La Souche

La Souche is a commune with 356 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2011 ) in Ardèche, in the Rhône -Alpes. It belongs to the Association of Municipalities of the Ardèche Sources et Volcans.

Geography

La Souche located 15 kilometers north- west of Aubenas and 4.8 kilometers west of Jaujac in the valley of the Lignon at the foot of the rock massif of Tanargue. It is part of the Regional Natural Park of Monts d' Ardèche ( Parc naturel régional des Monts d' Ardèche). At La Souche includes several hamlets.

Culture and sights

The parish of La Souche is attested since the 12th century, but was dependent on Jaujac. The original church was built in the mid-14th century, when separated from La Souche Jaujac. The church was dedicated to St. Silvester and the Holy Salvator of Horta. Since the church was considered too small, you have it rebuilt in 1504. The present church was built in 1870 and restored in 1968-1970. Behind the main altar is a statue of Christ made ​​of olive wood.

The church in the hamlet of Saint -Louis was built in 1871 and restored in the 20th century. At the beginning of the 19th century Saint -Louis had two schools and was more populated than today.

In the hamlet Charaix still stands a tower of the castle Charay (French Château de Charay ), which was built in the 16th century.

The municipal area is the ski resort of La Croix -de- Bauzon.

Economy

The image of the church is dominated by pastures, forest, fruit trees and vineyards. Local products include cherries, raspberries, cranberries and chestnuts. An important branch of industry the Souchois ( inhabitants) is the breeding of domestic sheep and goats. The transhumance on the Tanargue takes place in June.