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Saint-Benoît-du-Sault |
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Saint-Benoît-du-Sault
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| Administration | |
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| Country | France |
| Region | Centre |
| Department | Indre |
| Arrondissement | Le Blanc |
| Canton | Saint-Benoît-du-Sault |
| Mayor | Pierre Level (2003–2008) |
| Statistics | |
| Elevation | 175–246 m (574–807 ft) (avg. 223 m/732 ft) |
| Land area1 | 1.8 km2 (0.69 sq mi) |
| Population2 | 766 (1999) |
| - Density | 426 /km2 (1,100 /sq mi) |
| INSEE/Postal code | 36182/ 36170 |
| 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. | |
Saint-Benoît-du-Sault is a commune in the Indre department in central France.
It is a medieval village , perched in a curve on a rocky butte overlooking the Portefeuille River in the former province of Berry. In 1988, it was named one of "the most beautiful villages of France."
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Located in the area of Gaul settled by a powerful Celtic tribe, the Bituriges, "Kings of the World" (summa penes imperii bituriges), powerful until their defeat against Julius Caesar at Bourges (Avaricum), part of Roman Aquitania. Two dolmens (Passebonneau and des Gorces) near to Saint-Benoît-du-Sault attest to the ancientness of human presence, if not of the Bituriges. Ten centuries later, in 974, some benedictine monks of Sacierges-Saint-Martin took refuge on a granite spur, where they founded a priory: Salis, future Saint-Benoît-du-Sault. From the 10th to the 17th century, the history of the priory and the new village is made up of resistance to the possessive desires of feudal neighbours, such as the Limoges and de Brosse family. The town was surrounded by a double line of ramparts. The first, the most ancient, protected the priory, the church and the fort, the second established in the 15th century, encircled the commercial part. Still today, its maze of narrow cobbled streets are a must to explore, and makes Saint-Benoît-du-Sault a beautiful medieval town.
Of architectural significance:
Famous people associated with Saint-Benoît-du-Sault: