Auzits

Auzits
A general view of Auzits
Auzits
Location within Midi-Pyrénées region Auzits
Coordinates: 44°30′28″N 2°19′42″E / 44.5078°N 2.3283°E / 44.5078; 2.3283Coordinates: 44°30′28″N 2°19′42″E / 44.5078°N 2.3283°E / 44.5078; 2.3283
Country	France
Region	Midi-Pyrénées
Department	Aveyron
Arrondissement	Rodez
Canton	Rignac
Intercommunality	Pays Rignacois
Government
• Mayor (2008–2020)	Jean-Louis Francès
Area¹	24.34 km² (9.40 sq mi)
Population (2010)²	832
• Density	34/km² (89/sq mi)
INSEE/Postal code	12016 / 12390
Elevation	248–644 m (814–2,113 ft) (avg. 394 m or 1,293 ft)
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.

Auzits is a French commune in the Aveyron department in the Midi-Pyrénées region of southern France.

The inhabitants of the commune are known as Auzitois or Auzitoises.^[1]

Geography

Auzits is located at the top of a hill with the church dominating the valley some 10 km south-east of Decazeville and 28 km north-west of Rodez. It is a large, green, and hilly commune ranging from the Plateau of Hymes to Ruhle le Haut with many vantage points especially from the highest point in the commune at Hautesserre where there is a 360 degree panorama. Access to the commune can be by many routes: the D840 from Firmi in the north passes down the eastern side of the commune and continues south-east to Saint-Christophe-Vallon; the D87 branches from the D840 in the commune and goes south-west then north to the village then west to Montbazens; the D53 from Cransac in the north passes south through the west of the commune going to Bournazel; the D189 goes south from the village towards Goutrens; the D11 comes from Cransac through the village and continues to Saint-Cristophe-Vallon; and the D631 goes north from the village to join the D840 north of the commune. A railway line passes through the commune from north to south with the Auzits-Aussibal Halt near Aussibel. Apart from the village there are the hamlets of Rulhe, Les Escabes, La Berthoumarie, Le Mas del Bosc, Aussibal, Hymes, Plateau d'Hymes, Le Coustal, and Reyrols. The commune is mixed forest and farmland.^[2]

The Riou Viou flows from the south through the village then turns west along the northern border and continues to join the Riou Mort at Viviers. The Riou Mort flows north through the east of the commune and continues north-west to join the Lot at Penchot.^[2]

Neighbouring communes and villages^[2]

Cransac

Firmi

Saint-Cyprien-sur-Dourdou

Galgan

Nauviale

Auzits

Lugan

Escandolières

Saint-Christophe-Vallon

History

The old railway station

The old Goods Shed

Middle Ages

In the Middle Ages Auzits was an important step for pilgrims as it lies on the road to Saint Jacques de Compostela (the path from Conques to Villefranchois). Near the present village there was a small chapel called the Chapel of the Hospital which welcomed the sick, tired, or dying. Under the responsibility of the Knights of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem, the chapel adjoining the hospice is today still in good condition.

In 1358 the English invaded the commune and stayed for thirty years. In 1398, after the withdrawal of the British, the fortified Chateau of Auzits was abandoned. Its inhabitants did not wish for another Lord so collectively decided to build the new village church on the ruins of this castle. Perched on the rocky outcrop overlooking the valley on massive buttresses, the tower was converted into a bell tower. The stones of the second tower were reused for the central nave of the church, which is the present Church of Saint-Maurice.

Contemporary era

During the 19th and 20th centuries the commune experienced spectacular development by the coal industry. The many families who lived on coal-mining declined in number due to successive mine closures in Decazeville basin, leaving only remnants that are still visible on the Rulhe road.

Administration

List of Successive Mayors^[3]

Mayors from the French Revolution to 1938

From	To	Name
1792	1796	Antoine Doumergue
1796	1801	Bernard Boyer
1803	1812	Jean Tournamire
1812	1816	Jean Christostome Garrigou
1816	1832	Jean François de Rudelle
1832	1837	Joseph Cantaloube
1837	1843	Jean Christostome Garrigou
1843	1900	Jean Pierre Bernard Agar
1900	1908	Jules Mouly
1908	1920	Jean Antoine Besses
1920	1938	Albert Pierre Louis Olivier

The Town Hall

Mayors from 1938

From	To	Name
1938	1944	Emile Boyé
1944	1945	Benjamin Viguier
1945	1947	Adrien Ruffié
1947	1959	Joseph Delsol
1959	1977	Armand Lacombe
1977	1989	Frédéric Bourdoncle
1989	1995	Michel Cantala
1995	2001	Jean Bousquet
2001	2008	Michel Cantala
2008	2020	Jean-Louis Francès

