Saint-Benoît-du-Sault

Saint-Benoît-du-Sault

The priory of Saint-Benoît

Coat of arms
Saint-Benoît-du-Sault

Coordinates: 46°26′29″N 1°23′29″E / 46.4414°N 1.3914°ECoordinates: 46°26′29″N 1°23′29″E / 46.4414°N 1.3914°E
Country France
Region Centre-Val de Loire
Department Indre
Arrondissement Le Blanc
Canton Saint-Benoît-du-Sault
Government
 • Mayor (2011–2014) Christian Brec
Area1 1.8 km2 (0.7 sq mi)
Population (2009)2 677
 • Density 380/km2 (970/sq mi)
INSEE/Postal code 36182 / 36170
Elevation 175–246 m (574–807 ft)
(avg. 223 m or 732 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.

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."

History

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.

Population

Historical population
YearPop.±%
1793 1,200—    
1800 973−18.9%
1806 1,148+18.0%
1821 1,121−2.4%
1831 1,243+10.9%
1836 1,265+1.8%
1841 1,258−0.6%
1846 1,208−4.0%
1851 1,220+1.0%
1856 1,173−3.9%
1861 1,072−8.6%
1866 1,099+2.5%
1872 1,112+1.2%
1876 1,078−3.1%
1881 1,141+5.8%
1886 1,112−2.5%
1891 1,096−1.4%
1896 1,008−8.0%
1901 948−6.0%
1906 1,031+8.8%
1911 939−8.9%
1921 934−0.5%
1926 872−6.6%
1931 826−5.3%
1936 759−8.1%
1946 801+5.5%
1954 702−12.4%
1962 699−0.4%
1968 822+17.6%
1975 864+5.1%
1982 836−3.2%
1990 856+2.4%
1999 766−10.5%
2006 714−6.8%
2009 677−5.2%

Sights

14th-century portal
Medieval town

Of architectural significance:

Personalities

People associated with Saint-Benoît-du-Sault:

See also

References

    Bibliography

    External links

    Wikimedia Commons has media related to Saint-Benoît-du-Sault.
    Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Saint-Benoît-du-Sault.