Uzerche

Uzerche
Location of Uzerche
Country	France
Region	Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Department	Corrèze
Arrondissement	Tulle
Canton	Uzerche
Intercommunality	Pays d'Uzerche
Government
• Mayor (2008–2014)	Sophie Dessus
Area 1	23.85 km2 (9.21 sq mi)
Population  (2008)	3,187
• Density	130/km2 (350/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	19276 /19140
Elevation	270–441 m (886–1,447 ft) (avg. 333 m or 1,093 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Abbey church of St Peter and St Andrew at Uzerche, consecrated 1097.

Uzerche (Usercha in Occitan) is a commune in the Corrèze department in the Limousin region of central France.

In 1787, the English writer Arthur Young described the city as "The Pearl of the Limousin," nicknamed because of its picturesque setting, and a name by which it is still widely known today. Built atop a rocky outcrop, surrounded by a meander of the river Vézère which it dominates, Uzerche possesses a rich cultural heritage. First as a centre of influence and an important crossroads fortress under Pepin the Short, the city was also the seat of a powerful abbey and later a Seneschal. This legacy means that Uzerche features castles, hotels and other buildings marked by turrets [1] that were built by the uzerchoise nobility and that can still be seen today, thereby, adding weight to the saying, "He who has an Uzerche house has a castle in the Limousin [2].

Location

Uzerche is a hill town, built on a deeply-incised meander of the Vézère River. As such, it is a natural citadel. Uzerche is located a few kilometres beyond the western edge of the Plateau de Millevaches. Situated directly on one of France's main north-south routes historically, it is now by-passed to the west by the A20 autoroute.

History

Uzerche's history as a fortified town began in the late Roman period. According to legend, Uzerche was evangelised by Saint Martial, the first bishop of Limoges. It remained an important citadel and ecclesiastical centre throughout the Merovingian and Carolingian periods.

A Benedictine abbey was founded in the 9th century. In the 11th century, a major Romanesque abbey church was constructed at the summit of the town. It was consecrated in 1097. With some Gothic additions, this constitutes the abbatiale Saint-Pierre or Abbey Church of St Peter, which commands all views of the town to this day.

As a major route junction and market town, Uzerche continued to grow throughout the medieval period. It became the seat of a royal seneschal and the recognised capital of the lower Limousin.

The mid-18th century saw the construction across the river of a notable bridge, the Pont Turgot, the main approach to the town today. In 1855, a major tunnel improved access along the main north-south route, later the RN20. The arrival of the railway in the late 19th century resulted in the construction of large viaducts and tunnels, some of which have since become redundant and form footpaths from which to view the town.

Another major product of the period is the town's old lycée or grammar school, which was built deliberately alongside the abbey church, in a commanding position above the river, symbolically challenging the old clerical order in the town.

The town today retains a large number of medieval and early modern buildings, all dominated by the ancient abbey, with the school and the mairie, arranged around a steeply sloping square, now named the Place de la Libération. It has seen a rapid growth in tourism in recent years.

Localisation

Uzerche is found in the central west area of France, nestling to the west of the Massif central mountain region. The village is sited next to the Autoroute 20 motorway heading for the «l'Occitane», and connects Uzerche to the Préfecture of Tulle with Uzerche being located some 35km to the north of Brive-la-Gaillarde, the prettiest town in the Department of the Corrèze Uzerche is fed by two rivers, the Bradascou and the Vézère  · , which have as their starting source the Tourbière du Longéroux in the plateau de Millevaches and end where it joins the Dordogne.

Population

Historical population of Uzerche

Year	1793	1800	1806	1821	1831	1836	1841	1846	1851	1856
Population	1900	1808	1942	2102	3214	3223	3217	3415	3428	3324

Year	1861	1866	1872	1876	1881	1886	1891	1896	1901	1906
Population	3180	3221	3022	2982	3019	3228	4351	3222	3126	3173

Year	1911	1921	1926	1931	1936	1946	1954	1962	1968	1975
Population	3175	2900	3030	3163	3201	3575	3536	3316	3314	3091

Year	1982	1990	1999	2008
Population	3097	2813	3058	3187

Agriculture

La vache de race limousine forme l'essentiel du cheptel uzerchois

Between 1988 and 2000, 20 farms disappeared, raising the total to around 43 during this period. Of these, some 33 owners out of the 43 had set up as bovine livestock farmers back in 1988 [note 1], this was down to 17 in 2000. The number of head of cattle, which was 2,641 in 1988 fell to no more than 1,710 by 2000 [1]. In 2000, most agriculture was largely dedicated to raising animals, with 80% bovine cattle and some 10% other animals. the fruit and vegetable field crops made up little more than 5% of the total agriculture area Template:Fr Site de l'AGRESTE</ref>.

Famous Personalities Linked to Uzerche

• Famous Uzerchois
• 
  Gaucelm Faidit
• 
  Jean Baptiste Léonard Durand
• Henri Brugère
  Henri Brugère
• 
  Henri Cueco

• Gaucelm Faidit (Around 1150- to 1205) - one of history's most prolifictroubadours, born in Uzerche.
• François de Grenaille (1616-1680) - writer born in Uzerche.
• Guillaume Grivel (1735-1810) - writer and lawyer born in Uzerche.
• Alexis Boyer (1737-1833) - Doctor and anatomist born in Uzerche.
• Jean Baptiste Léonard Durand (1742-1812) - Administrator and ex-Director of the Compagnie du Sénégal, born in Uzerche.
• Félicité de Genlis (1746-1830) - Woman of letters, she ran a woman's hostel in Uzerche from 1782. The action in her novel Olympe et Théophile takes place in the Chateau de Puy-Grolier where she lived .
• Henri Brugère (1841-1918) - General born in Uzerche.
• Louis Rollin (1879-1952) - Politician born in Uzerche.
• Simone de Beauvoir (1908-1986) - Philosopher, novelist, épistolière, mémorialiste and essayist. During her youth she spent her summer holidays not far from Uzerche at Saint-Ybard ,in Merignac a village started by her great-grandfather Ernest de Beauvoir about 1880. The land had been bought by her great-grandmother Narcisse Bertrand de Beauvoir at the start of the eighteenth century. It is possible to see the influence of this happy period of her life with the companionship of her sister Hélène in her book Mémoires d'une jeune fille rangée. On May 24 2008, the town celebrated the centenary of the writer's birth .
• Henri Cueco (1929) - painter, artist and writer born in Uzerche.
• Patrick Dumas (1953) - cartoonist, born in Uzerche.

See also

• Communes of the Corrèze department

References

• INSEE

Gallery

• 
  Vézère river flowing into Uzerche from the south.
• 
  View across Vézère river from city wall, with viaduct clearly visible.
• 
  The double-sided altar in the abbey church, 18th century.
• 
  Crypt of the abbey church.
• 
  Pentagonal apse, in characteristic Limousin style, abbey church.
• 
  Decorative panel in Uzerche abbey church, depicting bishop (possible Saint Martial) and apostles. 17th century.
• 
  The old lycée or grammar school building, a landmark in secularization when it was built.

External links

• Official web site