Collonges-la-Rouge

Collonges-la-Rouge
Collonges-la-Rouge
Administration
Country	France
Region	Limousin
Department	Corrèze
Arrondissement	Brive-la-Gaillarde
Canton	Meyssac
Intercommunality	Villages du Midi Corrézien
Mayor	Henri Bassaler (2008–2014)
Statistics
Elevation	144–493 m (472–1,617 ft) (avg. 230 m/750 ft)
Land area1	14.31 km2 (5.53 sq mi)
Population2	460  (2008)
- Density	32 /km2 (83 /sq mi)
INSEE/Postal code	19057/ 19500
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.

Coordinates: 45°03′40″N 1°39′18″E / 45.061°N 1.655°E / 45.061; 1.655

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

History

The monks of Charroux Abbey founded a priory in the eighth 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 viscounty'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 nineteenth century. Later on, its population slowly decreased and the village was transformed into a stone quarry.

In the beginning of the twentieth 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 of Collonges-la-Rouge

1962	1968	1975	1982	1990	1999	2008
401	375	360	379	381	413	460

Its inhabitants are called Collongeois.

Sights

Collonges-la-Rouge is entirely built with red sandstone, its existence is proven since the eighth 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 association ("The most beautiful villages of France"), and is actually where this association was created. Its one of the most visited sites in the Limousin.

Civil architecture

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

Houses

• The Maison de la Sirène, possesses a vaulted porch and dates back to the 16th century. It belonged to Henry de Jouvenel, on of famous french writer Colette's husbands. It is listed as a historical monument. A 3 franc postage stamp representing the Maison de la Sirène was issued on July 3, 1982 ;
• the priory, build in the 16th century, is a historical monument since July 4rth 1951 for its facade with balcony and its roof ;
• the ancient sisters' house, built in the 16th century, is a historical monument since July 4rth 1951.

Rue de la Barrière (Barrière Street):

• The sixteenth-century Bonyt house is a historical monument for its facade, roof and spiral staircase ;
• the Boutang du Peyrat house, with parts of the 15th, 16th and 17th centuries, is a historical monument. The protected elements are a window with preserved Louis XIII woodwork, a 17th-century entrance door, a wooden chimney, its facade and roof ;
• the sixteenth-century Julliot house is a historical monument for its facade, roof and entrance stairs ;
• the Dey house is a historical monument ;
• a 16th- and eighteenth-century house on the Place de la Halle is a historical monument for its facade, loggia, and roof.

The Poignet house has a 17th-century window listed as a historical monument. The Salvant et Vallat house is also a historical monument.

Official buildings

• The ancient court of the Châtellerie (16th century) is a historical monument since December 13, 1978 ;
• the ancient town hall (with parts from the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries) has its facade, roof, and stone chimney listed as national monuments since January 4rth 1951.

Castles, hotels and noble houses

• The manoir de Vassinhac (14th and 16th centuries), with elements of fortifications, is a historical monument ;
• the château or hôtel du Friac or de Beaurival (hôtel de Beaurival), 15th century, is a historical monument since December 17, 1926 ;
• the château de Benge, with parts from the 16th and 18th centuries, was listed as a historical monument by the orders of September 23, 1953 and march 18th 1954 ;
• the castel Maussac, 15th and 16th centuries, is a historical monument since December 17, 1926 ;
• the château du Breuil ;
• the château du Martret, with parts from the 16th and 19th centuries, is a historical monument ;
• the manoir de Beauvirie, 16th century, is a historical monument ;
• the château de Beauregard, 15th century, is a historical monument since December 17, 1926.

Military architecture

The fortified wall dates back to the fourteenth 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 Limousin region), was fortified during the sixteenth 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 nineteenth-century altar, a partly seventeenth century tier, an eighteenth-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 centrury. 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, respectively 17th and/or 18 centuries.

A wooden Christ on the cross dates back to the 17th century, and is listed.

The whole church is a historical monument since April 4, 1905.

• 

  Tympanum of the church's gate

• 

  Saint-Pierre church's steeple

• 

  Saint-Pierre church's gate

• 

  A street of Collonges-la-Rouge
• 

  A street of Collonges-la-Rouge
• 

  Towers
• 

  Place de Collonges-la-Rouge
• 

  Church as seen under a porch
• 

  Castel de Vassinhac
• 

  Castel de Vassinhac
• 

  Castel de Vassinhac and church
• 

  The back of the church
• 

  Maison de la Sirène

See also

• Communes of the Corrèze department

References

• INSEE