Bellac
Encyclopedia
Bellac is a commune
in the Haute-Vienne
department in the Limousin
region
in western France
.
Inhabitants are known as Bellachons.
This is where the French Jean Giraudoux
, writer of L'Apollon de Bellac, was born in 1882. His house has been turned into a museum.
Michael Wright, who writes the Saturday Telegraph's "C'est la folie" column about rural life in the Limousin, lives in Bellac
. Poitiers is 70km to the north west, and Angouleme 100km to the south-west. The hills known as the Monts de Blond lie immediately to the south.
of Haute-Vienne, governing 8 cantons and 63 communes
Communes of France
The commune is the lowest level of administrative division in the French Republic. French communes are roughly equivalent to incorporated municipalities or villages in the United States or Gemeinden in Germany...
in the Haute-Vienne
Haute-Vienne
Haute-Vienne is a French department named after the Vienne River. It is one of three departments that together constitute the French region of Limousin.The chief and largest city is Limoges...
department in the Limousin
Limousin (région)
Limousin is one of the 27 regions of France. It is composed of three départements: Corrèze, Creuse and the Haute-Vienne.Situated largely in the Massif Central, as of January 1st 2008, the Limousin comprised 740,743 inhabitants on nearly 17 000 km2, making it the second least populated region of...
region
Régions of France
France is divided into 27 administrative regions , 22 of which are in Metropolitan France, and five of which are overseas. Corsica is a territorial collectivity , but is considered a region in mainstream usage, and is even shown as such on the INSEE website...
in western France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.
Inhabitants are known as Bellachons.
This is where the French Jean Giraudoux
Jean Giraudoux
Hippolyte Jean Giraudoux was a French novelist, essayist, diplomat and playwright. He is considered among the most important French dramatists of the period between World War I and World War II. His work is noted for its stylistic elegance and poetic fantasy...
, writer of L'Apollon de Bellac, was born in 1882. His house has been turned into a museum.
Michael Wright, who writes the Saturday Telegraph's "C'est la folie" column about rural life in the Limousin, lives in Bellac
Geographic Situation
Bellac lies 45km to the North West of Limoges at the confluence of the rivers Gartempe and the Vincou, in the Department of Haute-VienneHaute-Vienne
Haute-Vienne is a French department named after the Vienne River. It is one of three departments that together constitute the French region of Limousin.The chief and largest city is Limoges...
. Poitiers is 70km to the north west, and Angouleme 100km to the south-west. The hills known as the Monts de Blond lie immediately to the south.
Administration
Bellac is a sous-préfectureSous-préfecture
Subprefectures are the administrative towns of arrondissements in France that do not contain the prefecture for its department. Subprefecture is also the name given to the building which houses the administrative headquarters for the arrondissement....
of Haute-Vienne, governing 8 cantons and 63 communes
Transport Links
Bellac is 30km west of the A20 Limoges-Orléans motorway, and lies at a crossroads where the RN145 crosses the RN147. Both these roads had been designated part of the RCEA (Route Centre Europe L'Atlantique) and were thus under risk of being upgraded to motorway. However, the latest thinking is that the RCEA will be re-routed from La Souterraine south down the A20 to Limoges and then via upgrades to the N520 / N141 routes to Angouleme and the west.Classifications
Bellac is classified as:- A cité de charactere
- A Village d'etapeVillage d'étapeA Village d'etape is a village standing or just off a motorway or national dual-carriageway in France, that has been accepted by the "Village d'Etape" Association as meeting the following criteria:* Population under 5000...
- A Station verte de vacances
- A Station Touristique