramond
• Guilles
• L'Aumond
• L'Aussac
• La Borderie
• La Bourelle
• La Majorie
• La Palide
• La Poujade
• La Poulvelarie
• La Veyssiere
• Le Rodal
• Le Sagrier
• Le Treil
• Les Escures
• Paliole
• Siran

Neighbouring communes and villages^[2]

History

Altillac was the seat of a Viguerie under the Carolingian dynasty.^[3]

On 28 May 1942, the regional prefect of Limoges requisitioned land from the Chateau of Doux to create an internment centre for Jewish families.^[4][5]

Heraldry

The official status of the blazon remains to be determined. Blazon: Azure, a wolf rampant of Or bordure engrailed in gules, in chief the same charged with three mullets of Or.

Administration

List of Successive Mayors of Altillac

From	To	Name	Party	Position
1808	1834	Antoine Dauvis Bichiran
1834	1837	Jean Frédéric Bichiran
1837	1878	Jean Joseph Fontanille
1878	1883	Jean Baptiste Victor Borie
1883	1884	Joseph Lebrun
1884	1885	Jules d'Humieres
1885	1888	Jules Argueyrolles
1888	1904	Philippe Dounier
1904	1908	Louis Lamond
1908	1919	Jean Versejoux
1919	1934	Ernest Faugere
1934	1944	Georges Mas
1944	1945	Romain Conche
1945	1958	Georges Mas
1958	1977	Romain Conche
1977	1983	Robert Audrerie
1983	1995	Pierre Poulvelarie
1995	2001	Jean-Claude Vergne
2001	2020	Robert Vialard

(Not all data is known)

Demography

In 2010, the commune had 854 inhabitants. The evolution of the number of inhabitants is known through the population censuses conducted in the town since 1793. From the 21st century, a census of municipalities with fewer than 10,000 inhabitants is held every five years, unlike larger towns that have a sample survey every year.^{[Note 1]}

Population Change (See database)

1793	1800	1806	1821	1831	1836	1841	1846	1851
1,544	1,290	1,685	1,576	1,794	1,870	1,805	1,894	1,914

1856	1861	1866	1872	1876	1881	1886	1891	1896
1,885	1,800	1,747	1,695	1,656	1,637	1,709	1,451	1,502

1901	1906	1911	1921	1926	1931	1936	1946	1954
1,419	1,378	1,333	1,135	1,143	1,081	1,023	938	860

1962	1968	1975	1982	1990	1999	2006	2010	-
781	762	720	791	824	801	833	854	-

Sources : Ldh/EHESS/Cassini until 1962, INSEE database from 1968 (population without double counting and municipal population from 2006)

Culture and heritage

Civil heritage

• The Chateau du Doux was built in 1904-1906 from plans by Jean-Louis Pascal. Influenced by the style used in Deauville, it is built in the style of Xaintrie, the nearest town, to serve as a luxury hotel. It is built above a valley and offers views of the surrounding landscape. Different styles are used for the window frames: simple windows, large curved bayss with stone latticework, cross windows, skylights, and capucine passantes. It used local materials to allow it to have a regional air: stones of various colours and a slate roof. Inside, the woodwork is Art Nouveau.^[5]
• On the other side of the valley is the Doux domain where large farm buildings have been built: huge barns/stables on two levels with many barns built in imitation of small farms, which form a semblance of a hamlet, a henhouse, and a bread oven. All buildings - the hotel and the farm buildings - are certified as heritage of the 20th century.^[5]
• The Dolmen de la Borderie - a Neolithic Dolmen in good condition.^[6]

Religious heritage

• The Church of Saint-Etienne (14th century) is registered as an historical monument.^[3] It was built in 1528 except for the bell tower which dates back to the 14th century. The Church contains several items that are registered as historical objects:
  • A set of Baptismal fonts^[7]
  • Covers for the Baptismal fonts (1700)^[8]
  • Bowls for the Baptismal fonts (12th century)^[9]
  • The panelling in the Choir (1676)^[10]
  • 6 Bas-reliefs (1676)^[11]
  • The panelling on the walls (1676)^[12]

Notable People linked to the commune

• Jean-Antoine Marbot (1754-1800), General of the Army of the Republic, died in Genoa as a result of wounds received during the siege of the city. Father of Marcellin de Marbot.
• Jean Baptiste Antoine Marcellin de Marbot, General of the Empire and Baron of Marbot, more commonly known as Marcellin de Marbot (18 August 1782 in Altillac - 16 November 1854 in Paris). He inspired Arthur Conan Doyle and also published his own Memoires.
• Marcel Conche, born 27 March 1922 in Altillac, French philosopher and professor emeritus of philosophy at the Sorbonne

See also

• Communes of the Corrèze department

External links

• Altillac official website (French)
• Altillac on the old National Geographic Institute website
• Altillac on Lion1906
• Altillac on Google Maps
• Altillac on Géoportail, National Geographic Institute (IGN) website (French)
• Altillac on the 1750 Cassini Map
• Altillac on the INSEE website (French)
• INSEE (French)

Notes and references

Notes

1. At the beginning of the 21st century, the methods of identification have been modified by law No. 2002-276 of 27 February 2002 , the so-called "law of local democracy" and in particular Title V "census operations" which allow, after a transitional period running from 2004 to 2008, the annual publication of the legal population of the different French administrative districts. For municipalities with a population greater than 10,000 inhabitants, a sample survey is conducted annually, the entire territory of these municipalities is taken into account at the end of the period of five years. The first "legal population" after 1999 under this new law came into force on 1 January 2009 and was based on the census of 2006.

References

1. Inhabitants of Corrèze (French)
2. Google Maps
3. Ministry of Culture, Mérimée PA00099650 Church of Saint-Etienne (French)
4. Château du Doux
5. Colette Aymard (Director of Publication), Architecture and Heritage of the 20th century in Corrèze, Direction régionale des affaires culturelles du Limousin, 2010, p. 1-2 (French)
6. Megaliths
7. Ministry of Culture, Palissy PM19001279 Set of Baptismal fonts (French)
8. Ministry of Culture, Palissy PM19000828 Covers for the Baptismal fonts (French)
9. Ministry of Culture, Palissy PM19000498 Bowls for the Baptismal fonts (French)
10. Ministry of Culture, Palissy PM19000006 Panelling in the choir (French)
11. Ministry of Culture, Palissy PM19000692 6 Bas-reliefs (French)
12. Ministry of Culture, Palissy PM19000691 Panelling on the walls (French)