Villasavary
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Villasavary Le Vilar |
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| region | Occitania | |
| Department | Aude | |
| Arrondissement | Carcassonne | |
| Canton | La Piège au Razès | |
| Community association | Piège Lauragais Malepère | |
| Coordinates | 43 ° 13 ' N , 2 ° 2' E | |
| height | 137-320 m | |
| surface | 33.08 km 2 | |
| Residents | 1,209 (January 1, 2017) | |
| Population density | 37 inhabitants / km 2 | |
| Post Code | 11150 | |
| INSEE code | 11418 | |
 Windmill at Villasavary |
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Villasavary ( Occitan : Le Vilar ) is a French commune with 1209 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2017) in the Aude department in the Occitanie region . Today's place was created by joining several small communities (Besplas, Rascoux) during the French Revolution (1790).
location
Villasavary is located on a hill not far from the Canal du Midi and not far from the old Narbonne - Carcassonne - Toulouse trade route in the southeast of the Lauragais countryside . The place is about 71 kilometers (driving distance) in a southeast direction from Toulouse; Castelnaudary is about 13 kilometers to the northwest . To Carcassonne it is about 30 kilometers in an easterly direction. The canton capital Fanjeaux is about six kilometers south; Laurac , the former capital of the Lauragais, about six kilometers to the west.
Population development
| year | 1968 | 1975 | 1982 | 1990 | 1999 | 2006 | 2016 |
| Residents | 885 | 791 | 819 | 758 | 874 | 1065 | 1219 |
For the Middle Ages, the population is estimated at around 2,000 - a number that still existed at the beginning of the revolutionary years; At the beginning of the 20th century there were still around 1,600 inhabitants.
economy
As in most places in the Lauragais (also called Pays de la Cocagne = 'Land of plenty'), the cultivation, processing and trade of woad ( pastel ) played an important role in the economic life of the city in the late Middle Ages and early modern times. But the cultivation of the plant was given up as early as the 18th century - it had gradually been displaced from the market by the new dye indigo . Since then, the farmers in the Lauragais have had to eat grain ( wheat , corn , sunflowers ) and a little cattle-raising (sheep) again.
history
Small finds from Gallo-Roman times (5th / 6th centuries) were made in the area of today's municipality. Villasavary ( Villa Severic ) is documented for the first time in 1162. Due to its border location between the county of Toulouse and the vice-county of Carcassonne , it was attractive for both parties; the neighboring town of Besplas, however, was under the control of the lords ( seigneurs ) of Laurac. Villasavary is one of the few places in the Lauragais that - despite their central location and despite the presence of a castle or city fortifications - were not mentioned during the Albigensian Crusade (1209-1229) and probably got away without damage.
In the Middle Ages, the place had two parish churches ( Saint-Pierre and Saint-Jacques ), the latter of which was demolished in the 15th century due to disrepair and high maintenance costs. During the Huguenot Wars (1562-1598) the village of Besplas was abandoned.
Attractions
- The single-nave parish church of the place ( Église Saint-Pierre ) dates from the 13th century, the choir area was renewed in the 14th century; the upper part of the side bell tower was redesigned in the 18th century.
- In the old, long-abandoned district of Besplas there is a simple Romanesque church (Chapelle Saint-Martin de la Salle) from the 12th century, which still hides the remains of frescoes from the 15th century inside. The little church has neither a tower nor a bell gable ; the west facade is completely unadorned - the entrance is on the south side.
- The ruins of several windmills can still be found in the area. The first mention of a windmill in Villasavary comes from 1212; the last of a group of four mills was in operation until 1947 and has been restored but is no longer functional. Windmills were not only needed to grind grain - woad ( pastel ) also had to be ground to a pulp before drying; In addition, limestone was ground in some mills to produce gypsum plaster .
