La Souterraine
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

La Souterraine (;
Limousin Limousin (; oc, Lemosin ) is a former administrative region of southwest-central France. On 1 January 2016, it became part of the new administrative region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. It comprised three departments: Corrèze, Creuse, and Haute-Vienn ...
: ''La Sotarrana'') 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
Creuse Creuse (; oc, Cruesa or ) is a department in central France named after the river Creuse. After Lozère, it is the second least populated department in France. It is bordered by Indre and Cher to the north, Allier and Puy-de-Dôme to the eas ...
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
Nouvelle-Aquitaine Nouvelle-Aquitaine (; oc, Nòva Aquitània or ; eu, Akitania Berria; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Novéle-Aguiéne'') is the largest administrative region in France, spanning the west and southwest of the mainland. The region was created by t ...
region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...
in 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 ...
.


Geography

La Souterraine is an area of
farming Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...
and
light industry Light industry are industries that usually are less capital-intensive than heavy industry and are more consumer-oriented than business-oriented, as they typically produce smaller consumer goods. Most light industry products are produced for ...
, comprising the town and a few small hamlets. It is situated some west of
Guéret Guéret (; Occitan: ''Garait'') is a commune and the prefecture of the Creuse department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in central France. Geography Guéret is a light industrial town, the largest in the department, with a big woodland and so ...
, at the junction of the D1, D912, D951 and the N145 roads. It is also served by a
TER Ter or TER may refer to: Places * River Ter, in Essex, England * Ter (river), in Catalonia * Ter (department), a region in France * Torre (river), (Slovene: ''Ter''), a river in Italy * Ter, Ljubno, a settlement in the Municipality of Ljubno ob ...
railway link. The small river Sédelle, a tributary of the
Creuse Creuse (; oc, Cruesa or ) is a department in central France named after the river Creuse. After Lozère, it is the second least populated department in France. It is bordered by Indre and Cher to the north, Allier and Puy-de-Dôme to the eas ...
, flows through the town. The sources of the
Benaize The Benaize (; oc, Benesa, or ) is a long river in the Creuse, Haute-Vienne, Vienne and Indre departments, central France. Its source is near La Souterraine. It flows generally northwest. It is a left tributary of the Anglin, into which it f ...
, a tributary of the
Anglin The Anglin () is a long river in the Creuse, Indre and Vienne departments in central France. Its source is near Azerables. It flows generally northwest. It is a right tributary of the Gartempe, into which it flows near Angles-sur-l'Anglin. Its ...
, and the
Brame The Brame ( oc, Brama, french: la Brame) is a long river in the Creuse and Haute-Vienne ''départements'', central France. Its source is at La Souterraine. It flows generally west. It is a right tributary of the Gartempe into which it flows be ...
, a tributary of the
Gartempe The Gartempe () is a French river, long. It is a left tributary of the Creuse, which it joins in La Roche-Posay. Its source is in the municipality of Peyrabout. Among its tributaries are the Anglin, the Brame, the Semme and the Ardour. The Ga ...
, are both in the commune.


History

There is evidence of pre-
Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...
occupation here, attested by the discovery of
Stone Age The Stone Age was a broad prehistoric period during which stone was widely used to make tools with an edge, a point, or a percussion surface. The period lasted for roughly 3.4 million years, and ended between 4,000 BC and 2,000 BC, with t ...
tools and a
menhir A menhir (from Brittonic languages: ''maen'' or ''men'', "stone" and ''hir'' or ''hîr'', "long"), standing stone, orthostat, or lith is a large human-made upright stone, typically dating from the European middle Bronze Age. They can be foun ...
. Remains of Roman villas and temples have been unearthed. In
medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...
times, a church and fortified walls were built. The name of the town, translating as ‘subterranean’, comes from the underground parts of the church, the
crypt A crypt (from Latin ''crypta'' "vault") is a stone chamber beneath the floor of a church or other building. It typically contains coffins, sarcophagi, or religious relics. Originally, crypts were typically found below the main apse of a chur ...
.


Population


Sights

* The church dating from the 11th century, with its Roman crypt. * The 15th-century
Manorhouse A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were held the lord's manorial courts, communal meals wi ...
de Châteaurenaud. * The 13th-century gate, the Porte de St.Jean, and the rest of the ramparts. * A
feudal Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was the combination of the legal, economic, military, cultural and political customs that flourished in Middle Ages, medieval Europe between the 9th and 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a wa ...
motte A motte-and-bailey castle is a European fortification with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised area of ground called a motte, accompanied by a walled courtyard, or bailey, surrounded by a protective ditch and palisade. Relatively easy to ...
, circular tower and the castle at Bridiers. * The 18th-century chapel of the hospital. * The ancient chapel of Sainte-Eutrope. * The 14th-century church at Bussière-Madeleine.


See also

*
Communes of the Creuse department The following is a list of the 256 communes of the Creuse department of France. The communes cooperate in the following intercommunalities (as of 2020):Official website of La Souterraine
Communes of Creuse County of La Marche {{Creuse-geo-stub