Vesc

Vesc
region	Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Department	Drôme
Arrondissement	Nyons
Canton	Dieulefit
Community association	Dieulefit-Bourdeaux
Coordinates	44 ° 31 ' N , 5 ° 9' E Coordinates: 44 ° 31 ' N , 5 ° 9' E
height	477-1,448 m
surface	40.48 km 2
Residents	260 (January 1, 2017)
Population density	6 inhabitants / km 2
Post Code	26220
INSEE code	26373

Vesc is a French municipality with 260 inhabitants (at January 1, 2017) in the region of Auvergne Rhône-Alpes in the Drome region ; it belongs to the canton of Dieulefit in the arrondissement of Nyons .

geography

Vesc is located at an average altitude of 655 meters above sea level in the south of the Drôme department, 11 kilometers east of Dieulefit and 38 kilometers east of Montélimar . The closest parishes are Crupies , Montjoux and Orcinas .

history

The oldest written mention as Vaiesch is in 1173. The current spelling Vesc is documented from 1781. The name is derived from Vesque from the French word évêque , in German: "Bishop".

In the Middle Ages there was a monastery in the village - a branch founded by the Benedictines of Cruas in the Ardèche department. How high the position of the place once was can be attested by the fact that the pharmacy there had a supraregional reputation at the time. The church consecrated to St. Peter was originally part of this monastery complex.

Romanesque parish church of Vesc

Portal of the Romanesque parish church of Vesc

Originally the place consisted of two fiefdoms : Vesc and Pennes , which belonged to Rigot , a place in the diocese of Die that perished after the turmoil of the Huguenot Wars .

The Vesc fiefdom belonged to the Counts of Valentinois ; they provided the bishops of Die and in 1609 sold the Vesc fiefdom to the lords of Pennes. From these it passed to the house of Moreton de Chabrillan and remained in their possession until the French Revolution .

From 1789 to 1794 the official name was Penne-sur-Vesc .

From the middle of the 19th century until the 20th century there was a strong migration to places with better job opportunities, so that Vesc increasingly fell into disrepair. From the 1970s onwards, many of the medieval houses were acquired and restored as summer residences.