Belmont-Sainte-Foi

Belmont-Sainte-Foi
region	Occitania
Department	Lot
Arrondissement	Cahors
Canton	Marches du Sud-Quercy
Community association	Communes du Pays de Lalbenque-Limogne
Coordinates	44 ° 17 ′ N , 1 ° 39 ′ E Coordinates: 44 ° 17 ′ N , 1 ° 39 ′ E
height	215–339 m
surface	9.01 km 2
Residents	101 (January 1, 2017)
Population density	11 inhabitants / km 2
Post Code	46230
INSEE code	46026

Belmont-Sainte-Foi is a French commune with 101 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 first part of the name of the community can be interpreted as a translation of the Latin bellus mons ( German beautiful hill ). The adjective bellus does not necessarily have to be given its first meaning. Rather, it can point to a place from which a clear view of the surroundings is granted and, for example, an approaching enemy can be quickly discovered. Some etymologists see a proto-Indo-European root bal- / bel- ( German rock spike , hill ) in the first part . The toponym would therefore represent a pleonasm .

The second part is the name of the holy Fides of Agen .

The inhabitants are called Belmontois and Belmontoises .

geography

Belmont-Sainte-Foi is located about 24 kilometers 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 .

Belmont-Sainte-Foi is surrounded by the four neighboring municipalities:

Lalbenque		Vaylats

Labastide-de-Penne (Tarn-et-Garonne)		Puylaroque (Tarn-et-Garonne)

Belmont-Sainte-Foi is located in the catchment area of the Garonne River .

Tributaries of the Lère cross the territory of the commune,

the Ruisseau de Coffinié, which rises in Belmont-Sainte-Foi, and
the Candé with its tributary,
- the Ruisseau d'Entraygues, which rises in Belmont-Sainte-Foi.

The source of the Ruisseau des Frayssinades, a tributary of the Rieucros, is also located in Belmont-Sainte-Foi.

Population development

After records began, the population rose to a peak of around 530 by the first half of the 19th century. In the following period, the size of the community fell to around 70 inhabitants during short recovery phases by the 1990s, before a growth phase set in stagnated again after a relatively short time.

year	1962	1968	1975	1982	1990	1999	2006	2011	2017
Residents	133	107	92	102	68	105	119	109	101

From 1962 official figures excluding residents with a second residence
Sources: EHESS / Cassini until 2006, INSEE from 2011

Belmont Castle

In 1259 Guillaume de Belfort paid homage to the Count of Poitiers for his lands and his "villa" in Belmont. In the 15th century, the manor of Belmont was divided between the Desprez de Montpezat and Carit de Puylaroque families. Their successors were the Vignes, Seigneurs von Puylaroque in 1595 and in the 17th century the Laburgade family, Seigneurs von Lalbenque, who both kept their possessions until the French Revolution , when the original castle was set on fire. For the most part, it was rebuilt according to medieval plans in the 17th century . Extensive new building measures and restorations took place in the 19th century.

The house had four towers before the castle was set on fire during the revolution. Today it is a three-story massive building with a small round tower on the northeast corner. The entrance gate with edge slugs and a bricked -up cross- frame window belong to the state of construction in the 17th century, as well as the staircase with balusters and a beamed ceiling à la française with traces of painting and ceiling beams that are as wide as the spaces in between. Parts of the masonry made of ashlar and an arched gap could be remnants of the medieval house. Outbuildings surround the plot to the east. The farm also harbors a dovecote from truss on pillars .