Villefranche-de-Rouergue
Encyclopedia
Villefranche-de-Rouergue (Vilafranca in Occitan) is a commune
in the Aveyron
department in southern France
.
from the northern "barons" against the southern Occitania
on a religious pretext (fighting the Cathar
heresy), the Count of Toulouse
was defeated and concluded the treaty of Paris
in 1229. By this treaty he gave the Rouergue
county to his daughter who became the wife of Alphonse de Poitiers, brother of Saint Louis
, king of France. Alphonse founded Villefranche on the place of an old village called La Peyrade in 1252.
During World War II
, while occupied by Nazi Germany
, Villefranche received a large 13th Waffen SS Handschar (1st Croatian) division
.Led by Ferid Džanić
, Eduard Matutinović, Božo Jelinek and Nikola Vukelić, one battalion staged a rebellion against the Nazis on 17 September 1943, (Villefranche-de-Rouergue uprising) but were soon suppressed and mostly executed on site. The few that escaped inspired the French resistance
in Aveyron
that had not been formed until then. After the war, an avenue in Villefranche was named Avenue des Croates (Avenue of the Croats) in honor of the uprising.
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 Aveyron
Aveyron
Aveyron is a département in southern France named after the Aveyron River.- History :Aveyron is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790....
department in southern 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...
.
History
At the end of the Albigensian CrusadeAlbigensian Crusade
The Albigensian Crusade or Cathar Crusade was a 20-year military campaign initiated by the Catholic Church to eliminate Catharism in Languedoc...
from the northern "barons" against the southern Occitania
Occitania
Occitania , also sometimes lo País d'Òc, "the Oc Country"), is the region in southern Europe where Occitan was historically the main language spoken, and where it is sometimes still used, for the most part as a second language...
on a religious pretext (fighting the Cathar
Cathar
Catharism was a name given to a Christian religious sect with dualistic and gnostic elements that appeared in the Languedoc region of France and other parts of Europe in the 11th century and flourished in the 12th and 13th centuries...
heresy), the Count of Toulouse
Counts of Toulouse
The first Counts of Toulouse were the administrators of the city and its environs under the Merovingians. No succession of such royal appointees is known, though a few names survive to the present...
was defeated and concluded the treaty of Paris
Treaty of Paris (1229)
The Treaty of Paris was signed on April 12, 1229 between Raymond VII of Toulouse and Louis IX of France. Louis was still a minor and it was his mother Blanche of Castile who had been responsible for the treaty. The agreement officially ended the Albigensian Crusade in which Raymond conceded defeat...
in 1229. By this treaty he gave the Rouergue
Rouergue
Rouergue is a former province of France, bounded on the north by Auvergne, on the south and southwest by Languedoc, on the east by Gévaudan and on the west by Quercy...
county to his daughter who became the wife of Alphonse de Poitiers, brother of Saint Louis
Louis IX of France
Louis IX , commonly Saint Louis, was King of France from 1226 until his death. He was also styled Louis II, Count of Artois from 1226 to 1237. Born at Poissy, near Paris, he was an eighth-generation descendant of Hugh Capet, and thus a member of the House of Capet, and the son of Louis VIII and...
, king of France. Alphonse founded Villefranche on the place of an old village called La Peyrade in 1252.
During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, while occupied by Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
, Villefranche received a large 13th Waffen SS Handschar (1st Croatian) division
13th Waffen Mountain Division of the SS Handschar (1st Croatian)
The 13th Waffen Mountain Division of the SS Handschar was one of the thirty-eight divisions fielded as part of the Waffen-SS during World War II. Its recruits were composed of Muslim Bosniaks. The Handschar division was a mountain infantry formation, the equivalent of the German "Gebirgsjäger" ...
.Led by Ferid Džanić
Ferid Džanić
Ferid Džanić , was a Bosnian soldier and member of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia who with several other infiltrators, led the September 1943 Villefranche-de-Rouergue Mutiny within the SS Division Handschar....
, Eduard Matutinović, Božo Jelinek and Nikola Vukelić, one battalion staged a rebellion against the Nazis on 17 September 1943, (Villefranche-de-Rouergue uprising) but were soon suppressed and mostly executed on site. The few that escaped inspired the French resistance
French Resistance
The French Resistance is the name used to denote the collection of French resistance movements that fought against the Nazi German occupation of France and against the collaborationist Vichy régime during World War II...
in Aveyron
Aveyron
Aveyron is a département in southern France named after the Aveyron River.- History :Aveyron is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790....
that had not been formed until then. After the war, an avenue in Villefranche was named Avenue des Croates (Avenue of the Croats) in honor of the uprising.
Population
}}See also
- Villefranche XIII AveyronVillefranche XIII AveyronVillefranche XIII Aveyron are a semi-professional rugby league football club based in southern France that represents the sous-préfecture area of Aveyron and also the Villefranche-de-Rouergue commune...
- Emilie de RodatEmilie de RodatEmilie de Rodat was the founder of a French female order and a mystic. Pope Pius XII beatified her June 9, 1940 and canonized her April 23, 1950. Her feast day is September 19. Her foundation, created in the year 1815 focused on young women and girls with difficulties, prisoners of war and...
- Communes of the Aveyron department
External links
- Tourist office website (in French)
- Pictures of Villefranche-de-Rouergue in "Paysages d'Aveyron"
- Walking in the streets of Villefranche Part I/Part II/Part III