Culhat

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Culhat
Culhat Coat of Arms
Culhat (France)
Culhat
region Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Department Puy-de-Dôme
Arrondissement Thiers
Canton Lezoux
Community association Entre Dore et Allier
Coordinates 45 ° 52 ′  N , 3 ° 20 ′  E Coordinates: 45 ° 52 ′  N , 3 ° 20 ′  E
height 289-373 m
surface 18.74 km 2
Residents 1,130 (January 1, 2017)
Population density 60 inhabitants / km 2
Post Code 63350
INSEE code 63131

Eastern parts of the Notre-Dame church

Culhat is a place and a central French community ( commune ) with 1,130 inhabitants (at January 1, 2017) in the department of Puy-de-Dôme in the region Auvergne Rhône-Alpes .

location

The place Culhat is at an altitude of about 300  m above sea level. d. M. about 26 kilometers (driving distance) northeast of Clermont-Ferrand ; the canton capital Lezoux is about seven kilometers to the southeast. Several smaller villages, hamlets and farmhouses belong to the community. The municipality is crossed by the Litroux river, which flows into the Allier on the border with the neighboring municipality of Joze .

Population development

year 1968 1975 1982 1990 1999 2006 2012
Residents 737 708 718 849 875 1,064 1,080

In the 19th century the population of the community was always well over 1,000. The phylloxera crisis in viticulture and the loss of jobs due to the mechanization of agriculture led to a decline in the population in the 1950s to 1970s to just over 700. Due to the relative proximity to the city of Clermont-Ferrand and the significantly lower property prices in the country, a start was made slow but steady rise again.

economy

The agriculture, which has been practiced for centuries for the purpose of self-sufficiency, is still of great economic importance for the community today, with cattle breeding making up an important part. Some of the residents work in the greater Clermont-Ferrand area. Some vacant houses have been converted into holiday apartments ( gîtes ).

history

At a short distance from today's location, numerous mosaic stones were found that indicate the existence of a Gallo-Roman country estate ( villa rustica ). In the Middle Ages was located on the territory of the municipality a Commandery ( commanderie ) of the Knights Templar , which after its dissolution in 1312 into the hands of St John passed; the church of Culhat served for centuries as the burial place of several regionally important knights - the two paw crosses in the municipal coat of arms remind of this.

Attractions

Lanterne des Morts
  • The parish church of Notre-Dame de l'Assomption , originally consecrated to St. Voisy, the first bishop of Le Puy-en-Velay , is a three-aisled Romanesque building from the 12th century, but has been repeatedly revised in modern times. Mainly the three apse choir with the two transept arms and an octagonal crossing tower from the 19th century that towers above everything suggests references to the Auvergnatian Romanesque. On closer inspection there are some decorative stone incrustations here and in the tympanum field of the west portal . The church was already classified as a monument historique in 1886 .
  • Equally important is the lamp for the dead ( lanterne des morts ) on the site of the former cemetery , which is commonly dated to the 12th or 13th century; it is one of the most easterly in France. The cylindrical building, made of precisely hewn stones, rises on a round base made of rubble stones and ends in a conical tip. The building is shown in the municipal coat of arms and was also recognized as a Monument historique in 1886 .
  • On the outskirts there is a small pigeon house made of half-timbered timber with brick fillings, standing on four wooden supports .

Web links

Commons : Culhat  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Église Notre-Dame, Culhat in the Base Mérimée of the French Ministry of Culture (French)
  2. ↑ Lanterne des Morts, Culhat in the Base Mérimée of the French Ministry of Culture (French)