Aubazine

Aubazine
A general view of Aubazine
Coat of arms
Aubazine
Location within Limousin region  Aubazine
Coordinates: 45°10′26″N 1°40′16″E / 45.174°N 1.671°E / 45.174; 1.671Coordinates: 45°10′26″N 1°40′16″E / 45.174°N 1.671°E / 45.174; 1.671
Country	France
Region	Aquitaine-Limousin-Poitou-Charentes
Department	Corrèze
Arrondissement	Brive-la-Gaillarde
Canton	Beynat
Intercommunality	Canton de Beynat
Government
• Mayor (1995–2020)	Jean-Pierre Chouzenoux
Area1	14.07 km2 (5.43 sq mi)
Population (2010)2	874
• Density	62/km2 (160/sq mi)
INSEE/Postal code	19013 / 19190
Elevation	126–522 m (413–1,713 ft) (avg. 345 m or 1,132 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.

Aubazine (Obasina in Occitan) is the official name (incorrectly spelt Aubazines on many maps and notably in the INSEE database) of a commune in the Corrèze department in the Limousin region of central France.

The inhabitants of the commune are known as Aubazinois or Aubazinoises.^[1]

Geography

Sign clearly displaying the correct spelling of the village name.

The gorges of the Coiroux.

Aubazine is a commune in the Massif Central located some 10 km east by north-east of Brive-la-Gaillarde and 12 km south-west of Tulle. The D1089 highway passes through the north-west of the commune going from Malemort-sur-Corrèze to Tulle however access to the village is by the D130 branching off the D1089, going south to the village, and continuing south to Beynat. The D48 also goes east from the village to Le Chastang with the D48E branching off it in the east of the commune to go north to Cornil. The D14E1 also goes south-west from the village to join the D14.^[2]

A railway line passes through the commune parallel to the D1089 and the station for Aubazine is at Gare d'Aubazine in the neighbouring commune. The line is served by the TER Limousin trains from Brive-la-Gaillarde to Clermont-Ferrand.

The village is in the south of the commune on a promontory overlooking the Coiroux at a height of over 150 metres. Apart from the village there are the hamlets of: Pauliac Bas, Pauliac Haut, Villieres, Vergonzac, Le Varachou, Rochesseux, Chastagnol, Quatre Routes, and Les Vayres. The commune is mixed forest and farmland.^[2]

The Corrèze river forms the north-western border of the commune as it flows south-west to join the Vézère west of Breve-la-Gaillarde. A number of streams rise in the commune to join the Corrèze including the Ruisseau de la Geinde, 2.7 km long, which rises near Quatre-Routes and flows north to join the Ruisseau de Brauze in Cornil commune which flows to the Corrèze, the Ruisseau Français,^[3] and the Canal des Moines which branches from the Coiroux.^[2]

The lowest altitude of the commune is 126 metres in the west where the Corrèze leaves the commune. The highest points are 520 metres high on the Puy de Pauliac which dominates the area, and in the south-east next to Le Chastang near a place called la Jarouste.

Neighbouring communes and villages^[2]

	Saint-Hilaire-Peyroux	Cornil	Sainte-Fortunade
	Venarsal		Lagarde-Enval
		Aubazine
	Dampniat	Palazinges	Le Chastang

History

The village of Aubazine, which had a church, became a commune in the French Revolution in 1790 through the dismantling of the parish of Cornil but it lacked Vital records until 1 March 1792.^[4][5]

Aubazine, formerly written Obazine, has its origin in the foundation of a monastery by Étienne de Vielzot in the 12th century.^[6][7] The monastery was affiliated shortly after to the Cistercian order. Very soon an associated convent of nuns was established in the village of Coyroux a few hundred metres away. The two monasteries existed until the Revolution. Formerly spelled Obazine the parish depended on Cornil.

The site of the monastic institutions and their dependencies have been the object of archaeological excavations and extensive studies in the last third of the 20th century under the direction of Professor of medieval history Bernadette Barrière.

Due to an error in the INSEE code there is confusion over an incorrect spelling Aubazines. The spelling Aubazine is the correct name of the village.

Aubazine-Saint-Hilaire Railway Station

The village of Gare d'Aubazine, although located in the commune of Saint-Hilaire-Peyroux is an integral part of the history of Aubazine and of Dampniat than that of Saint-Hilaire.

Th station was established at a place called Confolens however, as the station was primarily to serve Aubazine even though it was on the territory of the neighbouring commune, the council demanded a composite name. The railway acceded to the demand and the stop which was called Aubazine-Saint-Hilaire-Peyroux became Aubazine thereafter. Saint-Hilaire-Peyroux have their own stop at Pont Bonnel.

