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Wikipedia / Altillac

Altillac (; ) is a commune in the Corrèze department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of central France.

History

Altillac was the seat of a Viguerie under the Carolingian dynasty.The village's first written mention is in the cartulary of the monastery at Beaulieu-sur-Dordogne but people had existed in the area since the Neolithic period attested to by the existence of dolmens in the commune.

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

Heraldry

Geography

Altillac is a large commune located in the central massif of the Dordogne in eastern Nouvelle-Aquitaine (previously the smaller Limousin region until 2016), almost on the border with Occitania (previously Midi-Pyrénées). It was formerly called Xaintrie.

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

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.

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 Poulvélarie

  • La Veyssière

  • Le Rodal

  • Le Sagrier

  • Le Treil

  • Les Escures

  • Paliole

  • Siran

Population

The inhabitants of the commune are known as Altillacois or Altillacoises in French.

Local government

List of Successive Mayors of Altillac:

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.

  • 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.

  • The Dolmen de la Borderie - a Neolithic Dolmen in good condition.

  • The Dolmen de Peyre-Levade

  • Other chateaus are at Miegemont, la Majorie (dating from 1800s and on an old castrum), Bra (rectangular building with two towers), Vaurs (1900), Sugarde, Bichiran, and Gary.

Religious heritage

The Church of Saint-Etienne (14th century) is registered as an historical monument. 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

  • Covers for the Baptismal fonts (1700)

  • Bowls for the Baptismal fonts (12th century)

  • The panelling in the Choir (1676)

  • 6 Bas-reliefs (1676)

  • The panelling on the walls (1676)

  • Devotional fountain dedicated to Saint-Estèphe from 1385.

Personalities

Notable personalities linked to the commune include:

See also

References