Saint-Front-la-Rivière (; ) is a
commune in the
Dordogne
Dordogne ( , or ; ; ) is a large rural departments of France, department in south west France, with its Prefectures in France, prefecture in Périgueux. Located in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region roughly half-way between the Loire Valley and ...
department in
Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Nouvelle-Aquitaine () is the largest Regions of France, administrative region in France by area, spanning the west and southwest of Metropolitan France. The region was created in 2014 by the merging of Aquitaine, Limousin, and Poitou-Charentes ...
in southwestern France.
The village center has a twelfth-century church, a bar, school, hairdressers and a post office. It also has four
château
A château (, ; plural: châteaux) is a manor house, or palace, 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 re ...
x, dating from between the Middle Ages and the 19th century. These include the ruins of the Du Barry family château, the
Château de la Renaudie, which dates from the time of
François I. The Du Barrys were implicated in a plot to overthrow the monarch during the
Wars of Religion.
Chazelles, one of St Front's surrounding hamlets, was a mint in
Gallo-Roman
Gallo-Roman culture was a consequence of the Romanization (cultural), Romanization of Gauls under the rule of the Roman Empire in Roman Gaul. It was characterized by the Gaulish adoption or adaptation of Roman culture, Roman culture, language ...
times, before the village came into being.
La Varenne, another of St Front's hamlets, means 'game reserve'. Wild deer are often seen in the surrounding farmland.
Population
Economy
In the 19th century St Front had a good reputation for the quality of its wine. There remain a few private but no commercial vineyards. An important contributor to the village's growth was the steam tram linking Saint Front to
Périgueux
Périgueux (, ; or ) is a commune in the Dordogne department, in the administrative region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, southwestern France.
Périgueux is the prefecture of Dordogne, and the capital city of Périgord. It is also the seat of ...
, the administrative capital of the Dordogne, to
Brantôme and the railway at
Saint-Pardoux-la-Rivière. Agriculture has always played an important role in the area. More recently, St Front was the manufacturing headquarters of an important picture frame manufacturer. The factory, which was the last big local employer, closed at the start of this century.
There are several small businesses and artisans, including a forge and a luxury cattery, La Crème de la Crème, just for cats. One of the biggest contributions to the village economy is tourism, with self-catering gîtes in several of the hamlets welcoming visitors from all over the world.
Saint-Front-la-Rivière today
Saint Front is a typical small French country village, with a mixture of older, renovated and new properties. The majority of the small population were born in the village, and new residents are a mixture of locals and incomers from the Périgord, and also British and Dutch. Village social life is driven by the bar, , a few associations (charities) and the . Each year there is a Loto day, Boules competition, a flea market with children's funfair, farmers' markets and a cycle race "Les Boucles de la Dronne". Guests in 2009 include veteran Tour de France champions and the race attracts many cycling pros.
See also
*
Communes of the Dordogne department
The following is a list of the 503 communes of the Dordogne department of France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include Fren ...
References
Communes of Dordogne
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