Puycelsi | |
|---|---|
 15th-century house in Puycelsi | |
.svg) Coat of arms | |
Location of Puycelsi  | |
  Puycelsi  Puycelsi | |
| Coordinates:43°59′38″N1°42′39″E / 43.9939°N 1.7108°E /43.9939; 1.7108 | |
| Country | France |
| Region | Occitania |
| Department | Tarn |
| Arrondissement | Albi |
| Canton | Vignobles et Bastides |
| Intercommunality | CA Gaillac-Graulhet |
| Government | |
| • Mayor(2022–2026) | Jacques Vigouroux[1] |
Area 1 | 39.2 km2 (15.1 sq mi) |
| Population (2022)[2] | 458 |
| • Density | 12/km2 (30/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
| INSEE/Postal code | 81217 /81140 |
| Elevation | 132–367 m (433–1,204 ft) (avg. 280 m or 920 ft) |
| 1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. | |
Puycelsi (French pronunciation:[pɥisɛlsi], before 2011:Puycelci;Occitan:Puègcèlsi)[3] is acommune in theTarndepartment in southernFrance.
It is a member of theLes Plus Beaux Villages de France ("The Most Beautiful Villages of France") association. It had 449 inhabitants in 2017.[4]
The name of "Puycelci", or "Puycelsi" comes from the Celtic "Celto Dun", awooden fortress built on a hill, oroppidum, later transformed into "Podium Celsium" by the Romans.
The village itself was founded in a location close to the ancient prehistoric site by Benedictine Monks from theAurillac Abbey in the 10th century. It stands high above the right bank of theVère, which flows northwestward through the commune.
The first castle was dismantled after theTreaty of Meaux-Paris, in 1229, but the village remained a stronghold. Though it was besieged several times in the 13th and 14th centuries, it was reportedly never taken by force.
Until theFirst World War, the village was quite prosperous, with a population of nearly 2,000 in 1830. Almost abandoned in the 1950s, it has since been restored by its inhabitants and is now listed among the “Most Beautiful Villages of France”.
Puycelsi is featured in the 2016 BBC/France Télévisions wildlife filmWild Tales from the Village.
| Year | Pop. | ±% p.a. |
|---|---|---|
| 1968 | 535 | — |
| 1975 | 480 | −1.54% |
| 1982 | 442 | −1.17% |
| 1990 | 453 | +0.31% |
| 1999 | 495 | +0.99% |
| 2007 | 491 | −0.10% |
| 2012 | 474 | −0.70% |
| 2017 | 449 | −1.08% |
| Source: INSEE[4] | ||
