Confolens

Confolens
View of Confolens and the Vienne River
Confolens
Administration
Country France
Region Poitou-Charentes
Department Charente
Arrondissement Confolens
Canton Confolens-Nord and Confolens-Sud
Mayor Jean-Louis Dutriat
(2008–2014)
Statistics
Elevation 127–222 m (417–728 ft)
(avg. 152 m/499 ft)
Land area1 18.96 km2 (7.32 sq mi)
Population2 2,791  (2008)
 - Density 147 /km2 (380 /sq mi)
INSEE/Postal code 16106/ 16500
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.
2 Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once.

Confolens (Occitan: Cofolents) is a commune in southwestern France. It is one of the two sub-prefecture of the Charente department.

Confolens is the administrative center of a largely rural district, which has seen the development of tourism in recent years.

Contents

Geography

Confolens is located at the confluence of the Vienne and Goire rivers. This location is at the origin of its name. Confolens is also at the point where the Charente and Limousin regions meet, hence the name sometimes used to describe the area of "Charente Limousine".

History

Confolens was built around a fortress first mentioned in the eleventh century. It still has picturesque remnants of its medieval past, including city walls and several houses dating from the fifteenth to the eighteenth centuries. It also features a bridge first mentioned in the fourteenth century.

In the nineteenth century, Confolens developed itself as the administrative center for a considerable agriculture area, due to its role as sous-prefecture and the distance of all other major towns (Angoulême, Limoges and Poitiers are all about 70 kilometres away). It has several handsome nineteenth century administrative buildings, some of which were built by Paul Abadie, who was very active in the region.

There has been limited further urbanization in the twentieth century. The population of the town has aged, and the number of agriculture and industrial jobs have declined. Foreigners, especially British and Dutch, have been acquiring property in and around the town, and now form a significant presence.

One of the most prominent people to have hailed from Confolens is Émile Roux, a physician and immunologist who was a close collaborator of Louis Pasteur. The former Confolens high school was named for Roux.

Population

Historical population of Confolens
Year 1793 1800 1806 1821 1831 1841 1846 1851 1856 1861
Population 2522 2045 2263 2153 2687 2765 2787 3113 3034 2720
Year 1866 1872 1876 1881 1886 1891 1896 1901 1906 1911
Population 2717 2760 2827 3043 3083 3168 3123 3053 3109 3088
Year 1921 1926 1931 1936 1946 1954 1962 1968 1975 1982
Population 2551 2628 2711 2650 2827 2906 2736 2731 2865 3009
Year 1990 1999 2008
Population 2904 2856 2791

Events

Confolens is the home of the Festival de Folklore, one of France's largest and best known folklore festivals, which takes place annually in August.

See also

References

External links