Belfort-du-Quercy

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Belfort-du-Quercy
Belfort-du-Quercy (France)
Belfort-du-Quercy
region Occitania
Department Lot
Arrondissement Cahors
Canton Marches du Sud-Quercy
Community association Communes du Pays de Lalbenque-Limogne
Coordinates 44 ° 16 ′  N , 1 ° 33 ′  E Coordinates: 44 ° 16 ′  N , 1 ° 33 ′  E
height 153-307 m
surface 36.19 km 2
Residents 516 (January 1, 2017)
Population density 14 inhabitants / km 2
Post Code 46230
INSEE code 46023
Website www.belfortduquercy.fr

View of Belfort-du-Quercy

Belfort-du-Quercy is a French commune with 516 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2017) in the Lot department in the Occitanie region (before 2016: Midi-Pyrénées ). The municipality belongs to the arrondissement of Cahors and the canton of Marches du Sud-Quercy (until 2015: canton of Lalbenque ).

The name of the community comes from the Latin bellus fort ( German  beautiful castle ). The adjective bellus is to be understood here in the sense of “powerful” or “imposing”. The Latin fors / fortis used until the 11th to 12th centuries to refer to a simple wooden defense system on a hill and only from the 12th century to a stone fortress.

The inhabitants are called Belfortois and Belfortoises .

geography

Belfort-du-Quercy is located about 22 kilometers south-southeast of Cahors in the historic province of Quercy in the Causses du Quercy Regional Nature Park on the southern border with the neighboring Tarn-et-Garonne department .

Part of the municipality is part of the Natura 2000 nature reserve .

Belfort-du-Quercy is surrounded by the seven neighboring municipalities:

Montdoumerc Lalbenque
Montpezat-de-Quercy
(Tarn-et-Garonne) 		Neighboring communities Labastide-de-Penne
(Tarn-et-Garonne)
Montalzat
(Tarn-et-Garonne) 		Lapenche
(Tarn-et-Garonne) 		Puylaroque
(Tarn-et-Garonne)

Belfort-du-Quercy lies in the catchment area of the Garonne River .

The Lemboulas , a tributary of the Tarn , crosses the northern part of the municipality, as does one of its tributaries, the Ruisseau de Léouré.

Belfort-du-Quercy is also irrigated by tributaries of the Candé,

  • the Ruisseau de Tourtourel,
  • the Ruisseau de Coumbel, which rises in Belfort-du-Quercy,
  • the Ruisseau de Glaich, which rises in Belfort-du-Quercy, together with its hub river,
    • the Ruisseau de Gaubille, which rises in Belfort-du-Quercy, and
  • the Ruisseau de Dourre, which rises in Belfort-du-Quercy.

history

In 1060 Ratier de Belfort was the first nobleman to bear this name. The same or someone with the same name was mentioned in 1095 and 1104, a Pons de Belfort in 1103. Towards the end of the 13th century the village was named Beaufort. The village was named Belfort on Cassini's 1750 map . In 1929 the addition "du Quercy" was decided to differentiate it from the Belfort in Alsace .

The village has seen many changes since it was founded in a much lower valley around the old church of Figouze in the 12th century. There was plenty of water and enough fertile land to build a village. The source of the Figouze is still there today. Like most of the villages in the region, Belfort was sacked in 1211 and 1214 by Simon de Monfort , the leader of the Albigensian Crusade . As part of the Hundred Years War , English troops captured the village in 1358 at a time when it was being rebuilt around a castle that was destroyed and rebuilt in the lower part of what is now the center of the parish. For several centuries, Belfort suffered from wars to the point where there was no one left to cultivate the fields of the seigneurs and the church . At the same time there was also a castle in the hamlet of Loubéjac in the far north of what is now the municipality, Ratier de Belfort Seigneur in 1380. This was destroyed by German occupation troops in World War II because the place was suspected of being a hiding place for Maquisards . During the Huguenot Wars , the village was plundered several times by Protestant troops and the parish church was destroyed in 1579.

Population development

After records began, the population rose to a peak of around 1,665 by the first half of the 19th century. In the period that followed, the size of the community fell to around 440 inhabitants during short recovery phases until the 1980s, before a growth phase set in and the population stabilized at a level of around 520 inhabitants.

year 1962 1968 1975 1982 1990 1999 2006 2011 2017
Residents 541 519 483 441 458 464 513 515 516
From 1962 official figures excluding residents with a second residence
Sources: EHESS / Cassini until 1999, INSEE from 2006

