Andance (; oc, Andança) is a commune in the

Ardèche Ardèche (; oc, Ardecha; frp, Ardecha) is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of Southeastern France. It is named after the river Ardèche and had a population of 328,278 as of 2019.department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of southern

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

. The inhabitants of the commune are known as ''Andançois'' or ''Andançoises''

Geography

Andance is located 5 km south of

Saint-Rambert-d'Albon Saint-Rambert-d'Albon (, literally ''Saint-Rambert of Albon''; frp, Sent-Rambèrt) is a commune in the Drôme department in southeastern France. Population Notable residents * Wilfride Piollet, ballerina International relations Saint-Ram ...

, 15 km east of

Annonay Annonay (; oc, Anonai) is a commune and largest city in the north of the Ardèche department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of southeastern France. It is the most populous commune in the Ardèche department although it is not the capital ...

, and 20 km north of Tournon-sur-Rhone. It can be accessed by the D86 road from

Champagne Champagne (, ) is a sparkling wine originated and produced in the Champagne wine region of France under the rules of the appellation, that demand specific vineyard practices, sourcing of grapes exclusively from designated places within it, ...

in the north passing through the village then continuing south through the commune to

Sarras Sarras is a mystical island to which the Holy Grail is brought in the Arthurian legend. In the Lancelot-Grail Cycle, Joseph of Arimathea and his followers visit the island on their way to Britain; while there Joseph's son Josephus is invested as ...

. The D86B passes from the village over the Rhone to

Andancette Andancette () is a commune in the Drôme department in southeastern France. Geography Andancette is located: * from Saint-Rambert-d'Albon * from Saint-Vallier * from Valence Population See also *Communes of the Drôme department The f ...

on the east bank. The D82 road also comes from Saint-Etienne-de-Valoux in the north-east to the village. There are also the small D370 road from Talencieux in the west to the village via a tortuous route and the D370B also from Talencieux to the south of the commune. The commune has the

Rhône The Rhône ( , ; wae, Rotten ; frp, Rôno ; oc, Ròse ) is a major river in France and Switzerland, rising in the Alps and flowing west and south through Lake Geneva and southeastern France before discharging into the Mediterranean Sea. At Ar ...

as its entire eastern border with the ''Ruisseau de L'Ecoutay'', the ''Ruisseau du Creux'', the ''Ruisseau de Cueil'', and numerous other streams flowing through the commune to the Rhone. The Conce river forms the southern border of the commune and also flows into the Rhone.Google Maps
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Neighbouring communes and villages

Administration

List of Successive Mayors

Population

Distribution of Age Groups

The population of the commune is significantly younger than the departmental average. Percentage Distribution of Age Groups in Andance and Ardèche Department in 2017 Source: INSEEÉvolution et structure de la population en 2017: Commune d'Andance (07009)
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Culture and heritage

Civil heritage

*The Sarrazinière Roman Ruins (Antiquity) at Châtelet are registered as an historical monument *Andance bridge was built in 1827 with iron wires and a central pier. The Andance bridge is the oldest suspension bridge still used today in France. It was built by

Marc Seguin Marc Seguin (20 April 1786 – 24 February 1875) was a French engineer, inventor of the wire-cable suspension bridge and the multi-tubular steam-engine boiler. Early life Seguin was born in Annonay, Ardèche to Marc François Seguin, the fou ...

the brilliant inventor from

. Largely destroyed during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

on 30 August 1944, it was rebuilt and reopened in 1946 then underwent further changes

Religious heritage

*The Church of Our Lady of Andance (12th century) is registered as an historical monument *A

Calvary Calvary ( la, Calvariae or ) or Golgotha ( grc-gre, Γολγοθᾶ, ''Golgothâ'') was a site immediately outside Jerusalem's walls where Jesus was said to have been crucified according to the canonical Gospels. Since at least the early me ...

of Three Saints. The Church contains many items that are registered as historical objects: *A Painting: Saint Philomena Martyred (19th century) *A Painting: Saint Romain (1835) *A Painting: Pope Pius IX remitting indulgences to the Andance Priest for the Saint-Barrel Chapel (19th century) *A Painting: Crusaders bringing relics to the chapel (19th century) *An Altar Cross (19th century) *A Processional Cross (19th century) *2 Prints with frames: Stations of the Cross (19th century) *A Reliquary (19th century) *A Statue: Saint Barulas (19th century) *A Statue: Black Madonna (19th century) *A Passion Cross: Cross of Bargemen

Andance in the arts

Andance is mentioned in the poem by

Louis Aragon Louis Aragon (, , 3 October 1897 – 24 December 1982) was a French poet who was one of the leading voices of the surrealist movement in France. He co-founded with André Breton and Philippe Soupault the surrealist review '' Littérature''. He w ...

, ''The conscript of a hundred villages'', written as an act of clandestine intellectual resistance in 1943 during the

, ''Le Conscrit des cent villages'', published initially in ''La Diane française'', consulted in Pierre Seghers, ''The Resistance and its poets: France, 1940-1945'', Paris, Seghers, 2004 (2nd edition), , p. 373-375