Ainay-le-Château

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Ainay-le-Château
Ainay-le-Château coat of arms
Ainay-le-Château (France)
Ainay-le-Château
region Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Department Allier
Arrondissement Montluçon
Canton Bourbon l'Archambault
Community association Pays de Tronçais
Coordinates 46 ° 43 '  N , 2 ° 42'  E Coordinates: 46 ° 43 '  N , 2 ° 42'  E
height 184-252 m
surface 24.07 km 2
Residents 994 (January 1, 2017)
Population density 41 inhabitants / km 2
Post Code 03360
INSEE code 03003
Website Website Ainay-le-Château

Church Saint-Etienne

Ainay-le-Château is a central French city and a municipality ( commune ) with 994 inhabitants (at January 1, 2017) in the extreme northwest of the department Allier and region Auvergne Rhône-Alpes .

location

The place Ainay-le-Château is at an altitude of about 215 meters above sea level. d. M. in northern Bourbonnais on the Sologne river . The cities of Montluçon , Moulins , Bourges and Nevers are all within a radius of about 60 to 70 kilometers (driving distance). The formerly independent village of Saint-Benin and several individual farms also belong to the community .

Population development

year 1962 1968 1975 1982 1990 1999 2006 2012
Residents 1,594 1,613 1,552 1,544 1,458 1,165 1,116 1,021

In the 19th century there was a significant population growth from approx. 800 to almost 2,300 inhabitants. As a result of the phylloxera crisis in viticulture and the mechanization of agriculture , which resulted in the loss of many jobs, the number of inhabitants has since declined continuously to the current lows.

economy

For centuries, the residents of Ainay-le-Château lived as self-sufficient farmers from agriculture, which also included viticulture; in addition there were small trade and handicrafts. After the phylloxera crisis of the wine came decades to a standstill, but now again red, rose and white wines are produced in excess of the appellation Val-de-Loire are marketed. Many vacant houses have been converted into holiday apartments ( gîtes ).

history

Until the French Revolution, Ainay was one of 15 castellanias of the Dukes of Bourbon and Bourbonnais, who owned a castle or chateau ( château ) within the city and surrounded it with a fortress wall. The remains of the medieval castle were torn down in the 19th century.

Attractions

See also: List of Monuments historiques in Ainay-le-Château

  • The current parish church of Saint-Étienne has a complex architectural history that - according to current knowledge - began with a Romanesque church, of which a portal with a multi-pass arch has been preserved. The bell tower dates from the 13th century, but it too had to endure the installation of an imposing Renaissance portal in the 16th century . During this time the still existing Romanesque nave was probably demolished and replaced by a rather inconspicuous late Gothic new building. The present eastern parts ( choir ) were only added at the end of the 17th century. The three-aisled interior of the church houses several listed tombstones and carved figures, including a Pietà from the 16th century. The church building was entered in the list of Monuments historiques in 1913 .

  • Romanesque portal

  • Renaissance portal

  • Baptismal font

  • Grave slab with inscription

  • Pietà

  • Madonna and Child

  • The remnants of the city fortifications ( remparts ), most of which can be attributed to the 15th century, with their 30 semicircular protruding bastions and an imposing gate ( Porte de l'Horloge ), which at times also served as a prison, have also been recognized as monuments historiques since 2007 .
  • In the Saint-Roch chapel there is a listed wooden figure of Saint-Fiacre from the 17th century, which was once quite popular in large parts of France .

literature

  • Le Patrimoine des Communes de l'Allier. Flohic Editions, Volume 1, Paris 1999, ISBN 2-84234-053-1 , pp. 63-65.

Web links

Commons : Ainay-le-Château  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Église Saint-Étienne, Ainay-le-Château in the Base Mérimée of the French Ministry of Culture (French)
  2. ↑ Fortifications, Ainay-le-Château in the Base Mérimée of the French Ministry of Culture (French)
  3. ↑ Statue de Saint-Fiacre, Ainay-le-Château in the Base Palissy of the French Ministry of Culture (French)