Seilhac (; oc, Selhac) 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

Corrèze Corrèze (; oc, Corresa) is a department in France, named after the river Corrèze which runs through it. Although its prefecture is Tulle, its most populated city is Brive-la-Gaillarde. Corrèze is located in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, ...

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, ...

in 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 ...

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 t ...

region.

Geography

Location

Seilhac is located approximately equal distance from

Tulle Tulle (; ) is a commune in central France. It is the third-largest town in the former region of Limousin and is the capital of the department of Corrèze, in the region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. Tulle is also the episcopal see of the Roman Catho ...

Brive-la-Gaillarde Brive-la-Gaillarde (; Limousin dialect of oc, Briva la Galharda) is a commune of France. It is a sub-prefecture and the largest city of the Corrèze department. It has around 46,000 inhabitants, while the population of the agglomeration was 7 ...

and

Uzerche Uzerche (; oc, Usercha) is a commune in the Corrèze department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of central France. In 1787, the English writer Arthur Young described the town as "the pearl of the Limousin" because of its picturesque setting. ...

. Close to the A89 and A20 motorways, the country of Seilhac represents a natural border between the

and the

Vézère The Vézère (; oc, Vesera) is a 211-km-long river in southwestern France. It is an important tributary to the Dordogne. Its source is in the northwestern part of the elevated plateau known as the Massif Central. It flows into the Dordogne near ...

valleys. The communal territory is thus watered by the Brézou, tributary of the Vézère, and by the Céronne, tributary of the Corrèze river. Located on the 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 10,00 ...

, the commune has a hilly terrain characterised by wooded hills and mini-plateau with average heights ranging from 420 to 547 metres in the Puy des Ferrières. The commune stretches over 2 575 hectares and on almost 7 km in the north-south direction and over 8 km in the east-west direction. The

climate Climate is the long-term weather pattern in an area, typically averaged over 30 years. More rigorously, it is the mean and variability of meteorological variables over a time spanning from months to millions of years. Some of the meteorologic ...

, is of a semi-continental type, is characterised by a certain softness due to a southwest exposure. The main urban area is located in the centre of the communal territory.

Neighbouring communes and villages

Population

History

Gallo-Roman Gallo-Roman culture was a consequence of the Romanization of Gauls under the rule of the Roman Empire. It was characterized by the Gaulish adoption or adaptation of Roman culture, language, morals and way of life in a uniquely Gaulish context ...

vestiges testify to the presence on the territory of the commune. Seilhac is known from the 7th century. The name 'Seilhac' comes from the association of the name of a man ''Sailus'', owner of an agricultural estate, with the suffix of Gallic origin ''-acumen''. The formation of the name of the municipality occurred before the 6th century. Its position at the crossroads of old pathways gave the village its boom. In 1784, Turgot, then administrator of the

Limousin Limousin (; oc, Lemosin ) is a former administrative region of southwest-central France. On 1 January 2016, it became part of the new administrative region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. It comprised three departments: Corrèze, Creuse, and Haute-Vienn ...

, established the route linking Paris to the centre of France. Thanks to the influence of the Marquis de Seilhac, this road passed through the town of the same name. In 1790, the rank of the borough was confirmed and named as the capital of the canton. On 10 June 1944, the Nazi German Das Reich Division, which had already the day before committed the

Tulle massacre The Tulle massacre was the roundup and summary execution of civilians in the French town of Tulle by the 2nd SS Panzer Division ''Das Reich'' in June 1944, three days after the D-Day landings in World War II. After a successful offensive by ...

and committed on 10 June, the

Oradour-sur-Glane massacre On 10 June 1944, four days after D-Day, the village of Oradour-sur-Glane in Haute-Vienne in Nazi-occupied France was destroyed when 643 civilians, including non-combatant women and children, were massacred by a German Waffen-SS company. A new ...

, made arrests in Seilhac and Masléon (

Haute-Vienne Haute-Vienne (; oc, Nauta Vinhana, ; English: Upper Vienne) is a department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in southwest-central France. Named after the Vienne River, it is one of the twelve departments that together constitute Nouvelle-Aquitai ...

). Four people from Seilhac are among the 2,152 deportees (all men, including 149 who had been arrested in Tulle on 9 June) from the Royallieu-Compiègne internment camp at

Compiègne Compiègne (; pcd, Compiène) is a commune in the Oise department in northern France. It is located on the river Oise. Its inhabitants are called ''Compiégnois''. Administration Compiègne is the seat of two cantons: * Compiègne-1 (with 19 c ...

, transported on 2 July to the

Dachau concentration camp , , commandant = List of commandants , known for = , location = Upper Bavaria, Southern Germany , built by = Germany , operated by = ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) , original use = Political prison , construction ...

on the notorious "Death train" (Transport no I.2400).

Economy

The local economy is based on crafts and on

SME SME may refer to: Economics * Small and medium-sized enterprises * Socialist market economy, an economic system of China Organizations Music * SME Limited, UK audio turntable manufacturer * Sony Music Entertainment, US * Spontaneous Music Ensembl ...

s. The agricultural sector is declining despite the persistence of an economy based on quality cattle breeding.

Places and monuments

The architectural heritage whose main elements are the church (

apse In architecture, an apse (plural apses; from Latin 'arch, vault' from Ancient Greek 'arch'; sometimes written apsis, plural apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome, also known as an ''exedra''. In ...

and

choir A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which ...

) and the chateau rebuilt at the end of the 19th century (now a private domain) constitutes the principal historical heritage of the commune. The church choir and the chateau garden have been added to the inventory of historic monuments. The town also has a tourist facility at the Bournazel lake, a vast 35 hectares and the infrastructure for leisure and nature.

Notable people

* Henry de Bournazel (1898-1933), Hero of the pacification of Morocco (''l'homme à la tunique rouge''). The Lespinasse family of Bournazel have been located in the communes of Saint-Jal and Seilhac since the 16th century. * Leonard Leymarie (1880-1914), born in Seilhac, executed as an example by the army.

Events

Festival Théâtre à Seilhac