Before 1840, the date of the opening of Route nationale N89 (later D1089), there was nothing at the bottom of this valley other than the worn-out mills of: Confolens in Dampniat commune, Claredent in Aubazine commune, and Jayle in Malemort-sur-Corrèze commune, which were accessible only on narrow, bumpy, and steep slopes by goods wagons. Horses, mules, and donkeys circulated more often than carts.

The village, now called Gare d'Aubazine was rather poorly named. The SNCF station is located on the right bank of the Corrèze in the territory of Saint-Hilaire-Peyroux while the left bank belongs largely to Dampniat with the nearest village located 2 km away.

The Confolens bridge and paper mill added to progress together with the railway at the end of the 19th century and in 1912 the establishment of a railhead for the departmental tram line going to Turenne then Beaulieu-sur-Dordogne via Le Bosplos completed this action. The Tacot (Jalopy) had disappeared by 1932, replaced by a bus and the agglomeration of the Gare d'Aubazine retained its thriving business. New houses were built and a school with two classes was opened for the children. Their parents climbed to Dampniat to learn to read.

In June 1944 maquisards destroyed the Claredent railway bridge, blocking a German armoured train and preventing convoys of equipment from the manufacture of weapons at Tulle from being quickly transported to their destination on the front or the Rhine.

Heraldry

Blazon: Party per pale, at first Gules, a sun in his splendour of Or with two mullets the same all posed in pale; at second Azure a crescent moon of Argent with two mullets the same all posed in pale.

Administration

The Town Hall

Lake Coiroux

List of Successive Mayors^[8]

(Not all data is known)

Demography

In 2010 the commune had 874 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 towns that have a sample survey every year.^{[Note 1]}

Culture and heritage

Civil heritage

The commune has two structures that are registered as historical monuments:

• A Stone circle at Puy de Pauliac (Neolithic)^[9]
• The Canal des Moines (12th century)^[9] with a length of 1.7 km, it was built to supply the village - it is the only canal of its kind still operating in Europe.^[10] It dominates the Gorges of Coiroux.^[11]

Other sites of interest are:

• The Dolmen of Rochesseux.
• The Saut de la bergère rock (overlooking the Canal des Moines), a 70m high cliff where, according to legend, a shepherdess was thrown from to escape dishonour.^[12]
• The Tourist centre and Lake Coiroux.

• 

  A Dovecote

• 

  Couroux Gorge

• 

  The Canal des Moines

• 

  The Canal des Moines

• 

  Lake Coiroux

Religious heritage

Two religious buildings are registered as historical monuments and one more contains historical objects:

• Remains of the old Monastery of Coyroux (12th century).^[13][14] It contains many items that are registered as historical objects:
  • Statue: Sainte Marie-Madeleine (15th century)^[15]
  • Statue: Nicodème (15th century)^[16]
  • Group sculpture: Virgin and Saint John (15th century)^[17]
  • Group sculpture: Setting on a Tomb (15th century)^[18]
• The old Abbey Saint-Etienne (1142)^[19] and monastic buildings of the ancient Cistercian abbey founded in 1142 by Saint Etienne, the first abbot. The abbey contains many items registered as historical objects:
  • Group sculpture: Saint Roch (18th century)^[20]
  • Statuette: Virgin and child playing with a bird (15th century)^[21]
  • Master Altar: Altar, seating, Tabernacle, Pedestal, Statue (18th century)^[22]
  • 3 Stalls (17th century)^[23]
  • Statue: Saint Etienne of Obazine (18th century)^[24]
  • Group sculpture: Virgin of pity (15th century)^[25]
  • Bas-relief: Saint Etienne Harding holding the habit of Saint Bernard of Clairvaux (17th century)^[26]
  • Bas-relief: Saint Etienne Harding, Abbot of Citeaux, granting the Charter of charity (17th century)^[27]
  • Cabinet (12th century)^[28]
  • Altar Cross (13th century)^[29]
  • 4 plates on a shrine (13th century)^[30]
  • Reliquary Cross (19th century)^[31]
  • Recumbent Statue: Saint Etienne of Obazine (13th century)^[32]
  • Tomb of Etienne of Obazine (13th century)^[33]
  • Total of 42 Stalls (17th century)^{[34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44]}
  • Statue: Virgin (18th century)^[45]
  • Pedestal (18th century)^[46]
  • 2 Statuettes: Adoring angels (18th century)^[47]
  • Tabernacle (18th century)^[48]
  • 3 Statues: (1 large 2 small) Christ between 2 angels (18th century)^[49]
  • Altar, seating, altar tomb, altar exhibits (18th century)^[50]
  • 2 Bas-reliefs: Saint Etienne (17th century)^[51]
  • Cabinet in the Sacristy (14th century)^[52]
  • Bronze bell (1683)^[53]
  • Little bell (1605)^[54]
  • Bronze bell (1605)^[55]
  • Reliquary Cross (double cross) (12th century)^[56]
  • Monumental Painting: Virgin of pity (1466)^[57]
  • 25 Stained glass windows (12th century)^[58]
  • Group of Stalls (17th century)^[59]
• The Parish Church of Notre-Dame contains three items registered as historical object:
  • Statue: Saint John the Baptist (17th century)^[60]
  • Retable and Altar seating in the 2nd chapel in the south transept (17th century)^[61]
  • Bas-relief: Arms of the Abbey of Aubazine (17th century)^[62]

