Arcens 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

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 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 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 ''Arcensois'' or ''Arcensoises''

Geography

Arcens is located some 55 km east by south-east of

Le Puy-en-Velay Le Puy-en-Velay (, literally ''Le Puy in Velay''; oc, Lo Puèi de Velai ) is the prefecture of the Haute-Loire department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of south-central France. Located near the river Loire, the city is famous for its ...

and 60 km west of

Valence Valence or valency may refer to: Science * Valence (chemistry), a measure of an element's combining power with other atoms * Degree (graph theory), also called the valency of a vertex in graph theory * Valency (linguistics), aspect of verbs rel ...

. It can be accessed by the D237 road from Saint-Martin-de-Valamas in the north-east passing through the commune and the village and continuing south-west to Saint-Martial. Apart from the village there are also the hamlets of Massas and Les Allayauds in the south-west. The entire commune is heavily forested.Google Maps
/ref> The ''Eysse'' river flows through the commune and the village from south-west to north-east gathering numerous tributaries on the way. It forms part of the northern border of the commune before continuing north to join the ''Eyrieux'' at Saint-Martin-de-Valamas.

Neighbouring communes and villages

Toponymy

It appears that the origin of the commune name ''Arcens'' was from a hamlet in the 14th century and the area occupied by the current commune was divided between three Lords in 1464.

History

Arcens is a village divided between the plateau and the valley and in the Middle Ages was the borders of three lordships ( Brion,

Chanéac Chanéac (; oc, Chanhac) is a commune in the Ardèche department in southern France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territ ...

, and Fourchades). The first mention that is often recounted, of ''Mansus de Arcenno'' in 1024, does not apply to Arcens, but to a manse near Escoulenc (Saint-Andéol-d'Escoulenc in Erieux). In 1164 Pope Alexander III confirmed the Arcens church to the chapter of Puy but this date is controversial. On 17 April 1195 the next pope,

Adrian IV Pope Adrian IV ( la, Adrianus IV; born Nicholas Breakspear (or Brekespear); 1 September 1159, also Hadrian IV), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 4 December 1154 to his death in 1159. He is the only Englishman ...

, confirmed the church to the abbey of Saint-Chaffre. In 1620, the Acens church depended on the chapter of Puy whose canons named the priests. The Lordship of Arcens appears only in the 15th century in the Brion family: thence it passed to Crussol and in the 18th century was in the hands of the Aiguillon family, one of the most powerful of the time. The revolutionary period left some traces: the sales of church property, theft from the tax collector, then a strange resignation of the council. The lord of Arcens (de Brion) was meanwhile guillotined.

Administration

List of Successive Mayors

Demography

In 2017 the commune had 376 inhabitants. Arcens Landscape

Distribution of Age Groups

The population of the commune is older than the departmental average. Percentage Distribution of Age Groups in Arcens and Ardèche Department in 2017 Source: INSEEÉvolution et structure de la population en 2017: Commune d'Arcens (07012)
/ref>Évolution et structure de la population en 2017: Département de l'Ardèche (07)
/ref>

Sites and Monuments

*Source of gaseous

mineral water Mineral water is water from a mineral spring that contains various minerals, such as salts and sulfur compounds. Mineral water may usually be still or sparkling (carbonated/effervescent) according to the presence or absence of added gases. T ...

. *A Chateau from the 16th century. *A Church from the 19th century.

Notable people linked to the commune

*Rémy Roure, resistance fighter, editor-in-chief of ''

Le Monde ''Le Monde'' (; ) is a French daily afternoon newspaper. It is the main publication of Le Monde Group and reported an average circulation of 323,039 copies per issue in 2009, about 40,000 of which were sold abroad. It has had its own website si ...

'', founder of the Democratic Party then the

UDSR The Democratic and Socialist Union of the Resistance (french: Union démocratique et socialiste de la Résistance or UDSR) was a French political party founded after the liberation of France from German occupation and mainly active during the Fo ...

. *Rene Baumer (1906-1982), painter, resistance fighter and deportee. Wrote two novels about Soutron.