Marcols-les-Eaux (; oc, Marcols) 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 of southern France.
History
Known as Marcovolos during the 11th century and then Marcouls during the 12th century, the village became Saint-Julien-d'Ursival (first mentioned in 1573), Saint Julian the Hospitaller being the patron of the town. In 1790, the village is renamed Marcols by the revolutionaries willing to remove any references to the Catholic Church. In 1912, the town becomes Marcols-les-Eaux as many mineral water sources are found throughout the village. A source was exploited for bottled mineral water until the late 1950s. In 1912, 36% of the commune's territory are detached to form the new town of Albon-d'Ardèche.
On 4 November 1943, an airplane of the British
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...
, dropping guns and munitions to the local Resistance during the night, crashes against the Bourboulas pike, in Marcols-les-Eaux. 7 of the 8 crew members died. They were buried the next day in the village cemetery by the inhabitants. Their tombstones are still visible.
On 7 August 1944, the German
Luftwaffe
The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German '' Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the '' Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabt ...
, suspecting the inhabitants of supplying the local Resistance with food, bombs the village several times during the day killing three local civilians and destroying a couple of farms and houses. A plate commemorating this bloody event was inaugurated along the wall of the commune's cemetery.
Population
Until 1912, the two communes of Marcols-les-Eaux and Albon-d'Ardèche formed a single commune named Marcols.
Gallery
Image:Village.2.Marcols.jpg, A cross in the village
Image:P1110036.Marcols.jpg, The
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...
's crewmembers' tombstones in the village's cemetery