• 

  The Cistercian Abbey

• 

  Side view of the Abbey

• 

  The Abbey lodging

• 

  Tomb of Saint Etienne

• 

  Some of the Stalls in the Abbey

• 

  One of the old Cabinets

• 

  The transept in the Abbey

• 

  Painting: Virgin of pity

• 

  Altar in the Abbey

• 

  The choir in the abbey

• 

  One of the Stained glass windows in the Abbey

Notable people linked to the commune

• Étienne d'Obazine, founder of the Abbey.
• Pierre Brugeilles (1845-1893), born in Aubazine, Mayor of the commune, MP for Corrèze from 1885 to 1889.
• Jean-Baptiste Laumond (1865-1957), Mayor of the commune from 1890 to 1944, MP for Corrèze from 1926 to 1938, Magistrate of Andorra from 1937 to 1940.
• Coco Chanel (1883-1971), Hatmaker and clothes designer, spent part of her youth at the orphanage.^[63] in the Abbey and managed by the nuns from Saint-Cœur de Marie.
• Bernadette Barrière (1936-2004), Professor of medieval history, University of Limoges.
• Étienne Jugie, born in Aubazine on 3 May 1878,^[64] died at Sorgues on 29 November 1954, known in religion under the name Marin Jugie, (Augustinian of the Assumption) Theologian, author of numerous works, Professor at the Vatican and at Lyon. He worked on the Doctrine of the Assumption and on the Churches of the Orient, studied "Joseph de Maistre and the Greco-Russian Church".
• Thierry Chenavaud, designer and producer of shows since 2007, every year in July the "Cistercian Lights" with huge images at the old monastery of Coyroux at Aubazine. The narration of the show is extracted from the Life of Etienne d'Obazine text from the 12th century, written by a contemporary of Etienne.

Philately

A Postage stamp with a value of 1.25 francs depicting the Abbey of Aubazine was issued on 18 February 1978.^[65]

See also

• Obazine Abbey
• Communes of the Corrèze department
• Gare d'Aubazine-Saint-Hilaire

External links

• Official Aubazine website (French)
• Tourist Office of Pays Aubazine-Beynat
• The Canal des Moines, the Puy de Pauliac, and Aubazine on the Dailymotion website (French)
• Aubazine on Google Maps
• Aubazine on Géoportail, National Geographic Institute (IGN) website (French)
• Aubazine on the 1750 Cassini Map
• Aubazine on the INSEE website (French)
• INSEE (French)

Notes and references

Notes

1. ↑ 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 on 1 January 2009 and was based on the census of 2006.

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Aubazine.