Attractions

Parish Church of Notre-Dame

Parish Church of Notre-Dame

The current church in the center of the parish was built around 1866 to replace the former simple parish church of Notre-Dame de la Figouse , which was located outside the village. The bell tower was rebuilt between 1892 and 1897 by the architect of the department, Jean-Gabriel Rodolosse. It is believed that capitals , column bases and other stone elements from the earlier church were reused. The range of variation could, however, indicate different origins. The Romanesque capitals of the chancel are very similar to those of the Saint-Urcisse church in Cahors and date from the first half of the 13th century. They depict Mary with the baby Jesus , the crucifixion of Christ , the particular judgment and the archangel Michael fighting the dragon. Capitals with braided leaves resemble a number of the same church in Cahors and date from the mid-13th century. The angels on the two fighters and the ribs with double bars date from around 1500. The angels carry a banner or a coat of arms. The main aisles and the two side aisles appear to have been built entirely from recycled stone . The neo-Gothic bell tower has a pointed helmet .

Parish Church of Saint-Geniès

It is located on the border with the neighboring municipality of Montdoumerc. The Romanesque semicircular apse forms the oldest part of the building and dates from the 12th century. It has two arched windows between flat buttresses . The straight, barrel- vaulted yoke of the choir is the result of a new building in which an earlier arcade of the apse was interrupted. Its ogival window can be assigned to the late 12th or 13th century. The window is largely covered by a newly built sacristy . The remains of a walled-up entrance can be seen on the north side. The nave was partially rebuilt in 1784, as evidenced by a date on the arch of the entrance on the south side, which is protected by a canopy.

Castle tower

Located in the center of Belfort-du-Quercy, it is a holdover from the 13th century castle. This was looted during the French Revolution in 1790. Around 1850 the Mairie established itself in the tower. To a large extent, it has been rebuilt with recycled materials. In addition to the interlocking on the eastern corner of the wall , vestments and traces of the pointed arch of the entrance can be seen.

Economy and Infrastructure

  • Blue cheese Bleu des Causses

  • Chasselas de Moissac table grape

Belfort-du-Quercy is in the AOC zones

The focus of the municipality's economy is on agriculture. Belfort-du-Quercy ranks second in the department in terms of the number of establishments. Cattle breeding is present in half of the municipal area, as is the raising of goats for milk production. In the southern part of the municipality you can find fruit growers with productions of apricots, plums, apples, peaches, quinces, nuts and melons. Viticulture is also represented, although the acreage has been shrinking since the late 1970s, leaving the space for growing grain and olive trees that is less labor intensive.

Active workplaces by industry on December 31, 2015
total = 67

education

The municipality has a public primary school with 37 pupils in the 2018/2019 school year.

traffic

Belfort-du-Quercy can be reached via Routes départementales 10 and 56.

Web links

Commons : Belfort-du-Quercy  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Jean-Marie Cassagne: Villes et Villages en pays lotois ( fr ) Tertium éditions. S. 16. 2013. Accessed May 30, 2019.
  2. ↑ Lot ( fr ) habitants.fr. Retrieved May 30, 2019.
  3. ↑ Le Parc Naturel Régional des Causses du Quercy ( fr ) Belfort-du-Quercy municipality. Retrieved May 30, 2019.
  4. ↑ Ma commune: Belfort-du-Quercy ( fr ) Système d'Information sur l'Eau du Bassin Adour Garonne. Retrieved May 30, 2019.
  5. ↑ a b L'Histoire de Belfort du Quercy ( fr ) Municipality of Belfort-du-Quercy. Retrieved May 30, 2019.
  6. ^ A b Gilles Séraphin, Maurice Scellès: tour ( fr ) Départementrat Lot. January 2, 2015. Accessed May 30, 2019.
  7. ^ David Rumsey Historical Map Collection France 1750 ( en ) David Rumsey Map Collection: Cartography Associates. Retrieved May 30, 2019.
  8. ^ Notice Communale Belfort-du-Quercy ( fr ) EHESS . Retrieved May 30, 2019.
  9. ↑ Populations légales 2016 Commune de Belfort-du-Quercy (46023) ( fr ) INSEE . Retrieved May 30, 2019.
  10. ↑ Gilles Séraphin, Maurice Scellés: glise paroissiale Notre Dame ( fr ) Départemental Lot. October 3, 2013. Retrieved May 30, 2019.
  11. ↑ Gilles Séraphin, Maurice SCELLES: église paroissiale Saint-Geniès ( fr ) Départemental Lot. February 26, 2013. Retrieved May 30, 2019.
  12. ↑ Institut national de l'origine et de la qualité: Rechercher un produit ( fr ) Institut national de l'origine et de la qualité . Retrieved May 30, 2019.
  13. ↑ Caractéristiques des établissements en 2015 Commune de Belfort-du-Quercy (46023) ( fr ) INSEE . Retrieved May 30, 2019.
  14. ^ École élémentaire ( fr ) National Ministry of Education. Retrieved May 30, 2019.