Villars-les-Dombes
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Commune of Villars-les-Dombes |
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| Location | |
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| Administration | |
|---|---|
| Country | France |
| Region | Rhône-Alpes |
| Department | Ain |
| Arrondissement | Bourg-en-Bresse |
| Canton | Villars-les-Dombes |
| Intercommunality | Centre Dombes |
| Mayor | Lucien Berger (2001-2008) |
| Statistics | |
| Elevation | 279 m (avg.) |
| Land area¹ | 24.63 km² |
| Population² (1999) |
4,250 |
| - Density | 172.6/km² (1999) |
| Miscellaneous | |
| INSEE/Postal code | 01443/ 01330 |
| 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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Villars-les-Dombes is a commune in the department of Ain in eastern France. Its people are known as Villardois.
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[edit] Geography
The town is in the part of Ain which is half-way between Lyon (33 km) and Bourg-en-Bresse (29 km), in the heart of the area known as the Dombes, notable for its hundreds of lakes which are suited to fish -rearing as well as to water fowls. Its ornithological park around a couple of the lakes is closed at the moment owing to the incidence of avian influenza at Joyeux, seven kilometres from Villars.
[edit] History
The lordship of Villars (of which archival evidence dates from 940) became, by marriage, the lordship of Thoire-et-Vilars in 1188, and in about 1400 its caput was Trévoux (the estate was managed from there). In 1565, Villars was promoted to a marquisate dependent on the house of Savoie (Savoy), a benefice of the Honour of Savoy.
In 1705, the maréchal de Villars obtained the collection of several lands, a small French enclave in the (German-influenced) province of Franche-Comté, as the duchy of Villars. His line died out in 1788, on the death of his son, Honoré-Armand, 2nd Duke de Villars.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Villars-les-Dombes official website in French
- La Dombes and Villars-les-Dombes in French
- Photos of Villars-les-Dombes in French
- La Dombes and Trévoux in French
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