Arfeuilles (; oc, Arfuelha) is a

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

in the

Allier Allier ( , , ; oc, Alèir) is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region that borders Cher to the west, Nièvre to the north, Saône-et-Loire and Loire to the east, Puy-de-Dôme to the south, and Creuse to the south-west. Named afte ...

department Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

in the

Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes (ARA; ; frp, Ôvèrgne-Rôno-Ârpes; oc, Auvèrnhe Ròse Aups; it, Alvernia-Rodano-Alpi) is a region in southeast-central France created by the 2014 territorial reform of French regions; it resulted from the merger of Au ...

region of central

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. The inhabitants of the commune are known as ''Arfeuillats'' or ''Arfeuillates''. The commune has been awarded one flower by the ''National Council of Towns and Villages in Bloom'' in the ''Competition of cities and villages in Bloom''.

Geography

Arfeuilles is located in the foothills of the Madeleine mountains some east of

Vichy Vichy (, ; ; oc, Vichèi, link=no, ) is a city in the Allier Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of central France, in the historic province of Bourbonnais. It is a Spa town, spa and resort town and in World ...

and north-west of

Roanne Roanne (; frp, Rouana; oc, Roana) is a commune in the Loire department, central France. It is located northwest of Lyon on the river Loire. It has an important Museum, the ''Musée des Beaux-arts et d'Archéologie Joseph-Déchelette'' (Fren ...

. It is part of the Canton of Lapalisse with an area of almost . The village is at an altitude of and is surrounded by a network of hills of which the highest is belonging to the "". To the south it is bordered by the ''Côte roannaise'', to the east and west are the Mountains of Forez. To the north the heights fall towards the plains of Lapalisse. Access to the commune is by the D207 road from Saint-Pierre-Laval in the north-east passing through the village and continuing south-west to

Châtel-Montagne Châtel-Montagne (; oc, Chastèlmontanha) is a commune in the Allier department in central France. Population See also *Communes of the Allier department The following is a list of the 317 communes of the Allier department of Franc ...

. The D26 links the village to the N2007 (really D707) in the north-west which links to the N7 National Highway and also continues south-east to the hamlet of Les Biefs on the south-eastern border of the commune. The D471 goes from the village to Le Breuil in the north-west.Google Maps
/ref> The commune is equally mixed forest and farmland. The ''Barbenan'' river flows from the south of the commune through its length past the village and continuing north-west to join the ''Besbre'', a tributary of the

Loire The Loire (, also ; ; oc, Léger, ; la, Liger) is the longest river in France and the 171st longest in the world. With a length of , it drains , more than a fifth of France's land, while its average discharge is only half that of the Rhône ...

, at Le Breuil.

Neighbouring communes and villages

History

From The Middle Ages to the French Revolution

In feudal times Arfeuilles was a small village where some of the priests from the priory of Châtel-Montagne had built the old Arfeuilles Church (demolished in the 19th century and replaced by the present church). The inhabitants lived under the protection of a Squire of Arfeuilles, Hugues d'Arfoglia, vassal of the Count of Forez. In 1310, after a local conflict with the lord of Montmorillon (?) the fief fell into the hands of the conqueror: the noble family of Châtel-Montagne. Arfeuilles was incorporated into the province of Bourbonnais and dependent on the Chatellery of

as ''Montmorillon Châtel-Montagne''. The

Wars of religion A religious war or a war of religion, sometimes also known as a holy war ( la, sanctum bellum), is a war which is primarily caused or justified by differences in religion. In the modern period, there are frequent debates over the extent to wh ...

led to the destruction of the old castle and manor house built next to the church in 1600. The 17th and 18th centuries saw a significant increase in the population of Arfeuilles and in the commercial development of the commune. In the villages, the

hemp Hemp, or industrial hemp, is a botanical class of ''Cannabis sativa'' cultivars grown specifically for industrial or medicinal use. It can be used to make a wide range of products. Along with bamboo, hemp is among the fastest growing plants o ...

industry provided an important contribution to farms which typically had a hemp field. It was also a source of work for hemp combers, sergers, sewers, and weavers.

Rural organization from the 17th to the 18th centuries

In the traditional rural societies families lived together under one roof grouped in communities to cope with difficulties and dangers of all kinds. They worked on an undivided heritage of land passed down from generation to generation. This family and collective way of life was common in the Bourbonnais Mountains until the 19th century when it then disappeared with the application of the Napoleonic Code which did not recognize this type of association. The community was structured around a community leader, called "the Master", who managed common interests and had real moral authority over the group. Members of the community were called "parsonniers" and each had a share of the communal heritage. In general, the community gave its name to the village or locality where it was installed. In the Arfeuilles region several communities have been identified from available state records although there is no written contract of association.

The revolutionary period

During the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

, with the new territorial organization set up by the National Constituent Assembly of 1789, the territory of Arfeuilles was attached to the department of Allier in the district of Cusset. Early political and social measures taken by the Constituent Assembly did not create particular agitation in Arfeuilles, the population was preoccupied with poor harvests and famine. It was not the same, however, with the Civil Constitution of the Clergy voted on 12 July 1790. The nomination and appointment of constitutional priests, the jurors, the confiscation of the rights of the parish enraged the population and started a virtual local war. Arfeuilles was not spared by the Terror as Jacques Forestier, president of the cantonal parliament of Arfeuilles and a raging Montagnard of the convention, cracked down. The town was the chief town of a canton at the beginning of the Revolution.

Heraldry

Administration

List of Successive Mayors

Population

Distribution of Age Groups

Percentage Distribution of Age Groups in Arfeuilles and Allier Department in 2017 Source: INSEEÉvolution et structure de la population en 2017: Commune d'Arfeuilles (03006)
/ref>

Economy

Until the 19th century, Arfeuilles was a prosperous commune with agriculture as the main activity. Workshops carding wool, spinning, making

Serge Serge may refer to: *Serge (fabric), a type of twill fabric *Serge (llama) (born 2005), a llama in the Cirque Franco-Italien and internet meme *Serge (name), a masculine given name (includes a list of people with this name) *Serge (post), a hitchi ...

, and cloth were installed in the vicinity of the town. Along the river Barbenan over 14 grain mills, oil presses, and sawmills were recorded in the land registry of 1829. With rugged terrain and fragmented and dispersed rural farms, agriculture was poorly suited to agricultural mechanization and land gave way gradually to reforestation. The nearest railway station was more than seven kilometres from the village near the National Highway N7 so Arfeuilles did not benefit from the opening up of road and rail in the 19th century. The consequences were a gradual decline in activity and demographic change. Currently, a second breath of air has been brought to the region through the development of

green tourism Ecotourism is a form of tourism involving responsible travel (using sustainable transport) to natural areas, conserving the environment, and improving the well-being of the local people. Its purpose may be to educate the traveler, to provide funds ...

Sites and Monuments

*The Church of Saint-Germain in the

neo-Gothic Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

style replaced the old church. It was built between 1854 and 1870. It retains a

Holy water font A holy water font or stoup is a vessel containing holy water which is generally placed near the entrance of a church. It is often placed at the base of a crucifix or religious representation. It is used in the Catholic Church, Anglican Churches ...

from the 12th century. There is also a Reliquary (17th century) which is registered as an historical object. *The Pisserotte Waterfall. *The Chapel of Saint Francis contains a Group Sculpture: Virgin of Pity (16th century) which is registered as an historical object.Ministry of Culture, Palissy