Marcols-les-Eaux

Marcols-les-Eaux
The church in Marcols-les-Eaux
Marcols-les-Eaux
Location within Rhône-Alpes region  Marcols-les-Eaux
Coordinates: 44°48′57″N 4°24′01″E / 44.8158°N 04.4003°ECoordinates: 44°48′57″N 4°24′01″E / 44.8158°N 04.4003°E
Country	France
Region	Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Department	Ardèche
Arrondissement	Privas
Canton	Saint-Pierreville
Intercommunality	Châtaigniers
Government
• Mayor (2008–2014)	François Blache
Area^1	16 km^2 (6 sq mi)
Population (2008)^2	334
• Density	21/km^2 (54/sq mi)
INSEE/Postal code	07149 / 07190
Elevation	671–1,345 m (2,201–4,413 ft) (avg. 729 m or 2,392 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.

Marcols-les-Eaux is a commune in the Ardèche department of southern France.

History

Known as Marcovolos during the 11th century and then Marcouls during the 12th century, the village became Saint-Julien-d'Ursival (name first mentioned in 1573), Saint-Julien being the parish of the town. In 1790, the village is renamed Marcols by the revolutionaries willing to get rid of any references to the Catholic Church. In 1912, the town becomes Marcols-les-Eaux since many mineral water sources are found throughout the village. A source was actually exploited for bottled mineral water until the late 1950s. In 1912 also, 36% of the commune's territory are detached in order to form the new town of Albon-d'Ardèche.

On November 4, 1943, an airplane of the British Royal Air Force, dropping guns and munitions to the local Resistance during the night, crashes against the Bourboulas pike, in Marcols-les-Eaux. All of the 6 British crew members died. They were buried on the next day in the village cemetery by the inhabitants. Their tombstones are still visible nowadays.

On August 7, 1944, the German Luftwaffe, suspecting the inhabitants to supply the local Resistance with food, bombs the village several times during the day killing three local civilians and destroying a couple of farms and houses. A plate commemorating this bloody event was inaugurated along the wall of the commune's cemetery.

Population

Until 1912, the two communes of Marcols-les-Eaux and Albon-d'Ardèche formed a single commune named Marcols, hence differences between the demographic trends of pre-1912 and post-1912.

Historical population
Year	Pop.	±%
1841	1,889	—
1861	1,913	+1.3%
1881	1,896	−0.9%
1901	1,927	+1.6%
1921	823	−57.3%
1936	692	−15.9%
1954	597	−13.7%
1962	307	−48.6%
1962	307	+0.0%
1968	454	+47.9%
1975	353	−22.2%
1982	325	−7.9%
1990	300	−7.7%
1999	303	+1.0%
2008	334	+10.2%

Gallery

• 

  A cross in the village

• 

  The Royal Air Force's crewmembers' tombstones in the village's cemetery

See also

• Communes of the Ardèche department

References

• INSEE