Saint-Benoît-du-Sault

Saint-Benoît-du-Sault (French pronunciation: ​[sɛ̃ bənwa dy so]; Occitan: Sent Benet de Saul) is a commune in the Indre department in central France.

Saint-Benoît-du-Sault
Commune
The priory of Saint-Benoît
Coat of arms
Location of Saint-Benoît-du-Sault
Saint-Benoît-du-Sault
Saint-Benoît-du-Sault
Coordinates: 46°26′29″N 1°23′29″E
CountryFrance
RegionCentre-Val de Loire
DepartmentIndre
ArrondissementLe Blanc
CantonSaint-Gaultier
Government
 • Mayor (2020–2026) Christian Brec
Area
1
1.8 km2 (0.7 sq mi)
Population
 (2017-01-01)[1]
602
 • Density330/km2 (870/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code
36182 /36170
Elevation175–246 m (574–807 ft)
(avg. 223 m or 732 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

It is a medieval village, perched in a curve on a rocky butte overlooking the Portefeuille River in the former province of Berry. In 1988, it was named one of "the most beautiful villages of France."

History

Located in the area of Gaul settled by a powerful Celtic tribe, the Bituriges, "Kings of the World" (summa penes imperii bituriges), powerful until their defeat against Julius Caesar at Bourges (Avaricum), part of Roman Aquitania.

Two dolmens (Passebonneau and des Gorces) near to Saint-Benoît-du-Sault attest to the ancientness of human presence, if not of the Bituriges. Ten centuries later, in 974, some benedictine monks of Sacierges-Saint-Martin took refuge on a granite spur, where they founded a priory: Salis, future Saint-Benoît-du-Sault. From the 10th to the 17th century, the history of the priory and the new village is made up of resistance to the possessive desires of feudal neighbours, such as the Limoges and de Brosse family. The town was surrounded by a double line of ramparts. The first, the most ancient, protected the priory, the church and the fort, the second established in the 15th century, encircled the commercial part. Its maze of narrow cobbled streets remains popular with sightseers.

Population
Historical population
YearPop.±%
1793 1,200—    
1800 973−18.9%
1806 1,148+18.0%
1821 1,121−2.4%
1831 1,243+10.9%
1836 1,265+1.8%
1841 1,258−0.6%
1846 1,208−4.0%
1851 1,220+1.0%
1856 1,173−3.9%
1861 1,072−8.6%
1866 1,099+2.5%
1872 1,112+1.2%
1876 1,078−3.1%
1881 1,141+5.8%
1886 1,112−2.5%
1891 1,096−1.4%
1896 1,008−8.0%
YearPop.±%
1901 948−6.0%
1906 1,031+8.8%
1911 939−8.9%
1921 934−0.5%
1926 872−6.6%
1931 826−5.3%
1936 759−8.1%
1946 801+5.5%
1954 702−12.4%
1962 699−0.4%
1968 822+17.6%
1975 864+5.1%
1982 836−3.2%
1990 856+2.4%
1999 766−10.5%
2006 714−6.8%
2009 677−5.2%

Sights

Of architectural significance:

  • 14th-century portal
  • Medieval town

Personalities

People associated with Saint-Benoît-du-Sault:

See also

Citations
  1. "Populations légales 2017". INSEE. Retrieved 6 January 2020.

General bibliography
  • Les origines de la vicomté de Brosse et de la prévôté de Saint Benoît du Sault, by Roland Aubert. Imprimerie Sodimass S.A Le Pont-Chrétien-Chabenet (Indre) 2005, ISBN 2-9525069-0-6
  • Recherches archéologiques dans la région de Saint-Benoît du-Sault, by E. de Beaufort.
  • Sur les Miracles de Saint-Benoît du Sault, by Adrevald, Adelaire, Aimoin and André (Monks of the Fleury abbay) 878-1050.
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