Crozant (; oc, Crosenc) is a
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
Creuse
Creuse (; oc, Cruesa or ) is a department in central France named after the river Creuse. After Lozère, it is the second least populated department in France. It is bordered by Indre and Cher to the north, Allier and Puy-de-Dôme to the ea ...
department in the
Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Nouvelle-Aquitaine (; oc, Nòva Aquitània or ; eu, Akitania Berria; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Novéle-Aguiéne'') is the largest administrative region in France, spanning the west and southwest of the mainland. The region was created by ...
region
In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics ( physical geography), human impact characteristics ( human geography), and the interaction of humanity an ...
in
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
.
Geography
A tourism and farming village situated some northeast of Guéret, on the D72 and by the banks of the river
Creuse
Creuse (; oc, Cruesa or ) is a department in central France named after the river Creuse. After Lozère, it is the second least populated department in France. It is bordered by Indre and Cher to the north, Allier and Puy-de-Dôme to the ea ...
, the boundary with the department of
Indre.
This administrative boundary is very old. It approximates to the linguistic boundary between the
langue d'oïl
Langue is a municipality in the Valle Department, Honduras.
The town is located near the border of El Salvador and is a regional Hammock making center. Most of the town is made up of sharecroppers and day laborers. There are usually Mormon miss ...
and
langue d'oc
Occitan (; oc, occitan, link=no ), also known as ''lenga d'òc'' (; french: langue d'oc) by its native speakers, and sometimes also referred to as ''Provençal'', is a Romance language spoken in Southern France, Monaco, Italy's Occitan Valley ...
.
It also has a geological significance: to the south, the granite foothills 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 10,0 ...
, while in the plains to the north begins the limestone of the Paris basin.
When the
Eguzon dam on the Creuse was built in 1926, the landscape, society and the local economy changed under the water’s influence in just a few years. One has only to see old postcards and the works of
Armand Guillaumin, who painted about 140 landscapes, to notice the difference. The moors were maintained by the extensive grazing of sheep and goats, which slowly declined between the two wars and died out completely after 1950. The trend nowadays is the restoration of surrounding ruins, and the forestation of those former natural open spaces.
Population
History
The name of Crozant is probably derived from
Celtic then the
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
"Croso" (which also gives us "Creuse"). Successively known as ''Crozenc'' in 1208, Crozent in 1277, Crousant (1512) and the modern form "Crozant".
The rocky outcrop between the
Creuse
Creuse (; oc, Cruesa or ) is a department in central France named after the river Creuse. After Lozère, it is the second least populated department in France. It is bordered by Indre and Cher to the north, Allier and Puy-de-Dôme to the ea ...
and its tributary, the Sédelle has been occupied since prehistoric times. A fortress appears to have been built between 997 and 1018. But it was in the 13th century that the castle we know today was built. One of the remaining towers bears the name of
Isabella of Angoulême
Isabella (french: Isabelle, ; c. 1186/ 1188 – 4 June 1246) was Queen of England from 1200 to 1216 as the second wife of King John, Countess of Angoulême in her own right from 1202 until her death in 1246, and Countess of La Marche from 122 ...
, widow of
King John I of England
John (24 December 1166 – 19 October 1216) was King of England from 1199 until his death in 1216. He lost the Duchy of Normandy and most of his other French lands to King Philip II of France, resulting in the collapse of the Angevin Empi ...
, subsequently the wife of Hugues X de Lusignan.
In his book on the history of the region (
La Marche), Joullietton reported that the castle at Crozant was taken by Catholics in 1588, which ruined one of the towers. From 1606, the castle served as a source of building material for the local people. Notes prepared in 1640, by the king’s inspector at
Moulins, Voyer d'Argenson, noted that the castle was in a sad state. The remains of the stronghold, which had belonged to the Crown since the confiscation of all the property of
Charles III, Duke of Bourbon
Charles III, Duke of Bourbon (17 February 1490 – 6 May 1527) was a French military leader, the count of Montpensier, Clermont and Auvergne, and dauphin of Auvergne from 1501 to 1523, then duke of Bourbon and Auvergne, count of Clermo ...
,
Constable of France
The Constable of France (french: Connétable de France, from Latin for 'count of the stables') was lieutenant to the King of France, the first of the original five Great Officers of the Crown (along with seneschal, chamberlain, butler, and ...
in 1527, was then acquired by Gabriel Beaupré, governor of
La Marche.
The ruins of the citadel cover a large part of the spur, with several successive ramparts, a square 15th-century
donjon
A keep (from the Middle English ''kype'') is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word ''keep'', but usually consider it to refer to large towers in ...
and two 13th-century towers plus a chapel and a "tour de l’eau’’ from where water could be raised from the river whilst covered and safe from attack.
At the end of lengthy negotiations led by the mayor of Crozant, the ruins were acquired a few years ago by the commune. A major reconstruction programme was undertaken, with funding from the state, regional and local councils, resulting in the reopening of the site to the public (€2 adults - €1.50 concessions (2008)).
From the nineteenth century, the area around Crozant inspired many painters. Perhaps the first was Paul Castans (1823–1892), who inspired
Armand Guillaumin (1841–1927), to choose Crozant as his residence of choice. They give birth to the
Crozant School (in French, L'Ecole de Crozant), for all those who found inspiration by the shores of the Creuse. Among them were:
Pierre Ernest Ballue (1855-1928),
Ernst Josephson (1851–1906),
Alfred Smith (1854 - 1932),
Fernand Maillaud (1862–1948),
Paul Madeline (1863-1920), (1880–1924), the Leloir dynasty (particularly
Maurice Leloir (1853–1940)), the Swede, Walter Oetten (1897–1972), (1900–1953),
Ernest Victor Hareux and so on. Not far from the church there is a bronze bust of Guillaumin.
In 1926, the demand for electricity generation led to the creation of the
Eguzon dam. This created a new tourist attraction known as Lake Chambon after the hamlet bordering
Éguzon. The painters’ landscapes now included the lake, which also has boats for hire and dinner cruises around it.
File:Lille PdBA castan soiree octobre.JPG, ''Soirée d'octobre'', by (1864).
File:MuMA - Guillaumin - Paysage de neige à Crozant.JPG, ''Paysage de neige à Crozant'' (''Snow at Crozant''), by Armand Guillaumin (1895).
File:Smith Alfred - Crozant La Sédelle en octobre (c 1923).jpg, ''La Sédelle en octobre'', by Alfred Smith (c. 1923.]
During the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...
, the bridge separating the Creuse from
Indre at Crozant was dynamited. A temporary
pontoon bridge
A pontoon bridge (or ponton bridge), also known as a floating bridge, uses floats or shallow-draft boats to support a continuous deck for pedestrian and vehicle travel. The buoyancy of the supports limits the maximum load that they can carry.
...
was installed pending the construction of the new bridge. Today, when the water level is low enough, one can still see a stone stack of the old bridge lying on its side.
Sights
* The church of St. Etienne, dating from the twelfth century.
* The ruins of the 11th-century castle of Crozant, currently undergoing considerable restoration.
* The remains of the 15th-century château des Places.
* The chapel of St. Madeleine dating from the seventeenth century.
* The gardens and
Arboretum de la Sédelle.
Personalities
*
Gilles Clément
Gilles Clément (born at Argenton-sur-Creuse, Indre, France in 1943), is a French gardener, garden designer, botanist, entomologist and writer. He is the author of several concepts in the framework of landscaping of the end of the twentieth cent ...
, gardener and botanist.
*
Armand Guillaumin, painter.
See also
*
Communes of the Creuse department
References
External links
*
Château de Crozant website
{{authority control
Communes of Creuse