Ayssènes

The hamlet of Le Pouget

Coat of arms

Ayssènes

Location within Occitanie region

Ayssènes

Coordinates: 44°04′13″N 2°46′49″E / 44.0703°N 2.7803°ECoordinates: 44°04′13″N 2°46′49″E / 44.0703°N 2.7803°E

Country

Saint-Rome-de-Tarn

Government

• Mayor (1995–2020)

Marie-Chantal Calmes-Bou

Area¹

23.14 km² (8.93 sq mi)

Population (2010)²

214

• Density

9.2/km² (24/sq mi)

Time zone

CET (UTC+1)

• Summer (DST)

CEST (UTC+2)

INSEE/Postal code

12017 / 12430

Elevation

262–983 m (860–3,225 ft)
(avg. 356 m or 1,168 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.

Ayssènes is a French commune in the Aveyron department in the Occitanie region of southern France.

The inhabitants of the commune are known as Ayssenols or Ayssenoles.^[1]

Geography

The river below Le Pouget

Ayssènes is located some 25 km west of Millau and 7 km south-east of Alrance. Access to the commune is by the D510 road from Villefranche-de-Panat in the west which passes through the commune by a circuitous route to the village then continues south across the river to join the D200 on the opposite bank. Apart from the village there are the hamlets of:

Ardennes
Le Bastizou
Cabière
Calmels
Le Caussanal
La Caze
La Clerguie
Coupiaguet
Le Crouzet
Les Esclots
Lescure
Melet
Le Pouget
Rentières
Saint-Rémy
Vabrette
Valergues
Verdalle
Vernet

The commune is mainly forest with large areas of farmland.^[2]

The southern border of the commune is formed by the Tarn river which is dammed just south-west of the commune to form a long lake along the southern border. From the dam the Tarn continues south-west to eventually join the Garonne just west of Moissac. The Ruisseau de Vernobre rises in the north of the commune and flows south, gathering many tributaries, to join the Tarn. The Ruisseau de Coudols flows from the north-east, gathering some tributaries in the commune, and joins the Tarn at the same point as the Ruisseau de Vernobre.^[2]

Neighbouring communes and villages^[2]

Alrance

Salles-Curan

Montjaux

Villefranche-de-Panat

Viala-du-Tarn

Ayssènes

Le Truel

Les Costes-Gozon

Saint-Victor-et-Melvieu

History

Middle Ages

The village was built on a ridge overlooking the Tarn and was a direct link between the Lévézou Plateau and Raspes du Tarn. There was once a fortress on the peak of Roc Saint-Jean. It belonged to the Count of Rodez who maintained a garrison in order to maintain his influence over the southern Rouergue. Prestigious guests stayed at this location including the King of France, Charles VII, on 13 May 1437 while returning from Languedoc where he had been to restore order.

Modern Era

The castle was the subject of much covetousness during the wars of religion. In October 1586 the army of the Duke of Joyeuse, Anne de Joyeuse - brother of King Henry III, tried to besiege it. The Captain of the garrison made a ploy and the duke's army retreated towards the plateau of Saint-Victor which was where the garrison captain attacked the camp at night - taking fifty horses and capturing several soldiers. The fortress became dangerous for the kingdom and was destroyed in 1629 by order of Cardinal Richelieu. Today nothing remains but the location has one of the most beautiful views in the region.

Contemporary era

The commune consisted of four parishes in the second half of the 19th century with a population of around 1500. Today there are no more than 213 year-round residents.

Heraldry

	Blazon: Party per pale, first Gules, a lion Or tongued and armed in Sable; second Azure, a tower Argent embattled of 4 pieces, ensigned with a Latin crosslet the same, port open, masoned in Sable, debruised by two swords Argent hilt and pommel Gules saltirewise; in base three fesses Argent wavy.

