Comberanche-et-Épeluche

Comberanche-et-Épeluche
region	Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Department	Dordogne
Arrondissement	Périgueux
Canton	Ribérac
Community association	Communes du Pays Ribéracois
Coordinates	45 ° 16 ′ N , 0 ° 17 ′ E Coordinates: 45 ° 16 ′ N , 0 ° 17 ′ E
height	50-120 m
surface	3.93 km 2
Residents	168 (January 1, 2017)
Population density	43 inhabitants / km 2
Post Code	24600
INSEE code	24128
	; Town hall in Comberanche

Comberanche-et-Épeluche is a French municipality with 168 inhabitants (at January 1, 2017) in the department of Dordogne in the region Nouvelle-Aquitaine (before 2016: Aquitaine ). The municipality belongs to the arrondissement of Périgueux and the canton of Ribérac .

The name in the Occitan language is Combairancha e Espelucha . The first part of the name is composed of the Occitan words comba ( German gorge or valley basin ) and aisencha ( German near ). Another theory is based on a derivation of a person's name "Aiz" or "Aitz". The second part of the name of the municipality is derived from the Latin spelunca ( German cave or grotto ).

geography

Comberanche-et-Épeluche is located about 35 km northwest of Périgueux in the Ribéracois region of the historic province of Périgord on the western edge of the department.

Comberanche-et-Épeluche is surrounded by the neighboring communities:

	Allemans
Bourg-du-Bost		Allemans
	Vanxains	Ribérac

Comberanche-et-Épeluche lies in the catchment area of the Dordogne river . The Dronne , a tributary of the Isle , flows along the southern border with the neighboring communities of Bourg-du-Bost, Vanxains and Ribérac. The Atier de Comberanche is a junction of the Dronne.

history

The area of the municipality has been settled since early times, as evidenced by the archaeological finds of sarcophagi and bones. The underground has also exposed holes in the ground that were part of a defense system. The history of Comberanche is determined by a Commandery of the Templar Order , which was established in the Middle Ages to control the ford over the Dronne. She also received pilgrims on the Camino de Santiago to Santiago de Compostela . In 1820 the municipalities of Comberanche and Épeluche merged to form the municipality of Comberanche-et-Épeluche.

Toponymy

Toponyms and mentions of Comberanche-et-Épeluche were:

L'Espital de Cumba Ayzencha (13th century, documents from the Order of Malta ),

Combayrencha and Combeyranchia (1373 and 1380, respectively, Collection de l'abbé de Lespine ),

Comberanche and Epluche (1750, map by Cassini ),

Comberanche and Epeluche (1793 and 1801, Notice Communale and Bulletin des Lois, respectively ).

Population development

After records began, the population rose to a peak of around 365 in the first half of the 19th century. Subsequently, the size of the community decreased to 120 inhabitants by the turn of the millennium, before a moderate growth phase began, which has recently stagnated.

year	1962	1968	1975	1982	1990	1999	2006	2010	2017
Residents	177	161	142	128	130	120	169	178	168

Until 1806 only residents of Comberanche, from 1831 of Comberanche-et-Épeluche
From 1962 official figures without residents with second residence
Sources: EHESS / Cassini until 1999, INSEE from 2006

Attractions

Parish Church of Saint-Jean-Baptiste in Comberanche

Parish Church of Saint-Jean-Baptiste

The building was originally the Chapel of the Order of Malta Commandery , a little further north. The church dedicated to John the Baptist was built at the end of the 12th or beginning of the 13th century. After the Crusades , Comberanche became an important stage for pilgrims on the Way of St. James to Santiago de Compostela. When the thickness of the south wall was reduced in 1854, five massive buttresses were erected. The two original buttresses at the corners of the building were integrated into the new masonry at the same time. The rectangular nave with a nave is fully equipped with a barrel vault that rests on beveled transepts . The entrance portal on the west side is ogival and shows no decoration. Above this, a very narrow opening in the facade can be seen, on the same vertical axis above it, in turn, an elongated opening that conceals a bell. The flat apse has four arched window openings with walls . Three windows are arranged horizontally in a row, the fourth above the middle window. The south facade is also interrupted on the right by a double-walled window. Under the roof, which is covered with hollow tiles, there is a room that could have been used for defense. A residential building with a pent roof is attached to the north side . Since May 11, 1981, the church has been registered as a Monument historique . A silver chalice has also been classified as a Monument historique since May 6, 1982 .

