Pommiers (Loire)
| Pommiers | ||
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| region | Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes | |
| Department | Loire | |
| Arrondissement | Roanne | |
| Canton | Boën-sur-Lignon | |
| Community association | Vals d'Aix et Isable | |
| Coordinates | 45 ° 50 ′ N , 4 ° 4 ′ E | |
| height | 318-408 m | |
| surface | 23.84 km 2 | |
| Residents | 359 (January 1, 2017) | |
| Population density | 15 inhabitants / km 2 | |
| Post Code | 42260 | |
| INSEE code | 42173 | |
Pommiers is a French municipality with 359 inhabitants (at January 1, 2017) in the department of Loire in the region Auvergne Rhône-Alpes .
location
Pommiers is located in the historical province of Forez about 90 kilometers (driving distance) east of Clermont-Ferrand and 32 kilometers south of Roanne . Pommiers can also be reached from Charlieu in southern Burgundy (approx. 55 kilometers).
Population development
| year | 1962 | 1968 | 1975 | 1982 | 1990 | 1999 |
| Residents | 383 | 410 | 322 | 323 | 296 | 374 |
history
Bronze Age burial remains have been found in the municipality. The Romans were also in the area - in the priory church of St-Pierre et St-Paul there is still a Roman sarcophagus as an altar base and the rest of a Roman marble column; a Roman milestone ( borne milliaire ) found nearby has also been placed in front of the church.
As early as the 9th century, monks founded a small monastery with the Church of St-Julien, the remains of the wall of which are now integrated into a residential building. In the 10th century the small monastic community joined the Cluniac reform movement - Pommiers became a priory of the Cluny Abbey and in the 11th century a new priory church was built.
In the 14th and 15th centuries - during the Hundred Years War (1337–1453) - the south side of the priory was fortified like a castle; the small town that had developed on the northeast side was also surrounded by defensive walls.
During the French Revolution, the remaining monks were chased away, and the château was then used as accommodation for simple families. In 1946 a noble lady (Marie-Thérèse de Rosemont) founded an old people's home for priests, but it had to be abandoned in the 1990s due to a lack of funds. The castle and the church are now owned by the 'Conseil général de la Loire', which has carried out extensive restoration and maintenance work.
Attractions
- The former priory church of St-Pierre-St-Paul has been the parish church of the village since the French Revolution. Inside, it impresses with its simplicity, as no decoration - including capitals - has been made. The central nave, illuminated from the windows of the side aisles and from the windows on the south side of the vault, has a barrel vault: it was plastered, probably to conceal the fact that the stone vault consists only of uncut rubble stones; The ribbed vaults in the side aisles are also plastered. The choir apse is slightly lower than the central nave and is lit by three windows. The altar plate rests on a Roman tub sarcophagus. On the walls and pillars you can see some remains of frescoes - since these are small scenes, it can hardly be assumed that the entire church was once painted.
- The simple three-winged cloister of the former priory with its fountain house in the middle exudes a meditative silence. From here you can see the windows in the south aisle and the small light openings in the vault of the central nave. Furthermore, you can take a look at the crossing tower, whose double arcades, which rest on small columns in the middle, still serve as sound openings for the bells.
- The former castle or palace buildings consist of a large number of basement, living and attic rooms and can be visited. Particularly noteworthy are the lavishly crafted and originally preserved carpentry constructions of the roof trusses. A chapel has been set up in one of the rooms of the former old people's home for priests.
- About 300 meters southwest of the castle there is a three-arched medieval stone bridge on the edge of a meadow through which a small stream only flows after heavy or persistent rainfall.
Music festivals
- Every year in late spring and summer, a small music festival ( Musique d'ensemble ) takes place in Pommiers .
