Arnac-Pompadour (; oc, Arnac e Pompador) 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

Corrèze Corrèze (; oc, Corresa) is a department in France, named after the river Corrèze which runs through it. Although its prefecture is Tulle, its most populated city is Brive-la-Gaillarde. Corrèze is located in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region ...

department 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 ...

region of central

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 area ...

. The inhabitants of the commune are known as ''Pompadours'' in French. In Nouvelle-Aquitaine and on directional signs, the commune is usually simply called Pompadour, although the actual village of Pompadour is shared between Arnac-Pompadour and

Saint-Sornin-Lavolps Saint-Sornin-Lavolps (; oc, Sent Sarnin las Volps) is a commune in the Corrèze department in central France. Population See also *Communes of the Corrèze department The following is a list of the 279 communes of the Corrèze departme ...

. The name of Pompadour became world-famous due to the favourite of

Louis XV Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (french: le Bien-Aimé), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reached ...

, Madame de Pompadour (Jeanne-Antoinette Poisson), to whom the king gave the chateau of Pompadour and the associated title of Marquise. The town is famous for its chateau and its stud farm, the Pompadour National Anglo-Arab Stud, headquarters of the French National Stud and

's principal production centre of

Anglo-Arabian The Anglo-Arabian or Anglo-Arab is a crossbred, part-Arabian horse that now also has its own status as a horse breed. It is the result of a Thoroughbred (hence, the prefix "Anglo") being crossed with an Arabian. The cross can be made betw ...

horses (although the racecourse is actually outside the commune).

Geography

Arnac-Pompadour is located some 25 km south-east of

Saint-Yrieix-la-Perche Saint-Yrieix-la-Perche (; oc, link=no, Sent Iriès, ) is a commune in the Haute-Vienne department, region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France. It is significant as the first place where kaolin was found in France, a discovery of great importance to ...

and 35 km west by north-west of Brive-la-Gaillarde. Access to the commune is by the D901 road from

Lubersac Lubersac (; oc, Liberçac) is a commune in the Corrèze département in central France near Arnac-Pompadour and Uzerche. Formerly called ''Louparsat'' ("lou percé" in Limousin, can be translated to "pierced wolf" in English), named from the ...

in the north-east passing through the southern part of the commune and the town and continuing south-west to Juillac. The D7 road also comes from Troche in the south-east passing through the town and continuing to Payzac in the west. The D126 goes north from the town through the length of the commune to join the D149 north of the commune. A railway passes through the commune:

Pompadour station Pompadour is a railway station in Arnac-Pompadour, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France. The station is located on the Nexon - Brive railway line. The station is served by TER Ter or TER may refer to: Places * River Ter, in Essex, England * Ter (river), i ...

has rail connections to Brive-la-Gaillarde, Saint-Yrieix and Limoges. The commune is mixed forest and farmland. Apart from the town there are also the following hamlets in the commune: *Le Mias *Le Queyraud *La Federie *La Pourelie *Plaisance *Le Puy Chateau *Arnac *Laumonerie *Chignac *Bois Redon *Les Combes *La Foret Basse *Puy Marmont The Auvézère river passes through the north of the commune flowing from east to west. Several tributaries flow north to join it in the commune.Google Maps
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Neighbouring communes and villages

History

Arnac was inhabited in

Gallo-Roman Gallo-Roman culture was a consequence of the Romanization of Gauls under the rule of the Roman Empire. It was characterized by the Gaulish adoption or adaptation of Roman culture, language, morals and way of life in a uniquely Gaulish context ...

times by a landowner named ''Artonacus'' or ''Artonos''. Pompadour belonged to one of the oldest lordships in

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 ...

: the Lastours, Vicomte de Pompadour. The first castle was built in 1026 by Guy de Lastours to defend his possessions, coveted by the Vicomte de Ségur. He also rebuilt Arnac church and established a monastery there, given to

Saint Martial Saint Martial (3rd century), called "the Apostle of the Gauls" or "the Apostle of Aquitaine", was the first bishop of Limoges. His feast day is 30 June. Life There is no accurate information as to the origin, dates of birth and death, or the acts ...

's Abbey in Limoges. As centuries went by, the suzerainty of the Pompadours spread to all the adjoining parishes. Geoffroi Hélie de Pompadour extended the castle in the 15th century having inherited the illustrious Viscounty of Comborn in 1513. The House of Pompadour had reached its religious, military and political height. Elevated to a marquisate, it died out at the dawn of the 18th century, with several successive deaths. After that family died out, the inheritance (including the estate, the title and coat-of-arms) was disputed in a long trial between the

Prince of Conti The title of Prince of Conti (French: ''prince de Conti'') was a French noble title, assumed by a cadet branch of the princely house of Bourbon-Condé. History The title derives its name from Conty, a small town in northern France, c. 35 km ...

and the Marquis de La Vallière and it was finally transferred to the

Crown A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, partic ...

