Estivareilles (Allier)

Estivareilles is an approximately 1131 inhabitants (as of 1 January 2011) counted centrally commune in the Allier in the Auvergne region. The place name is composed of the words estive and Vareille, which would be about, summer pasture 'or' summer meadow ' mean, in German.

Location

Estivareilles is located about 10 km ( driving distance ) north of Montlucon at an altitude of about 210 meters above sea level. d M. The cities of Bourges and Clermont- Ferrand lie about 88 kilometers north and about 100 kilometers south-east. The headwaters of the river Cher flows through the municipal area.

Demographics

In the 19th century, the community, which also includes several hamlets and isolated farmsteads belong resistant 500-825 inhabitants. As a result of the phylloxera crisis and the mechanization of agriculture, the population has declined in the first half of the 20th century, reaching its low of 560 in 1931. In 1974, parts of the neighboring town Sauljon were incorporated.

Economy

For centuries agriculture and wine play the dominant roles in the economy of the community. Estivareilles part of the wine-growing region Vignoble de la région de Montlucon. Since the 1970s, the community has also limited income from the rental of apartments ( gîtes ).

History

On the history of the place, little information is available. However, a torn-off in 1894 and the Romanesque church formerly erected in the cemetery dead light ( Lanterne des Morts ) indicate a long occupation of the site. During the French Revolution Estivareilles spent ten years (1790-1800) capital of the canton.

Attractions

• In its center stands on a stepped circular base, a total of about four and a half meters high, dead light ( lampier ) - the easternmost and the smallest in the whole of France. On the clunky -looking brick columns shaft rests a monolithic conical roof, whose processing imitates stone shingles ( roofing stones ). The interior of the column shaft can be accessed through a man- door; via a ladder, a tallow candle was placed on a wooden pedestal earlier - the light came then through four narrow slit openings to the outside. The dead lamp is dated to the 12th century and was one of the oldest in the whole of France; it is classified as a monument historique since 1928.
• The parish church of the village ( Église Saint -Sébastien ) dates from 1896; the single nave has a transept and a bell tower above the portal. The neo-Gothic building has replaced a Romanesque church, which had been two years earlier demolished.
• A wash house ( lavoir ) is located just outside the town and also dates from the 19th century.