Souillac | |
|---|---|
 A general view of Souillac | |
.svg) Coat of arms | |
 Location of Souillac | |
  Souillac  Souillac | |
| Coordinates:44°54′02″N1°28′44″E / 44.9006°N 1.479°E /44.9006; 1.479 | |
| Country | France |
| Region | Occitania |
| Department | Lot |
| Arrondissement | Gourdon |
| Canton | Souillac |
| Intercommunality | Causses et Vallée de la Dordogne |
| Government | |
| • Mayor(2020–2026) | Gilles Liébus[1] |
Area 1 | 25.92 km2 (10.01 sq mi) |
| Population (2023)[2] | 3,192 |
| • Density | 123.1/km2 (319.0/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
| INSEE/Postal code | 46309 /46200 |
| Elevation | 80–314 m (262–1,030 ft) (avg. 221 m or 725 ft) |
| 1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. | |
Souillac (French pronunciation:[sujak];Languedocien:Solhac) is acommune in theLotdepartment in south-westernFrance, on the riverDordogne. It is the site of theBrive–Souillac Airport, which opened in 2010. The town hosts an annual jazz festival in July. The abbey church has famousRomanesque carvings.
Souillac grew up around an abbey dependent on the Benedictine monastery ofAurillac (Cantal).[3] Two donors help start the community, Count Geraud, Abbot of Aurillac and Viscount Frotard in 909.[3][4]: 3 When the Benedictines settled in the plain of Souillès, so named from a local word "souilh" meaningmuddy and marshy place where wild boars wallowed, they replaced a community supposedly founded there bySaint Eloi.[3] The monks drained and transformed the swamp into a rich estate. The stone abbey church Abbatiale Sainte Marie was built in the 1100s and was completed in 1145.[3]
During theHundred Years' War, the English troops besieged and occupied the town twice, once in 1351 and again in 1356.[3] The abbey was granted its independence in 1473.[3]
On 3 December 1508, as a result of a papal bull, the monastery was officially designated as an abbey.[5]: 5 TheFrench Wars of Religion brought further trouble to the town and abbey, both ransacked by Protestant forces between 1562 and 1573 and the parish church Saint-Martin was destroyed.[3][4]: 8 The monastery buildings were burnt, the church ransacked and an attempt made to blow up its walls.[4]: 8
Restoration of the Abbey church and the monastery buildings began in 1632 by the lord-abbot Henry de la Mothe Houdancourt and was completed by 1712.[4]: 8 By 1658, the abbey was now under the control of theCongregation of Saint Maur.[3] TheFrench Revolution brought the end to the abbey. TheConstituent Assembly announced the confiscation of all church assets by the state on 2 November 1789.[5]: 5 With a decree on 14 April 1790, it returned the Abbey to the civil authority to sell its assets with just the Eglise Sainte-Marie now remaining.[3][4]: 9 The monks were expelled on 25 November 1790 and the assets sold the same day for 11,000 livres.[4]: 9 [5]: 5
The abbey church was turned into a Temple of Reason in March 1794.[4]: 9 It reopened as a church in 1801 and received its first priest in 1803 as a parish church.[4]: 9 Repairs on the church continued until 1838 and it was proclaimed a national monument in 1841.[5]: 5 The state took over the repairs of the exterior between 1842 and 1848 including two aspses.[5]: 5
Souillac is in the upper Dordogne Valley where the river cuts through the limestone plateau ofHaut-Quercy, a historic name for the northern part of theDepartment of Lot. This is part of theMassif Central, an elevated region in south central France. To the north of Souillac lies the commune ofLachapelle-Auzac, to the eastMayrac andPinsac, to the southLanzac, to the south westPeyrillac-et-Millac andCazoulès, to the westOrliaguet and to the northwestSalignac-Eyvigues,Borrèze andGignac.[6]Souillac station has rail connections to Brive-la-Gaillarde, Cahors and Toulouse.
Souillac is a small market town and is the hub for the area. This is an agricultural region which is known for its walnuts, strawberries and quiet, rural way of life.[7]
| Year | Pop. | ±% p.a. |
|---|---|---|
| 1968 | 3,630 | — |
| 1975 | 3,845 | +0.83% |
| 1982 | 3,570 | −1.05% |
| 1990 | 3,459 | −0.39% |
| 1999 | 3,671 | +0.66% |
| 2007 | 3,911 | +0.79% |
| 2012 | 3,615 | −1.56% |
| 2017 | 3,284 | −1.90% |
| Source: INSEE[8] | ||
The town is on the main railway line fromParis toToulouse and is about 15 km (9 mi) south of theBrive–Souillac Airport which has international flights. The most notable building in the town is the abbey church of Sainte-Marie. The domed roofs are similar to but rather smaller than those of Périgueux Cathedral. Fragments of the original Romanesque sculptures are grouped just inside the west door. Behind the abbey church is the Musée de l'Automate which has a large collection of mechanical figures and dolls.[7]
An international jazz festival is held annually in the town in July.[14] The festival was started in 1976 by a group of volunteers enthused bySim Copans, a United States Army non-combatant in World War I who came to live in nearby Lanzac. The festival features live concerts and other jazz-related activities.[14]
.jpg)
_-_01.jpg)
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Geographic | |
| Other | |
