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 ...
Sologne
Sologne (; ) is a natural region in Centre-Val de Loire, France, extending over portions of the departements of Loiret, Loir-et-Cher and Cher. Its area is about . To its north is the river Loire, to its south the river Cher, while the distr ...
and northeast of
Vierzon
Vierzon () is a commune in the Cher department, Centre-Val de Loire, France.
Geography
A medium-sized town by the banks of the river Cher with some light industry and an area of forestry and farming to the north. It is situated some northwe ...
. The
Rère
The Rère () is a long river in the Cher and Loir-et-Cher departments
Department may refer to:
* Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility
Government and military
*Department (administrative ...
flows southwest through the middle of the commune.
History
Its name comes from Nanciacos and first appeared in 1010 (Acts of the Abbot Engilbert). The territory belonged successively to the County of Sancerre and the area of La Chatre. Joan of Arc stayed there, leaving her name to the ''spring maiden.'' Its castle dates from the fifteenth century, and was rebuilt during the
Renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history
The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD ...
.
Population
Sights
*The
Nançay Radio Observatory
The Nançay Radio Observatory (in French: ''Station de Radioastronomie de Nançay''), opened in 1956, is part of Paris Observatory, and also associated with the University of Orléans. It is located in the Departments of France, department of Cher ...
, north of the town. The site was chosen in 1953 by the
École Normale Supérieure
École may refer to:
* an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée)
* École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France
* École, S ...
because of its size, its relative proximity to Paris and the lack of industrial base that can generate noise. Inaugurated by Charles de Gaulle in 1965. The by diameter decametric network (144 branches in 10 000 m²).
*Th Pôle des Étoiles offers tours of the Radioastronomy facility, planetarium shows and self-guided tours of its astronomy exhibits. It also includes educational facilities.
*Private
Château
A château (; plural: châteaux) is a manor house or residence of the lord of the manor, or a fine country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally, and still most frequently, in French-speaking regions.
Now ...
built on a foundations of the fifteenth-century castle, rebuilt in the Renaissance and then in 1848.
*Église Saint-Laurian, built in 1624, rebuilt in the nineteenth century after it was destroyed by fire.
*Capazza Gallery of contemporary art, an historical monument created in 1975 by Gerard and Sophie Capazza.
Gastronomy
*A
shortbread
Shortbread or shortie is a traditional Scottish biscuit usually made from one part white sugar, two parts butter, and three to four parts plain wheat flour. Unlike many other biscuits and baked goods, shortbread does not contain any leavening, ...
biscuit was created in 1953, after an error in following a recipe by Jacques and Albert Fleurier.
Personalities
* The 18th-century French historian and political writer Louis-Gabriel Du Buat-Nançay (1732–1787) died in Nançay
* Alain-Fournier lived in and described the village in his novel ''
Le Grand Meaulnes
''Le Grand Meaulnes'' () is the only novel by French author Alain-Fournier, who was killed in the first month of World War I. The novel, published in 1913, a year before the author's death, is somewhat autobiographical – especially the name of t ...