Cause-de-Clérans

Cause -de- Clérans ( Occitan: Cause de Clarenc ) is a commune with 330 inhabitants (as of 1 January 2011) in the Dordogne in the Aquitaine region.

Location

Cause -de- Clérans lies at an altitude of about 70 meters above sea level. inst the Dordogne. The nearest town is 17 km ( driving distance ) located west of Bergerac, the capital of the arrondissement.

Demographics

The community had in the 19th century at times over 700 Einwöhner. As a result of the phylloxera crisis in the wine and the mechanization of agriculture decreased population numbers down to the lows from the 1970s and 1980s.

Economy

In earlier times, the residents of the community lived as subsistence agriculture, which included the wine and the breeding of sheep and goats. Since the 1960s, the rental of apartments ( gîtes ) is added as a source of income.

History

Exactly when the two mentioned in documents in the 12th century districts Cause ( Cauzia ) and Clérans ( Clarentium ) were combined to form a municipality is unclear. The Castle of Clérans served the Protestants in the time of religiously motivated Auseinanandersetzungen (Huguenot Wars) in the second half of the 16 th century as a temporary refuge.

Attractions

• The Château de Clérans in the same district already existed in the 11th century, but it was burned down by Raymond I of Turenne in the 1100s. Rebuilt in the 12th and 13th centuries, it changed during the period of the Hundred Years' War ( 1337-1453 ) repeated the owner. During the French Revolution as a national ( Bien national) sold, it was used in the 19th century as a quarry, but the rectangular keep ( donjon ) and parts of the residential tract (corps de logis ) are still visible. The former castle chapel with its late-Gothic portal is inhabited. The entire complex is recognized as a monument historique since 1948.
• The Parish Church ( Église Notre- Dame-de- l'Assomption ) in the district of Cause is a single- part Romanesque, part Gothic building early. The eastern parts ( apse and transept ) are completely unadorned, which could suggest an early date into the late 11th century, the stone material used would not be so precisely trimmed. The nave and the west facade are slightly more organized and have great maßwerklose window; Moreover, the three Langhausjoche over ribbed vault - all these are indications of a much later dating to the 13th century or even later. The crossing is covered inside of a dome on pendentives and the ground floor loosened by blind arcades apse shows the usual Kalottenwölbung. The capitals in the transept and the apse arcades of the show, 'primitive' and seeming hardly to be interpreted animal and human figures and foliage. The entire interior of the church is almost uniformly covered with paintings joints and even the cornerstones are painted, giving the area as a whole gives a very solid appearance. The church is also recognized as a monument historique since 1948.

Transept and apse

Capital of the crossing

Apse

Nave west →

• An approximately two meters high, not employees, vertical standing stone ( Mégalithe de la Malroussie ) could be attributed to the time of the megalithic culture.
• A dovecote ( pigeon ) stands isolated on the grounds of the castle.
• A composite of square -hewn wooden beams claws stand ( travail) from the 19th century enriched the current townscape.