Saint-Léonard-de-Noblat

Saint- Léonard- de -Noblat ( Occitan: Sent Liunard ) is a commune with 4621 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2011 ) in the department of Haute -Vienne in the Limousin region. It belongs to the district of Limoges and is the capital ( chef-lieu ) of the canton of the same name.

Geography

The small town is the eleventh largest congregation of the Haute -Vienne. It lies on the north bank of the River Vienne, on the secondary road D 941 21 km east of Limoges.

History

Saint- Léonard is located at the junction of a major road from Bourges to Bordeaux on the Vienne, which existed before the Roman conquest. The south of the city center Pont -de- Noblat dates from the 13th century. A castle of the Bishop of Limoges had the task to control this road. In the 12th century it became an important stage on the Via Lemovicensis, a French section on the pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela.

The veneration of St. Leonhard has its origins in the 11th century, was written as a biography with strong legendary trains. According to her he lived towards the end of the 5th century, first at the court of King Clovis I, before he left this to be a hermit. He settled not far from Limoges and the grave of St.. Martial in the forest of Pauvain, on the banks of the Vienne, down. According to legend, the king of Aquitaine gave him a part of the forest as thanks for the intercession at the birth of his child. Leonhard had a chapel there in honor of the Virgin Mary and St.. Remigius built. With time, more and more people have sought him, and prisoners who had been released by his intervention would have asked him to asylum. Leonhard was buried in the chapel built by him.

The veneration of St. Leonhard quickly spread throughout the Christian world; his grave has been a pilgrimage site. Many famous people came to pray at his grave:

• Bohemond of Taranto (1106 )
• Richard the Lionheart (ca. 1197 )
• Charles VII and his son, who later Louis XI. ( 1438 )
• Eleanor of Austria, wife of Francis I (1541 )
• Henry II of Bourbon- Condé (1620 )
• Anne of Austria gave thanks for the birth of Louis XIV
• Tsarina Alexandra, wife of Nicholas II, sent a representative to the grave of St.. Leonhard to pray for the birth of an heir apparent.

The pilgrimage tradition originated at the beginning of the 11th century; the Liber Sancti Jacobi recommends Jacob expressly pilgrims visiting the tomb. To protect the relics and purpose of the inclusion of the pilgrims therefore founded in the year 1105 a priest pen. Since the 12th century, the place encircled with ditches and walls. Two different quarters were off: the dedicated to the cult and the administration around the collegiate church, with the hospital and the town hall, and the dealers around the market halls.

1183 was the place of robbers, the Paillers mugged. Some years later he was taken from the Duchy of Brabant. The English King John in 1214 cast him with his army. During the 13th century the inhabitants of the city of the kings of France were given the right to choose eight consuls annually. 1576 were Calvinists who tried the relics of St.. Desecrate Leonhard, hunted by the inhabitants of the city.

After the Reformation, many monasteries settled: in 1594 the Recollects, 1652 St. Mary's sisters. Three Büßergemeinschaften formed the " White Penitents ," the " Penitents Feuilles Mortes " and the " Penitents Bleus ".

The city's name comes from the St.. Leonard of Limoges, the patron saint of prisoners and pregnant women from. His grave is located in the collegiate church of Saint -Léonard. At the time of the Revolution was an attempt to replace the name of the place by Tard -Vienne, but very soon was returned to Saint- Léonard -de- Noblat. Today, the town is famous for its porcelain manufacture. From there comes the Limousin breed of cattle.

Culture and sights

Collegiate Church

The Collegiate Church of Saint- Léonard- de -Noblat from the 11-12. Century is a central work of Romanesque art in the Limousin. The fünfjochige nave is completed by a transept with a central dome, to which there is a large choir followed with seven small chapels.

The steeple is a very nice example of a " Limousin " tower. He rises above the open arcades on two sides with decorated capitals. It consists of four square storeys with a central column, surmounted by two other octagonal storeys.

On the north side of the church between the tower and transept a round chapel, which is structured by four diagonally arranged apse niche. The central room a vaulted dome supported by eight columns.

The grave of St. Leonhard is located in the interior of the church in the south transept. In the rear wall of the chains are attached, with which it is always displayed. According to tradition are women who marry and have children want to get that touch the bracket.

The church is awarded since 1998 as part of world heritage by UNESCO " Camino de Santiago in France." Noblat is derived from the Latin nobiliacum, " place of the nobles ."

Other monuments

• The former pilgrim hospital has doors from the 13th, 14th and 17th centuries.
• The former convent of the Sisters of Mary from the 18th century is now used as a community center. The Gay - Lussac- Museum is also located there.
• The Round Tower and the Square Tower on the Republic Square.
• The House of the consuls.
• From the former Priory of Family on the territory of the commune, the church and part of the monastery are preserved. It was the seat of a small hermit community, founded by two Venetian brothers with the name Marc and Sebastien, who established their Hermitage in Vieille -Type. This little order had about 60 offshoots throughout the Limousin.

Museums

Museum Gay -Lussac

The Gay - Lussac- museum is organized under the auspices of the Academy of Limoges.

HistoRail

HistoRail is a railway museum, which opened in 1988. The collection covers almost 1000 m² 550 m² in two rooms of an old shoe factory that had emerged with the arrival of the railway in Saint- Léonard, 1881.

Economy and infrastructure

At the beginning of the 19th century, the porcelain industry settled in Saint- Léonard. To date, there are on-site factories in this sector.

A specialty of the city is the mass Pain de Saint- Léonard, a type of macaroon, made ​​of peeled almonds, egg whites, sugar and flour.

The existing know-how in the city including leather production. The manufacturer JM Weston maintains in Saint- Léonard- de -Noblat a tannery, which also operation are possible.

Population

Personalities

• Joseph Louis Gay -Lussac, chemist and physicist, born December 6, 1778 in Saint- Léonard- de -Noblat, died in 1850. His work on gases form a core component of the thermal equation of state of ideal gases.
• Simon François Gay de Vernon (1760-1822), French pioneer officer, Baron d' Empire, professor of fortification
• Raymond Poulidor, cyclist, born on April 15, 1936 in Masbaraud - Mérignat, now lives in Saint- Léonard- de -Noblat
• Serge Gainsbourg fled in 1944 for several months in the local lyceum, to escape persecution as a Jew.

Twinning

• Druze home in Alsace