Balazuc Balasuc (Occitan) | |
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_vue_d%2527ensemble.jpg) TheArdèche River in Balazuc | |
.svg) Coat of arms | |
 Location of Balazuc | |
  Balazuc  Balazuc | |
| Coordinates:44°30′34″N4°22′23″E / 44.5094°N 4.373°E /44.5094; 4.373 | |
| Country | France |
| Region | Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes |
| Department | Ardèche |
| Arrondissement | Largentière |
| Canton | Vallon-Pont-d'Arc |
| Intercommunality | Gorges de l'Ardèche |
| Government | |
| • Mayor(2020–2026) | Bernard Constant[1] |
Area 1 | 18.9 km2 (7.3 sq mi) |
| Population (2022)[2] | 383 |
| • Density | 20.3/km2 (52.5/sq mi) |
| Demonym | Balazucains |
| Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
| INSEE/Postal code | 07023 /07120 |
| Elevation | 113–379 m (371–1,243 ft) (avg. 159 m or 522 ft) |
| Website | www.balazuc.fr |
| 1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. | |
Balazuc (French pronunciation:[balazyk];Occitan:Balasuc) is acommune in theArdèchedepartment in theAuvergne-Rhône-Alpesregion inSouthern France.
The village has been labelled a "Village of Character" by the Departmental Committee of Tourism. It is a member ofLes Plus Beaux Villages de France (The Most Beautiful Villages of France) Association.
Balazuc is located some 16 km south ofAubenas just east ofUzer.Aubenas Aerodrome is just north of the commune. Access to the commune is by the D579 road fromVogüé in the north which passes through the commune east of the village and continues toPradons in the south. The D294 branches off the D579 in the commune and goes west to the village. Apart from the village there are also the hamlets of Servière, Translatour, Le Retourtier, and Les Louanes in the commune. The commune is forested in the west and east with large areas of farmland in the centre.[3]
TheArdèche river flows through the commune and the village from north to south where it forms part of the southern border before continuing south to join theRhône atPont-Saint-Esprit. Numerous tributaries rise on both banks of the Ardèche and flow into the river including theRuisseau de Mariou, theRuisseau de Chadenas, theRuisseau de Chastagnon, theRuisseau de Tison, and theRuisseau des Costes.[3]
Places adjacent to Balazuc | |
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For millennia Balazuc has been the site of a ford on the Ardèche river which was aGallic stronghold. The nameBalazuc comes from the nameBaladunum ofbal meaning "rock" and "dunum" or "fortified height" inGallic.
Balazuc has the remains ofNeanderthal men who huntedibex there over 50,000 years ago at the beginning of the last ice age.[4] Farmers arrived in theNeolithic period around 3000 BC. to raise goats and sheep, cultivate the bottom of the depressions, and place their dead in mass graves in stone coffins.
In theLate Bronze Age, around 750 BC., the ford below the village was used. TheGauls, for whom there is no trace, gave it its name:Baladunum. TheGallo-Romans cultivated thePlain des Salles where the great Roman road passed between theRhône andNîmes. An early Christian sarcophagus has been found whose high reliefs include biblical scenes (a facsimile is displayed in the town hall). In theMiddle Ages the village had a church and a castle from the 11th to 13th centuries in an enclosure which dates them. The castle was originally built in the 12th century and greatly enlarged in the 13th century with a squarekeep. The ramparts, keep, noble houses, and fortified houses are well preserved.
The village underwent an evolution of houses across the centuries but retained its originality and the medieval character of the village with its narrow streets and its "callades".
Pons de Balazuc,[5] the son of Gérard de Balazuc, was one of the first known lords. He went on theFirst Crusade and was killed just before the capture ofJerusalem in 1099 at theSiege of Arqa (at the archaeological site of Tel Arqa) nearTripoli (now inLebanon).
| Blazon: Paly of six pieces Argent and Sable, in chief Gules charged with three mullets of Or. |
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| From | To | Name | Party | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1971 | 1977 | Pierre Berre | ||
| 1977 | 1995 | Aimé Mouraret | ||
| 1995 | 2001 | Guy Boyer | ||
| 2001 | 2012 | Josiane Delsart | ||
| 2012 | 2020 | Bernard Constant |
The inhabitants of the commune are known asBalazucains (masculine) orBalazucaines (feminine) in French.[7]
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| Source: EHESS[8] and INSEE[9] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
is registered as an historical monument.[10] is registered as an historical monument.[11] The windows of the Church are by the painter Jacques Yankel. The Church contains many items that are registered as historical objects:The Roche-Haute Association since 1982 has organised concerts and exhibitions of paintings in the Romanesque church including paintings by: Guillaume Beaugé, Jacques Dromart, and Erik Levesque.
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