Saint-Julien-du-Tournel

Saint-Julien-du-Tournel
local community	Mont Lozère et Goulet
region	Occitania
Department	Lozère
Arrondissement	Mende
Coordinates	44 ° 30 ′ N , 3 ° 41 ′ E Coordinates: 44 ° 30 ′ N , 3 ° 41 ′ E
Post Code	48190
Former INSEE code	48164
Incorporation	January 1, 2017
status	Commune déléguée
	; Saint-Julien-du-Tournel - the village

Saint-Julien-du-Tournel is a former French commune with 131 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2017) in the Lozère department in the Occitanie region . The community consisted of twelve hamlets ( hameaux ), some of which have already been abandoned or only had a handful of inhabitants.

With effect from 1 January 2017, Saint-Julien-du-Tournel merged with the municipalities of Bagnols-les-Bains , Belvezet , Le Bleymard , Chasseradès and Mas-d'Orcières to form a nouvelle commune called Mont Lozère et Goulet , where since then it has had the status of a Commune déléguée .

location

Saint-Julien-du-Tournel is about 950 meters above sea level. d. M. on the upper reaches of the Lot River in the southern Massif Central in the Cevennes region . The highest mountain in the Cevennes, Mont Lozère , is about 20 kilometers south of the village; the nearest larger city is Mende, about 22 kilometers (driving distance) to the west .

Population development

year	1962	1968	1975	1982	1990	1999	2006
Residents	264	183	148	146	109	109	98

The population of the municipality was well over 1,000 people until 1876. The subsequent decline in population is essentially a result of the departure of many residents as a result of the increasing loss of jobs due to the mechanization of agriculture .

economy

Traditionally, agriculture, and primarily sheep breeding, played the most important role in the municipality's economic life. Since the 1960s and 1970s, tourism has been added as a source of income in the form of the rental of holiday homes ( gîtes ).

history

The Romanesque church and the castle indicate a medieval settlement of the place. The Hundred Years War (1337-1453) passed the place without a trace; in the course of the Huguenot Wars (1562–1598) the castle was destroyed.

Attractions

Église Saint-Julien

Château de Tournel

The Romanesque church of Saint-Julien , first mentioned in 1229 and built almost entirely of rubble, was the burial place of the lords of the castle and their family members until the 15th century. It received a Gothic portal made of profiled sandstone as early as the 14th century , which does not exist in the area, but had to be brought from afar. The wide bell gable is made of significantly better hewn stones than most of the west facade, which suggests a later addition. The single nave and barrel vaulted interior of the church was later plastered and the apse was decorated with decorative frescoes; at the apex of Apsiskalotte found amid a radiation ring the representation of the Holy Spirit as a dove. The church building was recognized as a monument historique in 1931 .
The towers of the medieval castle ruins of the Château du Tournel tower over the town and the Lot valley; The climb is worth it just because of the view. The castle, which is considered impregnable, was abandoned by the lords of the castle at the beginning of the 14th century. It was destroyed by the Protestants during the religious conflicts of the 16th century.
In the hamlets around the village there are several small, free-standing structures with a storm bell ( clocher de tourmente ); These bells were supposed to warn field workers, shepherds and hikers in the event of approaching or already active storms or to show them the way and at the same time had a disastrous ( apotropaic ) function ( weather bells ). The surviving structures of this type were all recognized in 1992 as Monuments historiques .