Payrac

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Coordinates: 44°47′51″N 1°28′22″E / 44.7975, 1.47277777778

Administration
Commune of Payrac
Location

Country	France
Region	Midi-Pyrénées
Department	Lot
Arrondissement	Gourdon
Canton	Payrac
Intercommunality	Haute Bouriane
Mayor	Bernard Choulet (2001-2008)
Statistics
Elevation	125 m–364 m (avg. 280 m)
Land area^¹	19,5 km²
Population^² (1999)	564
- Density	28/km²
Miscellaneous
INSEE/Postal code	46215/ 46350
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.

Payrac is a village in the Canton of Payrac, in the Arrondissement of Gourdon, in the Departement of the Lot 46, in the Region of the Midi-Pyrénées, in France.

[edit] History

Payrac was an important town in the times of ancient Rome, but because of military campaigns and pillages from the Hundred Year's War and the Bubonic Plague, the town's population plummeted to the point where it was nearly uninhabited. However, under the influence of lords, peasants moved to and repopulated Payrac.

In 1589, the Huguenot army ravaged Payrac and killed 500 people.

After this period, Payrac underwent an economic revival due to its strategic placement with Paris and Toulouse. Unfortunately, Payrac did not undergo change during the Industrial Revolution, and as a result lost half its population.