Collonges-la-Rouge

Collonges-la-Rouge

The main square in Collonges-la-Rouge

Coat of arms
Collonges-la-Rouge

Coordinates: 45°03′40″N 1°39′18″E / 45.061°N 1.655°E / 45.061; 1.655Coordinates: 45°03′40″N 1°39′18″E / 45.061°N 1.655°E / 45.061; 1.655
Country France
Region Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Department Corrèze
Arrondissement Brive-la-Gaillarde
Canton Meyssac
Intercommunality Villages du Midi Corrézien
Government
 • Mayor (2008–2014) Henri Bassaler
Area1 14.31 km2 (5.53 sq mi)
Population (2008)2 460
 • Density 32/km2 (83/sq mi)
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
 • Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
INSEE/Postal code 19057 / 19500
Elevation 144–493 m (472–1,617 ft)
(avg. 230 m or 750 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.

Collonges-la-Rouge is a commune in the Corrèze department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of France.

History

The monks of Charroux Abbey founded a priory in the 8th century which attracted a population of peasants, craftsmen and tradesmen who lived and prospered around its fortified walls. The welcoming of pilgrims for Compostelle through Rocamadour was a lasting source of profit. In 1308, the viscount of Turenne granted the village a right to high, medium and low jurisdiction, permitting it to govern the birth of lineages of prosecutors, lawyers and notaries. The enclosure soon became too small to contain the entire population, and faubourgs were created. Following the French wars of religion, the reconstruction of the nobility's fortune coincided with the viscount's rise in power.

After selling the viscounty in 1738, and after the French Revolution which caused the destruction of the priory buildings, the village regained a short-lasting prosperity at the beginning of the 19th century. Later on, its population slowly decreased and the village was transformed into a stone quarry.

At the beginning of the 20th century, some villagers created the association Les Amis de Collonges (The Friends of Collonges) and eventually obtained the classification of the entire village as a historical monument in 1942.

Population

Historical population
YearPop.±%
1962401—    
1968375−6.5%
1975360−4.0%
1982379+5.3%
1990381+0.5%
1999413+8.4%
2008460+11.4%

Its inhabitants are called Collongeois.

Sights

Collonges-la-Rouge is entirely built with red sandstone. Its existence is proven since the 8th century thanks to the donation of the count of Limoges of the parish to the monastery of Charroux.

The village is a member of the Les Plus Beaux Villages de France (The Most Beautiful Villages of France) association, and is actually where this association was created. Its one of the most visited sites in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine.

Civil architecture

The marketplaces date back to the 16th and 17th centuries, and the covered passage is listed as a historical monument.

Houses

Official buildings

Castles, hotels and noble houses

Military architecture

The fortified wall dates back to the 14th century. The doors of the ancient priory and of the church are both listed as historical monuments.

Religious art

The Saint-Pierre church, dating from the 11th, 12th and 15th centuries, with its romance curved steeple (one of the oldest of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region), was fortified during the 16th-century French wars of religion. Its remarkable gates are decorated with a 12th-century tympanum carved in white stone (contrasting with the red stone of the rest of the village), representing the ascension of Christ dominating his mother and the 11 apostles. It was hidden during the wars of religion and only replaced in 1923.

The main altar, painted in blue and gold, is composed of a 19th-century altar, a partly 17th-century tier, an 18th-century tabernacle, and an altarpiece reconstructed in the 19th century with elements two centuries older. It was listed as a national treasure and restored in 1984-1985.

The altar (wooden and painted in gold) of the southern chapel represents the Passion and dates back to the end of the 17th century. It is also listed as a historical monument.

The wooden fence of the chapel, with a central turnstile, dating back around the turn of the 18th century, is decorated with coquilles, volutes and sculpted acanthus leaves. It is listed.

The 16th-century wooden statue of Christ, was discovered in 1971. It is a historical monument, with two other statues of the Virgin Mary, from the 17th or 18th centuries. A wooden Christ on the cross dates back to the 17th century, and is listed. The whole church has been a historical monument since 4 April 1905.

See also

References

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