Saint-Céré
La Bave and the Quai des Récollets
La Bave and the Quai des Récollets
Coat of arms of Saint-Céré
Location of Saint-Céré
Saint-Céré is located in France
Saint-Céré
Saint-Céré
Saint-Céré is located in Occitanie
Saint-Céré
Saint-Céré
Coordinates: 44°51′35″N 1°53′30″E / 44.8597°N 1.8917°E / 44.8597; 1.8917
CountryFrance
RegionOccitania
DepartmentLot
ArrondissementFigeac
CantonSaint-Céré
IntercommunalityCausses et Vallée de la Dordogne
Government
  Mayor (20202026) Dominique Bizat[1]
Area
1
11.33 km2 (4.37 sq mi)
Population
 (Jan. 2021)[2]
3,438
  Density300/km2 (790/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
  Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code
46251 /46400
Elevation141–523 m (463–1,716 ft)
(avg. 152 m or 499 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Saint-Céré (French pronunciation: [sɛ̃ seʁe]; Languedocien: Sant Seren) is a commune in the Lot department, southern France.[3] The commune includes within its borders the castle of Saint-Laurent-les-Tours, where the artist Jean Lurçat lived and worked for many years, and from which he operated a secret radio for the French Resistance.[4] The castle still houses a collection of his works.

Geography

Location

The town is located in the centre of a small metropolitan area, in the Quercy, northeast of the Causse de Gramat and west of Segala, between Lacapelle-Marival and Bretenoux, in the valley of the Bave, tributary of the Dordogne river, and on the northern edge of the Limargue. It is the city-centre of the urban unit of Saint-Céré.

Located at the crossroad of the routes to Limousin, Auvergne and Quercy, Saint-Céré is a sought after place to stay due to its location and an excellent point of departure for many walks and excursions in the Haut-Quercy.

Hydrography

The Bave river, a tributary of the Dordogne, flows through the town.

Geology and relief

The area of the commune is 1,133 hectares; its altitude varies from 141 to 523 meters.[5]

At the town hall, the altitude of Saint-Céré is 155 meters. It rises from 141 meters at Bave river to 523 meters in the southern part of the commune.

Climate

Saint-Céré has the distinction of being at the junction of the three types of temperate climates: there is a Temperate Oceanic climate, with Mediterranean and Continental influences, characterised by a dry and hot summer, a sunny autumn, a mild winter. In the shelter of the foothills of the Massif Central, the Vent d'Autan is here moderate.

Population

Historical population
YearPop.±% p.a.
1968 3,926    
1975 4,089+0.58%
1982 4,056−0.12%
1990 3,760−0.94%
1999 3,515−0.75%
2009 3,563+0.14%
2014 3,503−0.34%
2020 3,427−0.36%
Source: INSEE[6]

Toponymy

Saint-Céré is based on the Christian hagiotoponym of Serenus of Marseille.[7]

During the French Revolution, the commune bore the name of Franc-Céré and Sen Céré (or Seu-Céré).[8]

In Occitan, the name of the municipality is Sant Seren.

Local culture and heritage

  • La place du Mercadial, its fountain and the 15th century Consuls' House, which was declared a historic monument in 1991[9]
  • L'hôtel de Puymule, 15th-century, was listed as a historical monument in 1929[10]
  • L'hôtel de Miramon[11]
  • La maison consulaire[12]
  • Several wood-panelled houses
  • Église Sainte-Spérie, dating from the 10th century, inscribed as a historical monument in 1979[13]
  • Église des Récollets, 17th century, listed as a historic monument in 1973[14]
  • Statue of Marshal Canrobert
  • Statue of Charles Bourseul (1924) by Giovanni Pinotti Cipriani (also sculptor of the monument to the dead in the square of the Place de la République)
  • Château de Montal, 14th-century, listed as a historical monument in 1909. The domain is partly located in the commune of Saint-Jean-Lespinasse.[15]

See also

References

  1. "Répertoire national des élus: les maires" (in French). data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises. 13 September 2022.
  2. "Populations légales 2021". The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 28 December 2023.
  3. INSEE commune file
  4. http://www.st-cere.com/guides/St-Laurent-les-Tours.html Archived 2010-09-05 at the Wayback Machine
  5. "Répertoire Géographique des Communes 2011". public.opendatasoft.com. Retrieved 17 July 2019.
  6. Population en historique depuis 1968, INSEE
  7. Bazalgues, Gaston (2002). À la découverte des noms de lieux du Quercy. Toponymie lotoise (Éditions de la Bouriane et du Quercy ed.). Gourdon. p. 53. ISBN 2-910540-16-2.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  8. Des villages de Cassini aux communes d'aujourd'hui: Commune data sheet Saint-Céré, EHESS (in French).
  9. Base Mérimée: Ancienne maison consulaire, Ministère français de la Culture. (in French)
  10. Base Mérimée: Ancien hôtel de Puymule, Ministère français de la Culture. (in French)
  11. Base Mérimée: Maison Louis XIII, Ministère français de la Culture. (in French)
  12. Base Mérimée: Ancienne maison consulaire, Ministère français de la Culture. (in French)
  13. Base Mérimée: Eglise et sa crypte de Sainte-Spérie, Ministère français de la Culture. (in French)
  14. Base Mérimée: Eglise des Récollets, Ministère français de la Culture. (in French)
  15. Base Mérimée: Domaine de Montal (également sur commune de Saint-Céré), Ministère français de la Culture. (in French)
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