Rieux-en-Val
Rieux-en-Val Rius en Val |
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region | Occitania | |
Department | Aude | |
Arrondissement | Carcassonne | |
Canton | La Montagne d'Alaric | |
Community association | Carcassonne Agglo | |
Coordinates | 43 ° 5 ' N , 2 ° 32' E | |
height | 165-449 m | |
surface | 6.9 km 2 | |
Residents | 88 (January 1, 2017) | |
Population density | 13 inhabitants / km 2 | |
Post Code | 11220 | |
INSEE code | 11314 | |
![]() Rieux-en-Val - Old Bridge ( Vieux Pont ) |
Rieux-en-Val ( Catalan : Rius en Val ) is a southern French municipality with 88 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2017) in the Aude department ( Occitania region ).
location
Rieux-en-Val is about 190 meters above sea level. d. M. on the north bank of the - now mostly dried up - river Sou , a tributary of the Orbieu , in the mountainous and rocky landscape of the Corbières , on the departmental roads 42 and 110, a good 11 kilometers (driving distance) west of the former abbey Sainte-Marie de Lagrasse . The next largest city, Carcassonne , is about 28 kilometers northwest.
Population development
year | 1968 | 1975 | 1982 | 1990 | 1999 | 2006 | 2016 |
Residents | 105 | 99 | 86 | 82 | 84 | 71 | 90 |
At the first census in France in 1793, the place had 126 inhabitants; At the end of the 19th century there were briefly over 200.
economy
For centuries, the inhabitants of Rieux-en-Val lived - largely on the principle of self-sufficiency - from the produce of their stony fields and from their sheep and goats; Wine was also grown on a small scale. Today tourism (rental of holiday flats ( gîtes )) plays an important role in the local income.
history
No information is available on the history of the place; the medieval bridge, located about 500 meters east of the village, over a body of water that is now often dried up and only carries water in winter or after violent summer thunderstorms, indicates, however, that a frequently used path used to run here. The clients and / or builders of the bridge were very likely monks from the nearby Benedictine Abbey of Lagrasse.
Attractions
The three-arched medieval bridge, which is covered with irregular and only slightly smoothed paving stones, is slightly stepped several times and is surrounded by side parapet walls about 80 centimeters high; it is a total of about 47 meters long and only about 1.60 meters wide. The narrow width of the bridge makes it likely that it must have been a purely pedestrian or rider bridge. The pillar heads upstream of the stream are sharpened to divert floating debris (tree trunks and stone rubble). Similar bridge structures can still be found frequently in the Mediterranean region ( Italy , the Balkans , Catalonia ); they are mostly dated between the 12th and 15th centuries. It is ultimately unclear why the central arch was raised - it is possible that segment arches were not (yet) wanted or could not be built that would have allowed a level route with the same span. The bridge was added to the list of Monuments historiques in 1926 .
Web links
- Bridge of Rieux-en-Val - aerial photo, photo + brief information (in French)
- Bridge of Rieux-en-Val - photos + brief information (French)
- Rieux-en-Val bridge - photos
Individual evidence
- ^ Pont Vieux, Rieux-en-Val in the Base Mérimée of the French Ministry of Culture (French)