Administration

The bridge over the Tarn

List of Successive Mayors^[3]

From	To	Name
1875	1888	Galtier Calmeyrac
1888	1889	Basile Bonnefous
1889	1892	Félix Galtier
1892	1904	Paulin Brengues
1904	1910	Justin Fabre
1910	1912	Camille Bou
1912	1914	Edouard Cambefort
1914	1919	Benoît Costes
1919	1953	Edouard Cambefort
1953	1995	René Arles
1995	2020	Marie-Chantal Calmes-Bou

(Not all data is known)

Demography

In 2010 the commune had 214 inhabitants. The evolution of the number of inhabitants is known from the population censuses conducted in the commune since 1793. From the 21st century, a census of communes with fewer than 10,000 inhabitants is held every five years, unlike larger communes that have a sample survey every year.^{[Note 1]}

Population Change (See database)

1793	1800	1806	1821	1831	1836	1841	1846	1851
591	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

1856	1861	1866	1872	1876	1881	1886	1891	1896
-	-	-	-	1,219	1,149	1,130	1,125	1,038

1901	1906	1911	1921	1926	1931	1936	1946	1954
1,014	956	963	828	770	739	740	663	568

1962	1968	1975	1982	1990	1999	2006	2010	-
466	431	343	309	248	226	-	214	-

Sources : Ldh/EHESS/Cassini until 1962, INSEE database from 1968 (population without double counting and municipal population from 2006)

Saint Victor-et-Melvieu and Costecalde

Sites and monuments

The oak and sweet chestnut woodland near Costecalde (Le Truel)

The Old Ayssènes Cemetery (graves from the early 19th century).
The Roc Saint-Jean (The castle disappeared after Richelieu ordered its destruction)
The Roc du Cavalier
The Church of the Nativity of Mary (Ayssènes) (19th century)
The Church of Saint-Amans (at Coupiaguet) (19th century)
The Church of Saint Rémy (at Saint-Rémy) (19th century)
The Church of Saint-Blaise or of the Purification of Notre-Dame (at Vabrette) (19th century). The church contains two items that are registered as historical objects:
- A Chasuble (18th century)^[4]
- A Chasuble (18th century)^[5]
The House of Chestnuts

Church of St-Rémy.
Church of Saint-Amans.
Church of Saint-Blaise.
Church of the Nativity of Mary.

Notable people linked to the commune

Antoine Salvanh (1479-1555). Architect specialising in religious buildings, builder of the bell tower on Rodez Cathedral between 1513 and 1526.
Guillaume Molinier-Lamothe (1736-1794). Refractory priest jailed in 1793 in Rodez then deported to the Fort du Hâ at Bordeaux the following year where he died.
Georges Connes (1890-1974). Senior lecturer at the University of Dijon, Doctor of Literature, Dean of the University of Dijon in 1946 and 1947, resistance fighter in 1943, Mayor of Dijon after the liberation of the city in September 1944.
Pierre-Damien Hèbles (1864-1954). Priest for Ayssènes from 1903 to 1944, member of the literary society of Aveyron, historian for the Raspes du Tarn region. He wrote three manuscripts on local history after 40 years of research in the departmental archives and deeds.
Gaston Boulouis (1908-1991) Priest, Professor of Literature at the Seminary Minor of Saint Pierre and at the Sainte Marie de Rodez Institution. Canon, historian and occitan scholar at the end of his life. He published several historical books on the region as well as an autobiography and a collection of Occitan proverbs.
Alain Marc (born in 1957). Politician, Municipal councillor for Ayssènes from 2001 to 2004, he has been MP for Aveyron since 2007.

Notes and references

Notes

↑ At the beginning of the 21st century, the methods of identification have been modified by Law No. 2002-276 of 27 February 2002, the so-called "law of local democracy" and in particular Title V "census operations" allows, after a transitional period running from 2004 to 2008, the annual publication of the legal population of the different French administrative districts. For communes with a population greater than 10,000 inhabitants, a sample survey is conducted annually, the entire territory of these communes is taken into account at the end of the period of five years. The first "legal population" after 1999 under this new law came into force on 1 January 2009 and was based on the census of 2006.

References

↑ Inhabitants of Aveyron (French)
1 2 3 Google Maps
↑ List of Mayors of France (French)
↑ Ministry of Culture, Palissy PM12000911 Chasuble (French)
↑ Ministry of Culture, Palissy PM12000910 Chasuble (French)

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ayssènes.

Communes of the Aveyron department

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Ayssènes