Capdenac | |
|---|---|
 The town hall in Capdenac | |
.svg) Coat of arms | |
 Location of Capdenac | |
  Capdenac  Capdenac | |
| Coordinates:44°34′54″N2°04′12″E / 44.5817°N 2.07°E /44.5817; 2.07 | |
| Country | France |
| Region | Occitania |
| Department | Lot |
| Arrondissement | Figeac |
| Canton | Figeac-2 |
| Intercommunality | Grand-Figeac |
| Government | |
| • Mayor(2020–2026) | Guy Batherosse[1] |
Area 1 | 10.90 km2 (4.21 sq mi) |
| Population (2023)[2] | 1,049 |
| • Density | 96.24/km2 (249.3/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
| INSEE/Postal code | 46055 /46100 |
| Elevation | 155–369 m (509–1,211 ft) (avg. 298 m or 978 ft) |
| 1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. | |
Capdenac (French pronunciation:[kapdənak]) is acommune in theLotdepartment in south-westernFrance. It is a member ofLes Plus Beaux Villages de France (The Most Beautiful Villages of France) Association.
It has been inhabited since prehistoric times. At one time Capdenac was thought to be identifiable as the Gaulish settlement ofUxellodunum which was besieged byJulius Caesar,[3] but this theory has been discredited.[4]
The old village of Capdenac is situated on a hill on a ridge which forces a large meander in the riverLot. It is directly west, across the river from the main town ofCapdenac-Gare. To the south of Capdenac-Gare is the area of Massip, which is the location of a convent.
During the Second World War, encouraged by contact withArchbishop Saliège and Monseigneur de Courrège d'Ustou,[5] Sister Denise Bergon arranged for the convent of Notre Dame de Massip in Capdenac (where she wasMother Superior) to shelter some 83 Jewish children at risk due tothe Holocaust in France.[6][7] The children were hidden in the convent's boarding school. Apart from Sister Denise, only Sister Marguerite Roques (nurse and mathematics teacher), together with the school's chaplain and two other sisters knew the truth about the children's religious backgrounds.[6] Another source lists the following in the rescue network: Denise Bergon (Soeur Denise), Jeannette Bettelheim (called Don Quich Jeanne Sicard), Louis de Courrèges d'Ustou (Monseigneur de Courrèges),Georges Garel, Marguerite Roques, and Jules Saliège (Monseigneur Saliège).[8]
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Geographic | |
