Saint-Martin-le-Vieil

Saint-Martin-le-Vieil
region	Occitania
Department	Aude
Arrondissement	Carcassonne
Canton	La Malpère à la Montagne Noire
Community association	Carcassonne Agglo
Coordinates	43 ° 18 '  N , 2 ° 9'  E Coordinates: 43 ° 18 '  N , 2 ° 9'  E
height	130-306 m
surface	13.25 km 2
Residents	226 (January 1, 2017)
Population density	17 inhabitants / km 2
Post Code	11170
INSEE code	11357
Saint-Martin-le-Vieil - View of the town with the church

Saint-Martin-le-Vieil is a municipality in the south of France with 226 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2017) in the Aude department in the Occitanie region .

location

Saint-Martin-le-Vieil is located in the old cultural landscape of the Lauragais on the small river Lampy and its tributary Tenten at an altitude of about 160 meters above sea level. d. M. and about 25 kilometers (driving distance) northwest of Carcassonne . The distance to the southeastern canton capital Alzonne is a good six kilometers.

Population development

year	1962	1968	1975	1982	1990	1999	2006	2016
Residents	225	171	182	185	168	191	211	225

In the 19th century the place always had between 350 and 450 inhabitants. As a result of the phylloxera crisis and the mechanization of agriculture and the associated loss of jobs, the number of inhabitants has decreased significantly in the 20th century. Lately there has been a slight increase in population again, which is primarily due to the comparatively low rents and land prices compared to the nearby city of Carcassonne.

economy

The area around the village is still dominated by agriculture. Since the late Middle Ages, woad ( pastel ) has mainly been grown in the villages of the Lauragais , but this was replaced in the 18th century by the indigo planted in the colonies . At the end of the 20th century, tourism in the form of the rental of holiday apartments ( gîtes ) was added as an economic factor.

history

Nothing is known about the history of the place in Gallo-Roman and medieval times. The Cistercian founded in 1170 about two and a half kilometers north-east on the river Vernassonne the monastery Villelongue that during the French Revolution was dissolved and sold as a quarry.

Villelongue monastery

Attractions

• A stone cemetery cross from the 16th century standing on a pedestal was placed under protection as a Monument historique in 1962 .
• The parish church of the village is a simple building from the 15th century with an unadorned south tower, which is pierced by a delicate stone rose.
• The apse and some parts of the monastery buildings of the Cistercian Abbey Villelongue, which is isolated in the seclusion of the forest, can still be seen. The best preserved are the chapter house and the south wing of the cloister with its double pillars, which are decorated with finely crafted vegetable capitals . The former monastery buildings have been recognized as a monument historique since 1916 .

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  South portal

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  Chapter House

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  Cloister

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  Capitals

Web links

Commons : Saint-Martin-le-Vieil  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Croix de cimetière, Saint-Martin-le-Vieil in the Base Mérimée of the French Ministry of Culture (French)
2. ↑ Abbaye de Villelongue, Saint-Martin-le-Vieil in the Base Mérimée of the French Ministry of Culture (French)