Former Comberanche Commandery

Former Commandery

Its existence has been confirmed in the scriptures since the 13th century, and it is mentioned more often in the 14th century. In the following years, the important institution came into the possession of the Order of Malta until the 16th century. Subsequently, from the 18th century, the Commandery was leased to local dignitaries who carried the title Seigneur Commandeur . What remains of the Commandery is the chapel, which is now the parish church, as well as various architectural elements on the residential buildings on the road that runs through the center of Comberanche. The Comberanche watermill , located to the southwest at Atier de Comberanche and near a ford over the Dronne, was probably one of them. The Commandery was subordinate to that of Condat-sur-Vézère and the Grand prieuré de Toulouse . It had two branches, one in Chambeuil, a hamlet of Vanxains , and one in Pheliet, a hamlet of Bertric-Burée , and properties in the Cherval parish .

One of these houses, which housed the hospitaliers and then the Knights of the Order of Malta, has certain elements that go back to the end of the 12th century. It was rebuilt in the 15th century, and especially the 17th century when a gallery was added. Its floor plan is rectangular with an angled wing. The roof gallery is on the south side at the height of the first floor. It rests on three pillars made of ashlar . The corners of the building are decorated with two pavilions with mansard roofs , which are covered with flat tiles. The main wing, however, has a gable roof with hollow tiles. The angled wing has a ground floor and an attic. There is a semicircular dovecote a little away from the house .

Another house of the former commandery is north of the road that runs through the center of Comberanche. This building, which was probably built in the 14th century, was initially used by the hospitalier and later by the Knights of the Order of Malta as accommodation. It has been rebuilt several times over the centuries, especially in the 17th and 19th centuries when part of the facade was changed. The residential wing consists of rooms lying one behind the other along a south-east / north-west axis. The plastered walls are made of quarry stone from limestone with corner stones from ashlar. The house is covered with a pitched roof with interlocking tiles. In the north, the building is separated from the garden by a Wolf's Leap , a border ditch lined with steep walls.

The mill of the former commandery consists of two buildings with different functions. The year "1801" is on the lintel of a door, but the origin is probably earlier. The smaller building stands in the middle of the river and could have served as a mill to produce nut oil. Its structure consists of ashlar for the substructure and partially plastered limestone quarry stone for the walls. Its gable roof is covered with hollow tiles. The water wheel is no longer there. Behind the gate valve there is only a device for catching eels . The larger building, which was probably used to grind common wheat , is on the right bank opposite the smaller mill. Its structure is implemented analogously with ashlar for the substructure and quarry stone for the partially plastered walls. Its hipped roof is covered with interlocking tiles. In addition to the actual grinding system, it contains a cattle shed with a barn, a barn and a living area. The water wheel with paddles is still there, as is a second facility for fishing.

Former parish church of Notre-Dame in Épeluche

Former parish church of Notre-Dame

The church was built in the 12th century and rebuilt over several centuries, particularly towards the end of the Hundred Years War or the beginning of the 16th century when a cross vault was built over the choir . The church has not been used for worship since 1960 , as the church in Comberanche has been a parish church since the unification of the two parishes. Rather, it is now used to accommodate the materials of the festival committee. A rumor has it that there is a crypt below the choir. The rectangular nave with a main nave is three bays in length and ends in a narrower choir, above which a bell tower rises. This is equipped with flat buttresses, which run towards a room for defense purposes. The tower is covered with a tent roof with hollow tiles. A very eroded Romanesque entrance portal in the south facade allows entry into the nave. The brickwork of its tympanum is laid out like a chessboard. Its pillars and archivolt are decorated with a cave- shaped rod .

Flour mill in Épeluche

The Épeluche mill was built at the end of the 19th century. Around 1900, like the mill in Comberanche, it consisted of a part for the production of nut oil, which was demolished in 1951, and another part for grinding wheat. The three pairs of millstones were originally powered by three water wheels. In 1924, the grinding stones were replaced by three roller mills , which turned the traditional mill into a grain mill . In 1948 a Fontaine turbine replaced one of the water wheels. Between 1924 and 1951 the building was increased by one floor. In 1951 an additional building was erected to put five roller mills and a pneumatic system for transporting the ground products into operation. In 1961 concrete silos were built and at the same time a second turbine, this time of the Francis type , and a new cleaning device were installed. The last extensions took place in 1984 and 1985 with the construction of a reception building and a third turbine. Today the mill is owned by the Duchez company.

Economy and Infrastructure

Walnuts

Comberanche-et-Épeluche is located in the AOC zones of the Charentes-Poitou , Charentes and Deux-Sèvres butter varieties, as well as the Noix du Périgord , the Périgord walnuts , and the Périgord nut oil.

Active workplaces by industry on December 31, 2015
total = 18

sport and freetime

The Autour des églises romanes du ribéracois circular route for cyclists is 41.1 km long with a difference in altitude of 125 m. It starts in Ribérac and also leads through the center of Comberanche-et-Épeluche with the theme “Romanesque churches of Ribéracois”.