Chirac (; oc, Chairac) is a former

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

in the

Lozère Lozère (; oc, Losera ) is a landlocked department in the region of Occitanie in Southern France, located near the Massif Central, bounded to the northeast by Haute-Loire, to the east by Ardèche, to the south by Gard, to the west by Aveyron, ...

département In the administrative divisions of France, the department (french: département, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level ("territorial collectivity, territorial collectivities"), between the regions of France, admin ...

'' in southern

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the new commune of Bourgs-sur-Colagne.Arrêté préfectoral
15 December 2015 Its population was 1,144 in 2019.

Geography

Situated on the banks of the

Colagne The Colagne () is a long river in the Lozère ''département'', southeastern France. Its source is in Arzenc-de-Randon. It flows generally southwest. It is a right tributary of the Lot into which it flows between Saint-Bonnet-de-Chirac and Le Mon ...

river in the heart of the

Massif central The (; oc, Massís Central, ; literally ''"Central Massif"'') is a highland region in south-central France, consisting of mountains and plateaus. It covers about 15% of mainland France. Subject to volcanism that has subsided in the last 10,00 ...

. The D809 road passes through the village.

Population

Places and monuments

* The Fare

dolmen A dolmen () or portal tomb is a type of single-chamber megalithic tomb, usually consisting of two or more upright megaliths supporting a large flat horizontal capstone or "table". Most date from the early Neolithic (40003000 BCE) and were somet ...

* The twelfth century Romanesque church. * The chapel of Saint-Jean-Baptiste. * The family chapels of the Chazette and the Volmanières * The English cross: The English, who ravaged the country in the 14th century, were soundly beaten in a battle on the heights of the village. This place carries today the name of ''Cemetery of the English'' or ''Cross of the English''. A cross, on which there is an inscription "CH des M" and "1701 - 1922", marks the site of the battle. During the construction of the

A75 autoroute The A75 is an '' autoroute'' (motorway) in France. Known also as ''la Méridienne'', it is a developmental project with the aim of speeding up and reducing the cost of car travel from Paris southwards, and apart from the Millau Viaduct, it is e ...

, the cross was renovated and moved a few metres from its original position. * The bridge over the Colagne river.

Activities

As in the majority of the towns of

, the principal activity is farming, although service industry sectors have started to play a larger part in the region. * Farming is essentially

sheep Sheep or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are domesticated, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus ''Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to domesticated s ...

and

cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult mal ...

. The size of the upland meadows allows the farmers to have comparatively large flocks.

Notable people

* Colonel Marceau Crespin (1915–1988) * Nicolaï Greschny (1912–1985), artist

References

External links

Official town website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chirac, Lozere Former communes of Lozère