Déols
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Commune of Déols |
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| Location | |
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| Administration | |
|---|---|
| Country | France |
| Region | Centre |
| Department | Indre |
| Arrondissement | Châteauroux |
| Canton | Châteauroux-Est |
| Mayor | Michel Blondeau (1989) |
| Statistics | |
| Elevation | 140 m–165 m (avg. 150 m) |
| Land area¹ | 31.74 km² |
| Population² (1999) |
8,089 |
| - Density | 254/km² (1999) |
| Miscellaneous | |
| INSEE/Postal code | 36063/ 36130 |
| 1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. | |
| 2 Population sans doubles comptes: residents of multiple communes (e.g. students and military personnel) only counted once. | |
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Déols is a commune of the Indre département, in France.
Déols is an ancient town with a famous Benedictine abbey: Abbaye Notre-Dame-du-Bourg-Dieu. Today it is somewhat overshadowed by the nearby city of Châteauroux, which faces it across the river Indre.
It preserves a fine Romanesque tower and other remains of the church the abbey, once the most important in the duchy of Berry.
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[edit] History
Gallo-Roman vestiges confirm the age of the town of Déols, but it was only during the Middle Ages that, through the princes of Déols and Chauvigny, Déols acquired its true power.
The Benedictine abbey was founded in 917 by Ebbes the Noble, lord of Déols. A gateway flanked by towers survives from the old ramparts of the town. The parish church of St Stephen (15th and 16th centuries) has a Romanesque façade and a crypt containing the ancient Christian tomb of St Ludre and his father St Leocade, who according to tradition were lords of the town in the 4th century. There are also interesting old paintings of the 10th century representing the ancient abbey.
The pilgrimage to the tomb of St Ludre gave importance to Déols, which under the name of Vicus Dolensis was in existence in the Roman period. In 468 the Visigoths defeated the Gauls there, the victory carrying with it the supremacy over the district of Berry. In the Middle Ages the head of the family of Dols enjoyed the title of prince and held sway over nearly all Lower Berry, of which the town itself was the capital.
In the 10th century Raoul of Déols gave his castle to the monks of the abbey and transferred his residence to Châteauroux. For centuries this change did not affect the prosperity of the place, which was maintained by the prestige of its abbey.
In 1187, during the war between Henry II his sons (Richard the Lionheart, Prince John) and Philip Augustus, a miracle is said to have occurred known as "Our Lady of Déols Miracle". This influenced the religious devotion of the inhabitants of the region towards the Virgin Mary.
The abbey church was burned by the Protestants during the religious wars and in 1626 the abbey was suppressed by the agency of Henry II, prince of Condé and of Déols, after the monks were denounced for corruption. With the abbey in ruins, the town declined and was eclipsed by its neighbour.
[edit] Present day Déols
Today, Déols is the third largest town in the Indre département with 9,000 inhabitants.
Déols has succeeded in creating new dynamism through its economic, sports and cultural activities.
Déols is not only situated on the A20 motorway (250 km south of Paris), but is also on a direct railway line from Paris (2 hours) to Toulouse.
The Châteauroux-Déols "Marcel Dassault" Airport is sited on the northern approach to Déols, where there is also a 5 square kilometre business park.
[edit] References
- This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