Communes of the Corrèze department Affieux Aix Albignac Albussac Allassac Alleyrat Altillac Ambrugeat Les Angles-sur-Corrèze Argentat Arnac-Pompadour Astaillac Aubazines Auriac Ayen Bar Bassignac-le-Bas Bassignac-le-Haut Beaulieu-sur-Dordogne Beaumont Bellechassagne Benayes Beynat Beyssac Beyssenac Bilhac Bonnefond Bort-les-Orgues Branceilles Brignac-la-Plaine Brive-la-Gaillarde Brivezac Bugeat Camps-Saint-Mathurin-Léobazel Chabrignac Chamberet Chamboulive Chameyrat Champagnac-la-Noaille Champagnac-la-Prune Chanac-les-Mines Chanteix La Chapelle-aux-Brocs La Chapelle-aux-Saints La Chapelle-Saint-Géraud Chapelle-Spinasse Chartrier-Ferrière Le Chastang Chasteaux Chauffour-sur-Vell Chaumeil Chavanac Chaveroche Chenailler-Mascheix Chirac-Bellevue Clergoux Collonges-la-Rouge Combressol Concèze Condat-sur-Ganaveix Confolent-Port-Dieu Cornil Corrèze Cosnac Couffy-sur-Sarsonne Courteix Cublac Curemonte Dampniat Darazac Darnets Davignac Donzenac Égletons L'Église-aux-Bois Espagnac Espartignac Estivals Estivaux Eyburie Eygurande Eyrein Favars Feyt Forgès Gimel-les-Cascades Goulles Gourdon-Murat Grandsaigne Gros-Chastang Gumond Hautefage Le Jardin Jugeals-Nazareth Juillac Lacelle Ladignac-sur-Rondelles Lafage-sur-Sombre Lagarde-Enval Lagleygeolle Lagraulière Laguenne Lamazière-Basse Lamazière-Haute Lamongerie Lanteuil Lapleau Larche Laroche-près-Feyt Lascaux Latronche Laval-sur-Luzège Lestards Liginiac Lignareix Ligneyrac Liourdres Lissac-sur-Couze Le Lonzac Lostanges Louignac Lubersac Madranges Malemort Mansac Marcillac-la-Croisille Marcillac-la-Croze Marc-la-Tour Margerides Masseret Maussac Meilhards Ménoire Mercœur Merlines Mestes Meymac Meyrignac-l'Église Meyssac Millevaches Monceaux-sur-Dordogne Monestier-Merlines Monestier-Port-Dieu Montaignac-Saint-Hippolyte Montgibaud Moustier-Ventadour Naves Nespouls Neuvic Neuville Noailhac Noailles Nonards Objat Orgnac-sur-Vézère Orliac-de-Bar Palazinges Palisse Pandrignes Péret-Bel-Air Pérols-sur-Vézère Perpezac-le-Blanc Perpezac-le-Noir Le Pescher Peyrelevade Peyrissac Pierrefitte Pradines Puy-d'Arnac Queyssac-les-Vignes Reygade Rilhac-Treignac Rilhac-Xaintrie La Roche-Canillac Roche-le-Peyroux Rosiers-d'Égletons Rosiers-de-Juillac Sadroc Saillac Saint-Angel Saint-Augustin Saint-Aulaire Saint-Bazile-de-la-Roche Saint-Bazile-de-Meyssac Saint-Bonnet-Avalouze Saint-Bonnet-Elvert Saint-Bonnet-la-Rivière Saint-Bonnet-l'Enfantier Saint-Bonnet-les-Tours-de-Merle Saint-Bonnet-près-Bort Saint-Cernin-de-Larche Saint-Chamant Saint-Cirgues-la-Loutre Saint-Clément Saint-Cyprien Saint-Cyr-la-Roche Sainte-Féréole Sainte-Fortunade Saint-Éloy-les-Tuileries Sainte-Marie-Lapanouze Saint-Étienne-aux-Clos Saint-Étienne-la-Geneste Saint-Exupéry-les-Roches Saint-Fréjoux Saint-Geniez-ô-Merle Saint-Germain-Lavolps Saint-Germain-les-Vergnes Saint-Hilaire-Foissac Saint-Hilaire-les-Courbes Saint-Hilaire-Luc Saint-Hilaire-Peyroux Saint-Hilaire-Taurieux Saint-Jal Saint-Julien-aux-Bois Saint-Julien-le-Pèlerin Saint-Julien-le-Vendômois Saint-Julien-Maumont Saint-Julien-près-Bort Saint-Martial-de-Gimel Saint-Martial-Entraygues Saint-Martin-la-Méanne Saint-Martin-Sepert Saint-Merd-de-Lapleau Saint-Merd-les-Oussines Saint-Mexant Saint-Pantaléon-de-Lapleau Saint-Pantaléon-de-Larche Saint-Pardoux-Corbier Saint-Pardoux-la-Croisille Saint-Pardoux-le-Neuf Saint-Pardoux-le-Vieux Saint-Pardoux-l'Ortigier Saint-Paul Saint-Priest-de-Gimel Saint-Privat Saint-Rémy Saint-Robert Saint-Salvadour Saint-Setiers Saint-Solve Saint-Sornin-Lavolps Saint-Sulpice-les-Bois Saint-Sylvain Saint-Viance Saint-Victour Saint-Ybard Saint-Yrieix-le-Déjalat Salon-la-Tour Sarran Sarroux Segonzac Ségur-le-Château Seilhac Sérandon Sérilhac Servières-le-Château Sexcles Sioniac Sornac Soudaine-Lavinadière Soudeilles Soursac Tarnac Thalamy Toy-Viam Treignac Troche Tudeils Tulle Turenne Ussac Ussel Uzerche Valiergues Varetz Vars-sur-Roseix Végennes Veix Veyrières Viam Vigeois Vignols Vitrac-sur-Montane Voutezac Yssandon