. In 1745,

gave it to his favourite, Mme d'Étiolles, who was given the title

Marquise de Pompadour Jeanne Antoinette Poisson, Marquise de Pompadour (, ; 29 December 1721 – 15 April 1764), commonly known as Madame de Pompadour, was a member of the French court. She was the official chief mistress of King Louis XV from 1745 to 1751, and re ...

. In 1760, a few years before her death, she left the castle and it returned to the Crown. In the following year Louis XV established a Royal Stud at the Castle and the 333 hectare estate (spread across several communes) based on the private stud that had been established by the Marquise in 1751. It was closed at the fall of the Ancien Régime then re-established by the French Directory in 1795 and became the National Stud in 1872. It is currently a famous National Stud specialising particularly in developing the Anglo-Arab breed. 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 coup of 18 Brumaire, November 1799. Many of its ...

the commune took the name ''Arnac-la-Prairie''.

Heraldry

Administration

List of Successive Mayors

Demography

In 2017 the commune had 1,133 inhabitants.

Cultural heritage

Civil Heritage

*The Château de Pompadour (15th century) is registered as a historical monument. Of the

castrum In the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Roman Republic, Republican period of ancient Rome. As a po ...

of Guy de Lastours, built around 1000, nothing remains. The castle was completely rebuilt in the 15th century by Geoffrey Helie de Pompadour who became marquis in 1614. The title of Marquis de Pompadour became famous when King

gave it to his mistress, the famous

in 1745. The marquisate was bought in 1761 by the

Duke of Choiseul Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ranke ...

before the creation in 1763 of the horse stud by the Comptroller General of Finance Bertin. The castle was no longer maintained and was not habitable in 1790 apart from the middle part. After 1793 the castle was mostly pulled down leaving no more than part of the middle and the gatehouse. *The Pompadour Racecourse is known as the city of the horse and organizes racing every Sunday during the summer in the outdoor enclosure facing the castle. It also hosts an international cross-country course. *The

Club Méditerranée Club Med SAS, commonly known as Club Med and previously known as Club Méditerranée SA, is a French travel and tourism operator headquartered in Paris, specializing in all-inclusive holidays. Founded in 1950, the company has been primarily o ...

'' of Pompadour village hosts many French and European holidaymakers. It has an accommodation capacity of 450 rooms and numerous sports facilities (19 tennis courts, 3 riding courses with two first-class, five riding schools, a rugby/soccer field etc.). This property has been known since the 1970s to be the spearhead of horse riding for Club Med. *The National Stud of Pompadour houses the headquarters of the National Stud. *The Stallion stables of Puy-Marmont houses about 65 stallions of various breeds.

Religious heritage

*The Chapel of Saint Blaise contains a framed Painting: Child Jesus Sleeping (1863) which is registered as an historical object. *The Church of Saint-Pierre and Saint-Pardoux (11th century) is registered as a historical monument. The church contains many items that are registered as historical objects: **A Statue: Saint Martial (16th century) **A framed Painting: The Virgin exiting the Tomb (1875) **The whole western facade (15th century) **The Shrine of Saints Pardoux and Martial (1764) **A Statue: Saint Martial (15th century) **A Statue: Saint Pardoux (15th century) **A Statue: Virgin and child (15th century)

Notable people linked to the commune

*Joseph Brunet, born at Arnac-Pompadour on 4 March 1829, died at La Bourgade (Haute-Vienne) on 6 January 1891, was a magistrate and politician, Minister of Public Instruction, Culture, and Fine Arts in 1877, Senator for Correze from 1876 to 1885. * Jules Comby (1853–1947), a famous pediatrician was born in the commune *Eugene Gayot, former director of the National Stud of Pompadour. *

Pierre Villepreux Pierre Villepreux (born 5 July 1943) is a former France, French rugby union player and coach. He played at full back and fly half for Stade Toulousain, Toulouse, and won 34 caps for France national rugby union team, France between 1967 and 1972. V ...

(1943-), a former

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...

player and

national team A national sports team (commonly known as a national team or a national side) is a team that represents a nation, rather than a particular club or region, in an international sport. The term is most commonly associated with team sports, for exa ...

coach was born in the commune *Pierre Pechdo, former director of the National Stud of Pompadour.

Philately

A postage stamp, worth 3.00 francs (€0.46), representing Arnac-Pompadour castle was issued on 10 July 1999. A postage stamp for 20g priority letters depicting Arnac-Pompadour castle was issued in 2012. It was part of the "Castles and stately homes of our regions 2012" series.Series "Castles and stately homes of our regions 2012"

References

External links

The Pays de Pompadour website

Arnac-Pompadour on the National Geographic Institute website

Arnac-Pompadour on Géoportail
National Geographic Institute (IGN) website
''Arnac'' and ''Pompadour'' on the 1750 Cassini Map
{{DEFAULTSORT:Arnacpompadour Communes of Corrèze Madame de Pompadour