Saint-Benoît-du-Sault

Saint-Benoît-du-Sault
The priory of Saint-Benoît
Coat of arms
Saint-Benoît-du-Sault
Location within Centre-Val de Loire region  Saint-Benoît-du-Sault
Coordinates: 46°26′29″N 1°23′29″E / 46.4414°N 1.3914°ECoordinates: 46°26′29″N 1°23′29″E / 46.4414°N 1.3914°E
Country	France
Region	Centre-Val de Loire
Department	Indre
Arrondissement	Le Blanc
Canton	Saint-Benoît-du-Sault
Government
• Mayor (2011–2014)	Christian Brec
Area^1	1.8 km^2 (0.7 sq mi)
Population (2009)^2	677
• Density	380/km^2 (970/sq mi)
INSEE/Postal code	36182 / 36170
Elevation	175–246 m (574–807 ft) (avg. 223 m or 732 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.

Saint-Benoît-du-Sault is a commune in the Indre department in central France.

It is a medieval village, perched in a curve on a rocky butte overlooking the Portefeuille River in the former province of Berry. In 1988, it was named one of "the most beautiful villages of France."

History

Located in the area of Gaul settled by a powerful Celtic tribe, the Bituriges, "Kings of the World" (summa penes imperii bituriges), powerful until their defeat against Julius Caesar at Bourges (Avaricum), part of Roman Aquitania.

Two dolmens (Passebonneau and des Gorces) near to Saint-Benoît-du-Sault attest to the ancientness of human presence, if not of the Bituriges. Ten centuries later, in 974, some benedictine monks of Sacierges-Saint-Martin took refuge on a granite spur, where they founded a priory: Salis, future Saint-Benoît-du-Sault. From the 10th to the 17th century, the history of the priory and the new village is made up of resistance to the possessive desires of feudal neighbours, such as the Limoges and de Brosse family. The town was surrounded by a double line of ramparts. The first, the most ancient, protected the priory, the church and the fort, the second established in the 15th century, encircled the commercial part. Still today, its maze of narrow cobbled streets are a must to explore, and makes Saint-Benoît-du-Sault a beautiful medieval town.

Population

Historical population
Year	Pop.	±%
1793	1,200	—
1800	973	−18.9%
1806	1,148	+18.0%
1821	1,121	−2.4%
1831	1,243	+10.9%
1836	1,265	+1.8%
1841	1,258	−0.6%
1846	1,208	−4.0%
1851	1,220	+1.0%
1856	1,173	−3.9%
1861	1,072	−8.6%
1866	1,099	+2.5%
1872	1,112	+1.2%
1876	1,078	−3.1%
1881	1,141	+5.8%
1886	1,112	−2.5%
1891	1,096	−1.4%
1896	1,008	−8.0%
1901	948	−6.0%
1906	1,031	+8.8%
1911	939	−8.9%
1921	934	−0.5%
1926	872	−6.6%
1931	826	−5.3%
1936	759	−8.1%
1946	801	+5.5%
1954	702	−12.4%
1962	699	−0.4%
1968	822	+17.6%
1975	864	+5.1%
1982	836	−3.2%
1990	856	+2.4%
1999	766	−10.5%
2006	714	−6.8%
2009	677	−5.2%

Sights

14th-century portal

Medieval town

Of architectural significance:

• Belfry.
• 14th-century portal.
• 14th-century Roman Priory. (Monuments Historiques)
• The medieval city in general.
• Castle of Brosse

Personalities

People associated with Saint-Benoît-du-Sault:

• Hervé Faye (1814–1902), astronomer
• François-Timoléon de Choisy (1644–1724), priest and author

See also

• Communes of the Indre department

References

• INSEE

Bibliography

• Les origines de la vicomté de Brosse et de la prévôté de Saint Benoît du Sault, by Roland Aubert. Imprimerie Sodimass S.A Le Pont-Chrétien-Chabenet (Indre) 2005 (- ISBN 2-9525069-0-6 )
• Recherches archéologiques dans la région de Saint-Benoît du-Sault , by E. de Beaufort.
• Sur les Miracles de Saint-Benoît du Sault, by Adrevald, Adelaire, Aimoin and André (Monks of the Fleury abbay) 878-1050.

External links

• Saint-Benoît-du-Sault in pictures
• Saint-Benoît-du-Sault seen by Willy Ronis