Bellac

Bellac
Subprefecture and commune

Bridge over the Vincou

Coat of arms
Bellac

Coordinates: 46°07′23″N 1°03′01″E / 46.1231°N 1.0503°E / 46.1231; 1.0503Coordinates: 46°07′23″N 1°03′01″E / 46.1231°N 1.0503°E / 46.1231; 1.0503
Country France
Region Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Department Haute-Vienne
Arrondissement Bellac
Canton Bellac
Intercommunality Haut Limousin
Government
 • Mayor (2008–2014) Jean-Michel Doumeix
Area1 24.42 km2 (9.43 sq mi)
Population (2006)2 4,676
 • Density 190/km2 (500/sq mi)
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
 • Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
INSEE/Postal code 87011 /87300
Elevation 175–301 m (574–988 ft)
(avg. 245 m or 804 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.

Bellac (French pronunciation: ​[bɛlak]; Occitan: Belac pronounced [beˈlak]) is a commune in the Haute-Vienne department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in western France.

Inhabitants are known as Bellachons.

Bellac is where the French author Jean Giraudoux, writer of L'Apollon de Bellac, was born in 1882. His house has been turned into a museum.

Geography

Bellac lies 45 km (28 mi) northwest of Limoges at the confluence of the rivers Gartempe and Vincou, in the Department of Haute-Vienne. Poitiers is 70 km (43 mi) to the northwest, and Angoulême 100 km (62 mi) to the southwest. The hills known as the Monts de Blond lie immediately to the south.

Administration

Bellac is a sous-préfecture of Haute-Vienne, governing eight cantons and 63 communes.

Transport

Bellac is 30 km (19 mi) west of the A20 Limoges-Orléans motorway, and lies at a crossroads where the RN145 crosses the RN147. Both these roads had been designated part of the Route Centre-Europe Atlantique (RCEA) and were thus at risk of being upgraded to motorway. However, the latest thinking is that the RCEA will be re-routed from La Souterraine south down the A20 to Limoges and then via upgraded to the N520/N141 routes to Angoulême and the west.

Classifications

Bellac is classified as a cité de charactere, a village étape, a station verte de vacances, and a station touristique.

Notable people

See also

Anne Pierpoint Morgan helped France in two world wars. For her work in Bellac see Wikipedia and the Pierpoint Morgan Library site.

References

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