Bellac
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Bellac |
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| Bridge over the Vincou | |
 Bellac
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| Administration | |
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| Country | France |
| Region | Limousin |
| Department | Haute-Vienne |
| Arrondissement | Bellac |
| Canton | Bellac |
| Intercommunality | Haut Limousin |
| Mayor | Jean-Michel Doumeix (2008–2014) |
| Statistics | |
| Elevation | 175–301 m (574–988 ft) (avg. 245 m or 804 ft) |
| Land area1 | 24.42 km2 (9.43 sq mi) |
| Population2 | 4,676 (2006) |
| - Density | 191 /km2 (490 /sq mi) |
| INSEE/Postal code | 87011/ 87300 |
| 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: 46°07′23″N 1°03′01″E / 46.1231°N 1.0503°E
Bellac (Occitan: Belac) is a commune in the Haute-Vienne department in the Limousin region in western France.
Inhabitants are known as Bellachons. This is where the French Jean Giraudoux, writer of L'Apollon de Bellac, was born in 1882. His house has been turned into a museum.
Michael Wright, who writes the Saturday Telegraph's "C'est la folie" column about rural life in the Limousin, lives in Bellac[1]
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[edit] Geographic Situation
Bellac lies 45km to the North West of Limoges at the confluence of the rivers Gartempe and the Vincou, in the Department of Haute-Vienne. Poitiers is 70km to the north west, and Angouleme 100km to the south-west. The hills known as the Monts de Blond lie immediately to the south.
[edit] Administration
Bellac is a sous-préfecture of Haute-Vienne, governing 8 cantons and 63 communes
[edit] Transport Links
Bellac is 30km west of the A20 Limoges-Orléans motorway, and lies at a crossroads where the RN145 crosses the RN147. Both these roads had been designated part of the RCEA (Route Centre Europe L'Atlantique) and were thus under risk of being upgraded to motorway.[2] However, the latest thinking is that the RCEA will be re-routed from La Souterraine south down the A20 to Limoges and then via upgrades to the N520 / N141 routes to Angouleme and the west.
[edit] Classifications
Bellac is classified as:
- A cité de charactere [3]
- A Village d'etape [4]
- A Station verte de vacances [5]
- A Station Touristique [6]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ C'est la folie [1]
- ^ RCEA fr:Route Centre-Europe Atlantique
- ^ cité de caractère fr:Villages et cités de caractère
- ^ Village d'étape fr:Village étape
- ^ Station verte fr:Station verte
- ^ Station Touristique fr:Station touristique
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