(Not all data is known)

Demography

In 2010 the commune had 832 inhabitants. The evolution of the number of inhabitants is known from the population censuses conducted in the commune since 1793. From the 21st century, a census of communes with fewer than 10,000 inhabitants is held every five years, unlike larger communes that have a sample survey every year.^{[Note 1]}

Evolution of the Population (See database)

1793	1800	1806	1821	1831	1836	1841	1846	1851
455	426	1,655	1,999	1,346	1,236	1,370	1,424	1,407

1856	1861	1866	1872	1876	1881	1886	1891	1896
1,471	1,591	1,754	1,832	2,085	1,943	2,083	1,890	1,950

1901	1906	1911	1921	1926	1931	1936	1946	1954
1,968	1,980	1,771	1,771	1,680	1,616	1,547	1,359	1,377

1962	1968	1975	1982	1990	1999	2006	2010	-
1,373	1,128	1,011	932	803	812	893	862	-

Sources : Ldh/EHESS/Cassini until 1962, INSEE database from 1968 (population without double counting and municipal population from 2006)

Culture and heritage

Civil heritage

Remains of a Castle. Long before the present church was built a castle dominated the valley. The castle consisted of two towers, buttresses, towering ramparts, a drawbridge, a moat, and a crypt.
Picturesque villages in Auzits and upper Rulhe.

Religious heritage

The Church of Saint Maurice

Church of Saint Maurice Portal

The commune has one religious building that is registered as an historical monument:

The Church of Saint Maurice (12th century).^[4] The church of Saint-Maurice is a curious building because of its architecture. The crypt is oriented east and is part of the old castle chapel. Long abandoned by their inhabitants, these places are now freely available for visits. Decorated with wall paintings dating from the 14th century, this crypt is one of the jewels of Middle Ages Aveyron. Inside the church the altar, made of wood, has sculptures of Saint Maurice. In the centre a painting shows Jacques de Mauleon Labastide, Knight of the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem. Many treasures are no longer present in the church as they were stolen in 2001. Notably a Virgin and Child, dating from the 16th century in polychrome wood and gilded with gold. The Church contains several items that are registered as historical objects:
- A Reliquary-Monstrance (19th century)^[5]
- A Statue: Virgin and child (15th century)^[6]
- A Ciborium (18th century)^[7]
- 2 Cruets with plate (19th century)^[8]
- A Statue: Virgin and child (15th century)^[9]
- A Retable and Painting: Saint Maurice (1610)^[10]
- A Processional Cross (17th century)^[11]
- A Reliquary-Monstrance (19th century)^[12]

Other religious sites of interest

Church of Saint Étienne de Rulhe.
Chapel of Saint John of the Hospital.
Chapel of Hautesserre.
Cross of Hymes.

Notable people linked to the commune

Raoul Follereau, researcher and scientist.
Robert Girou, painter.
Roger Noyer, resistance fighter.
Marcial Pleinecassagne, resistance fighter killed for keeping silent in the face of the Germans in 1944.

Notes and references

Notes

↑ At the beginning of the 21st century, the methods of identification have been modified by Law No. 2002-276 of 27 February 2002, the so-called "law of local democracy" and in particular Title V "census operations" allows, after a transitional period running from 2004 to 2008, the annual publication of the legal population of the different French administrative districts. For communes with a population greater than 10,000 inhabitants, a sample survey is conducted annually, the entire territory of these communes is taken into account at the end of the period of five years. The first "legal population" after 1999 under this new law came into force in 1 January 2009 and was based on the census of 2006.

References

↑ Inhabitants of Aveyron (French)
↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Google Maps
↑ List of Mayors of France (French)
↑ Ministry of Culture, Mérimée PA00093960 Church of Saint Maurice (French)
↑ Ministry of Culture, Palissy PM12000739 Reliquary-Monstrance (French)
↑ Ministry of Culture, Palissy PM12000014 Statue: Virgin and child (French)
↑ Ministry of Culture, Palissy PM12000717 Ciborium (French)
↑ Ministry of Culture, Palissy PM12000738 2 Cruets with plate (French)
↑ Ministry of Culture, Palissy PM12000013 Statue: Virgin and child (French)
↑ Ministry of Culture, Palissy PM12000012 Retable and Painting: Saint Maurice (French)
↑ Ministry of Culture, Palissy PM12000011 Processional Cross (French)
↑ Ministry of Culture, Palissy PM12000737 Reliquary-Monstrance (French)

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Auzits.

Communes of the Aveyron department

Auzits