Saint-Léonard-de-Noblat (; , , alternatively ''Sent Liunard de Noblac''), often simply referred to as Saint-Léonard, is a commune in the

Haute-Vienne Haute-Vienne (; , ; Upper Vienne) is a département in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in southwest-central France. Named after the Vienne River, it is one of the twelve départements that together constitute Nouvelle-Aquitaine. The prefecture an ...

department in the

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 ...

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

in west-central

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, on a hill above the river Vienne. It is named after the 6th-century Saint

Leonard of Noblac Leonard of Noblac (also Leonard of Limoges or Leonard of Noblet; also known as Lienard, Linhart, Lenart, Leonhard, Léonard, Leonardo, Annard; died 559) is a Franks, Frankish saint closely associated with the town and abbey of Saint-Léonard-de- ...

. The commune of Saint-Léonard-de-Noblat covers the town of Saint-Léonard-de-Noblat and a number of small villages and hamlets, including Lajoumard. In 2021, the commune had a population of 4,332.

History

Amid the French Revolution, the town was renamed Léonard-sur-Vienne ( "Leonard-on-Vienne").

Population

Inhabitants are known as ''Miaulétous'' (masculine) and ''Miaulétouses'' (feminine) in French.

Sights

Saint-Léonard-de-Noblat is one of the UNESCO

World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

s connected with the routes to Santiago de Compostela. It retains the Romanesque collegial church and its belltower, tall. Dating partly from the 11th century, the church is a listed historic monument. Its old houses follow a medieval street pattern, with many streets converging in a public space by the former abbey church. In the 19th century, a papermill and a porcelain manufactory were added to its commerce. The place also attracts visitors as an overnight stop on the

Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage cycle sport, bicycle race held primarily in France. It is the oldest and most prestigious of the three Grand Tour (cycling), Grand Tours, which include the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a ...

. The town is known for its native son, the scientist

Joseph Louis Gay-Lussac Joseph Louis Gay-Lussac ( , ; ; 6 December 1778 – 9 May 1850) was a French chemist and physicist. He is known mostly for his discovery that water is made of two parts hydrogen and one part oxygen by volume (with Alexander von Humboldt), f ...

(1778–1850); there is a small museum in his honor.

Notable people

Notable people linked to Saint-Léonard-de-Noblat include: *Saint-Léonard-de-Noblat was the hometown of the chemist and physicist

(1778–1850). * Adrien Pressemane (1879–1929), a porcelain painter, lived in the town and represented the surrounding district in parliament. * Raymond Poulidor (1936–2019), considered by some as the most popular racing cyclist in France, lived in the town. He was known as "the eternal second" of the

after repeatedly losing, often against

Jacques Anquetil Jacques Anquetil (; 8 January 1934 – 18 November 1987) was a French road racing cyclist and the first cyclist to win the Tour de France five times, in 1957 and from 1961 to 1964. He stated before the 1961 Tour that he would gain the ye ...

, who won five times. Poulidor later competed against

Eddy Merckx Édouard Louis Joseph, Baron Merckx (born 17 June 1945), known as Eddy Merckx (, ), is a Belgian former professional road and track cyclist racer who is the most successful rider in the history of competitive cycling. His victories include an ...

, who also won five times. Poulidor's best victory was in

Milan–San Remo Milan–Sanremo (in italian language, Italian ''Milano-Sanremo''), also called "''The Spring classic''" or "''La Classicissima''", is an annual road bicycle racing, road cycling race between Milan and Sanremo, in Northwest Italy. With a distance ...

. *

Serge Gainsbourg Serge Gainsbourg (; born Lucien Ginsburg; 2 April 1928 – 2 March 1991) was a French singer-songwriter, actor, composer, and director. Regarded as one of the most important figures in French pop, he was renowned for often provocative rel ...

, born Lucien Ginsburg (1928–1991), took refuge a few months in 1944 to the local high school, thereby escaping the persecution of Jews (his parents had immigrated from

Crimea Crimea ( ) is a peninsula in Eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. The Isthmus of Perekop connects the peninsula to Kherson Oblast in mainland Ukrain ...

). The local school principal, Louis Chazelas, who also aided other Jews during the war, told him to present himself as the son of lumberjacks. A comprehensive article on this stay appears in the journal ''Memory of Here'' (No. 3). *

Gilles Deleuze Gilles Louis René Deleuze (18 January 1925 – 4 November 1995) was a French philosopher who, from the early 1950s until his death in 1995, wrote on philosophy, literature, film, and fine art. His most popular works were the two volumes o ...

(1925–1995), French philosopher, lived and was buried there. * Mario David, stage name of Jacques Paul Jules Marie David (1927–1996), French actor, was at school there. * Georges-Emmanuel Clancier (1914–2018), French writer and poet. In Saint-Léonard-de-Noblat, he met Raymond Queneau and Michel Leiris. * Daniel-Henri Kahnweiler (1884–1979), German writer and collector, who promoted the Cubist movement and discovered, among others, Picasso and Braque, took refuge in Saint-Léonard during the war. * Philippe de Vomécourt (1902–1964),

French Resistance The French Resistance ( ) was a collection of groups that fought the German military administration in occupied France during World War II, Nazi occupation and the Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy#France, collaborationist Vic ...

and

Special Operations Executive Special Operations Executive (SOE) was a British organisation formed in 1940 to conduct espionage, sabotage and reconnaissance in German-occupied Europe and to aid local Resistance during World War II, resistance movements during World War II. ...

(SOE) agent in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. His home was near Noblat. * Clémentine Jouassain (1829–1902), actress of the Comédie-Française, born in Saint-Léonard-de-Noblat.

History

Population

Sights

Notable people

See also