Vayrac

Vayrac ( Occitan: Vairac ) is a southern French village with 1337 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2011 ) in the department of Lot in the Midi-Pyrénées region.

Location

Vayrac located in the north of the Quercy and the department of Lot on the north bank of the Dordogne and consists of several hamlets and farmsteads. Up to the pilgrimage town of Rocamadour is about 26 km ( driving distance ) in a southwesterly direction. The remarkable neighboring Martel is about eleven miles to the west.

Demographics

In the 19th century Vayrac sometimes had more than 2,000 inhabitants; at the beginning of the 20th century, there were still a good 1,600. The mechanization of agriculture and the resulting loss of jobs attended in the past for a continuous population decline to the low point in the 1950s.

Economy

Vayrac and its surroundings were and are still dominated by agriculture to a large extent, with the livestock (cattle, pigs, poultry) plays an important role. In autumn traditionally are truffles, nuts, chestnuts and fruit (apples, figs, etc.) on the menu of the people. Since the 1960s, tourism contributes in the form at the rental of holiday homes and apartments ( gîtes ) to the revenues of the place.

History

In the field of Vayrac and the neighboring municipality of Saint -Denis -les -Martel played for a year after the battle of Alesia (52 BC), the last episode of the mentioned by Julius Caesar Gallic War, that feature the latest excavations lay in 2001 and the predominant view is that the researcher, the Celtic oppidum Uxellodunum, the last stronghold of the Celts from the tribe of Cadurker. Caesar attacked during his siege to a different tactic - he spilled the source that supplied the Celtic village with water.

During World War II some of the art treasures of the Musée du Louvre was stored in a barn in Vayrac. On a hot summer day, a fire broke out, but the inhabitants of the place were immediately a bucket brigade and succeeded indeed to extinguish the fire.

Attractions

• The parish church Église Saint -Martin dates from the 13th century, a fortified church with battlements ( maschikoulis ) in the upper part of the Gothic apse. The lierne and tierceron - ribs of the vault inside the church date from the 16th century. The west side has been completely redesigned in the 19th century. The church is recognized as a monument historique since 1913.
• The Musée Uxellodunum shows a model of the Celtic settlement ( oppidum ) and archaeological finds.