Banassac
| Banassac | ||
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| local community | Banassac-Canilhac | |
| region | Occitania | |
| Department | Lozère | |
| Arrondissement | Mende | |
| Coordinates | 44 ° 26 ' N , 3 ° 12' E | |
| Post Code | 48500 | |
| Former INSEE code | 48017 | |
| Incorporation | January 1, 2016 | |
 Town hall and museum |
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Banassac (Occitan: Banaçac ) was a southern French municipality with a last 872 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2013) in the Lozère department in the Occitanie region . Banassac is a district of the municipality of Banassac-Canilhac .
location
The place Banassac is located in Gévaudan at an altitude of approx. 540 m above sea level. d. M. on the western edge of the Languedoc-Roussillon region, on the Lot River and at the foot of the Causse de Sauveterre approx. 42 km (driving distance) southwest of Mende . The E11 , which is also La Méridienne , runs in a north-south direction through the municipality. The hamlets of Grèzes , Lescure , Montferrand , Pratnau , Le Ségala , Le Viala and La Mothe belong to the municipality. The climate is continental.
economy
For centuries, the people of Banassac lived largely self-sufficient on the produce of their fields and gardens, as well as a little cattle-raising. Even today, agriculture still plays a central role in economic life, either directly or indirectly - important branches of business for the Banassacois are agriculture , timber industry and the breeding of domestic sheep and fish. Local products are sweet chestnuts , nuts, salted meat and mushrooms. The north side of the Lot River is also one of the areas where Laguiole cheese can be produced on pastures and farms .
Population development
| year | 1800 | 1851 | 1901 | 1954 | 1999 | 2013 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 1,629 | 1,294 | 964 | 624 | 813 | 872 |
The population decline in the first half of the 20th century is largely due to the loss of jobs as a result of the mechanization of agriculture . The renewed increase towards the end of the century is related to the incorporation of several formerly independent communities.
history
Traces of settlement in Gallo-Roman times were found in the municipality - including the remains of a pottery that also made terra sigillata vessels. In the 19th century, coins from the Merovingian period (5th - 8th centuries) were also found; the place had the right to mint coins at that time .
The hamlet of Montferrand had been a fiefdom of the King of Aragon since the 11th century . The then important road from Mende to the former province of Rouergue led through the town. In the 13th century, the hamlet was annexed to the Kingdom of France and the Montferrand castle became the seat of the high command of the military of Gévaudan, which it remained until the French Revolution (1789-1799).
The municipality of Banassac merged with Canilhac on January 1st, 2016 to form the new municipality of Banassac-Canilhac . The former municipalities do not have the status of a Commune déléguée .
Attractions
- Banassac
- There is an archaeological museum in the village, in which the ceramics and other finds from prehistoric and Gallo-Roman times discovered during excavations in the municipality are exhibited. A special treasure are some rare coins from the Merovingian era.
- According to tradition, the parish church dates back to the 5th century when St. Firminus von Mende evangelized the area. His grave is located in a chimney-like three-arched wall niche in today's Église Saint-Médard , which was built in the 12th and 13th centuries. Century was built. The inside unplastered building is vaulted with a pointed barrel; the apse , however, has a rib vault that rests on head consoles .
- Montferrand
- In the hamlet of Montferrand , a two-arched bridge spans the upper reaches of the Lot, which was built in 1691 in place of a late medieval bridge commissioned by Pope Urban V , who resided in Avignon , and repaired in 1721. In 1935 it was recognized as a Monument historique .
- Nearby are the ruins of Montferrand Castle, which was built at the same time as the original bridge, in the 13th or 14th century. What has been preserved is a tower with parts of a curtain wall , the foundations, a rectangular hall and a door. The castle ruins are now privately owned.
- Lescure
- On the edge of the hamlet built from natural stones, there is a drying house for chestnuts ( sécadou ) with a dovecote ( pigeonnier ) in the gable roof.
- Another special feature is a public bakery ( four banal ).
- Grèzes
- There is also a bakery in the hamlet of Grèzes .
- Outside is the Neolithic Dolmen de la Galine .
- Le Viala
- The town's church dates from the 19th century, a time when the town was an independent municipality and the center of several hamlets.
literature
- P. Peyre: BANASSAC Lozère, France . In: Richard Stillwell et al. a. (Ed.): The Princeton Encyclopedia of Classical Sites. Princeton University Press, Princeton NJ 1976, ISBN 0-691-03542-3 .
Web links
- Banassac at Base Mémoire - photos + brief information (French)
- Banassac, Saint-Médard church - photos + info (French)
- Banassac, Musée - photos + brief information (French)
- Banassac, district of Montferrand - Photos + information (French)
- Banassac, district of Lescure - Photos + information (French)
- Banassac, district of Grèzes - Photos + information (French)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Banassac - climate tables
- ↑ Pont de Montferrand, Banassac in the Base Mérimée of the French Ministry of Culture (French)