Villars-les-Dombes

French commune
nomcommune=Villars-les-Dombes
région=Rhône-Alpes
département=Ain
arrondissement= Bourg-en-Bresse
canton=Villars-les-Dombes
insee=01443
cp=01330
maire=Gabriel Humbert
mandat=2008-2014
intercomm=Centre Dombes
longitude=5.029919
latitude=45.998889
alt moy=279 m
alt mini=263
alt maxi=295 m
hectares=2463
km²=24.63
sans=4250
date-sans=1999
dens=172.6
date-dens=1999

Villars-les-Dombes is a commune in the department of Ain in eastern France. Its people are known as "Villardois".

Geography

The town is in the part of Ain which is half-way between Lyon (33 km) and Bourg-en-Bresse (29 km), in the heart of the area known as the Dombes, notable for its hundreds of lakes which are suited to fish -rearing as well as to water fowls. Its ornithological park around a couple of the lakes is closed at the moment owing to the incidence of avian influenza at Joyeux, seven kilometres from Villars.

History

The lordship of Villars (of which archival evidence dates from 940) became, by marriage, the lordship of "Thoire-et-Vilars" in 1188, and in about 1400 its caput was Trévoux (the estate was managed from there). In 1565, Villars was promoted to a marquisate dependent on the house of "Savoie" (Savoy), a benefice of the Honour of Savoy.

In 1705, the maréchal de Villars obtained the collection of several lands, a small French enclave in the (German-influenced) province of Franche-Comté, as the duchy of Villars. His line died out in 1788, on the death of his son, Honoré-Armand, 2nd Duke de Villars.

ee also

* Dombes
*Communes of the Ain department

References

"Based on the article in the French Wikipedia."

External links

* [http://www.villars-les-dombes.fr Villars-les-Dombes official website] in French
* [http://ladombes.free.fr/Villes_Dombes/Villars-les-Dombes.htm La Dombes and Villars-les-Dombes] in French
* [http://www.dombes.fr/villages/villars-les-dombes.php Photos of Villars-les-Dombes] in French
* [http://ladombes.free.fr/Villes_Dombes/Trevoux.htm La Dombes and Trévoux] in French