Meaulne-Vitray () 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

department Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

Allier Allier ( , , ; oc, Alèir) is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region that borders Cher to the west, Nièvre to the north, Saône-et-Loire and Loire to the east, Puy-de-Dôme to the south, and Creuse to the south-west. Named afte ...

, central

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 ...

. The municipality was established on 1 January 2017 by merger of the former communes of

Meaulne Meaulne () is a former commune in the Allier department in central France. On 1 January 2017, it was merged into the new commune Meaulne-Vitray.Vitray Vitray () is a former commune in the Allier department in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes in central France. On 1 January 2017, it was merged into the new commune Meaulne-Vitray Meaulne-Vitray () is a commune in the department of Allier, central Fra ...

History

In an effort to guarantee the maintenances of public services in the face of the reduction in state donanations, the , the communes of

— which did not have a church, cemetery, and no longer a school, in addition to relying on infrastructure from Meaulne — fused to become the

commune nouvelle The () is a level of administrative division in the French Republic. French are analogous to civil townships and incorporated municipalities in the United States and Canada, ' in Germany, ' in Italy, or ' in Spain. The United Kingdom's equiv ...

of Meaulne-Vitray.

Politics and administration

Administrative and electoral attachments

Meaulne-Vitray is situated in the Montluçon arrondissement in the

. Within the department, the commune is attached to the

Canton of Bourbon-l'Archambault The canton of Bourbon-l'Archambault is an administrative division in central France. At the French canton reorganisation which came into effect in March 2015, the canton was expanded from 8 to 29 communes (2 of which merged into the new commune Me ...

. For

legislative elections A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

to the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repre ...

, Meaulne-Vitray is part of Allier's 2nd legislative constituency.

Intercommunality

Since its inception the commune has been a part of the

communauté de communes du Pays de Tronçais The communauté de communes du Pays de Tronçais is a ''communauté de communes'', located in the Allier department of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of France. Communal territory Composition The ''communauté de communes'' is composed of ...

List of delegated communes

List of mayors

Population and society

Demographics

Local culture and heritage

Places and monuments

* , built in the 17^th century, the church has been inscribed as a ''

monument historique ''Monument historique'' () is a designation given to some national heritage sites in France. It may also refer to the state procedure in France by which National Heritage protection is extended to a building, a specific part of a building, a coll ...

'' since 1985. It is notable for containing the particular sculpted group: ''Vierge de Pitié'' from the 16^th century, and has itself been a ''

'' since 1975. * , built between the 12^th and 17^th centuries, the church consists of a bell tower entirely covered in shingles. It has been listed as a ''

'' since 2 June 1976. * , built in the 17^th century, the castle has been listed as a ''

'' since 1985. * , located two kilometres from the town centre. The main body of the building dates back to the 17^th century and was later supplemented with two pavilion-roofed wings. At one point the castle belonged to Général , the father of French philosopher and government minister during the

Vichy regime Vichy France (french: Régime de Vichy; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was the fascist French state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II. Officially independent, but with half of its terr ...

Jacques Chevalier Jacques Chevalier (13 March 1882 – 19 April 1962) was a French Catholic philosopher and a politician. Chevalier was born in Cérilly, Allier, educated at the École normale supérieure and the University of Oxford and taught at the Faculty of ...

. The residence, surrounded by a vast property had been abandoned prior to being restored and maintained by its current owners. * ''La GilPat'', old 8 acres farm which was built in 1905 and located at the foot of the ''Château des Alliers''. *

Forest of Tronçais The Forest of Tronçais (french: Forêt de Tronçais, ) is a national forest comprising in the Allier department of central France. It is managed by the National Forests Office (ONF). Its oaks, planted by Louis XIV's minister Jean-Baptiste Co ...