Ribérac (; oc, Rabairac) 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

Dordogne Dordogne ( , or ; ; oc, Dordonha ) is a large rural department in Southwestern France, with its prefecture in Périgueux. Located in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region roughly half-way between the Loire Valley and the Pyrenees, it is named ...

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, ...

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 ...

in southwestern

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 commune is situated by the

Dronne The Dronne (, also , ; oc, Drona) is a long river in southwestern France, right tributary of the Isle. Its source is in the north-western Massif Central, east of the town of Châlus (south-west of Limoges) at an elevation of . It flows south-wes ...

River.

History

In response to the 848

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

plunder of nearby Brantôme, a fort was built near a

ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...

of the Dronne. Around the year 1000, the castle of Ribérac was built on a hill where the current cemetery is. Houses are set up at the foot of the walls, descending towards the valley. After 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 ...

, in the late 1500s, the castle was abanonded and was in ruins by the time of 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 conside ...

. In 1790, Ribérac became the prefecture of the District of Ribérac (french: District de Ribérac). In 1793, the commune of

La Faye La Faye is a commune in the Charente department in southwestern France. Population See also *Communes of the Charente department The following is a list of the 364 communes of the Charente department of France France (), off ...

joined with Ribérac.Chantal Tanet et Tristan Hordé, ''Dictionnaire des noms de lieux du Périgord'', , éditions Fanlac, 2000, . In 1800 Ribérac became one of the four

sub-prefecture A subprefecture is an administrative division of a country that is below prefecture or province. Albania There are twelve Albanian counties or prefectures, each of which is divided into several districts, sometimes translated as subprefectures ...

s of the Dordogne. In 1851, part of the commune moved to the new commune of

Saint-Martin-de-Ribérac Saint-Martin-de-Ribérac (, literally ''Saint-Martin of Ribérac''; Limousin: ''Sent Martin de Rabairac'') is a commune in the Dordogne department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. Population History The commune of Saint-Martin-d ...

. In 1926, the Arrondissement of Ribérac was disbanded, and Ribérac joined the

Arrondissement of Périgueux The arrondissement of Périgueux is an arrondissement of France in the Dordogne department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region. It has 143 communes. Its population is 175,309 (2016), and its area is . Composition The communes of the arrondissement o ...

. Despite the efforts of local

Maquis Maquis may refer to: Resistance groups * Maquis (World War II), predominantly rural guerrilla bands of the French Resistance * Spanish Maquis, guerrillas who fought against Francoist Spain in the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War * The network ...

resistance fighters,Guy Penaud, ''Les crimes de la Division "Brehmer"'', , éditions la Lauze, mars 2004, . the area was occupied by the German army in March 1944.

Geography

Ribérac is on the left bank of the

. To the north, the soil in the Dronne valley is covered with

alluvium Alluvium (from Latin ''alluvius'', from ''alluere'' 'to wash against') is loose clay, silt, sand, or gravel that has been deposited by running water in a stream bed, on a floodplain, in an alluvial fan or beach, or in similar settings. Alluv ...

, while the heights are made up of

Cretaceous The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of ...

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms wh ...

s. Its minimum altitude, 54 meters, is located in the extreme north-west of the town, where a small arm of the Dronne leaves the town. The climate is classified as “altered oceanic”, a transition zone between oceanic, mountain and semi-continental climates. With

climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to ...

, it is predicted that the average temperature will increase and the average rainfall decline.

Local government

Ribérac is a ''

'', or municipality. The ''commune'' is part of the ''

communauté de communes A ''communauté de communes'' (, "community of communes") is a federation of municipalities (communes) in France. It forms a framework within which local tasks are carried out together. It is the least-integrated form of ''intercommunalité'' (in ...

'', (the french: :fr:Communauté de communes du Périgord Ribéracois). Since the 2020 municipal election, the

municipal council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural coun ...

has been led by the Union of the Left.

Population

As of 2017, the number of people aged over 60 (42.1%) was higher than the national (25.5%) and departmental (35.9%) rates. The female population of the town is greater than the male population (55.3%), and higher than the departmental (51.8%) and national (51.6%) rates.

Notable residents

Arnaut Daniel Arnaut Daniel (; fl. 1180–1200) was an Occitan troubadour of the 12th century, praised by Dante as "the best smith" (''miglior fabbro'') and called a "grand master of love" (''gran maestro d'amore'') by Petrarch. In the 20th century he was laud ...

(1180–1200):

Occitan Occitan may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the Occitania territory in parts of France, Italy, Monaco and Spain. * Something of, from, or related to the Occitania administrative region of France. * Occitan language Occitan (; ...

troubadour A troubadour (, ; oc, trobador ) was a composer and performer of Old Occitan lyric poetry during the High Middle Ages (1100–1350). Since the word ''troubadour'' is etymologically masculine, a female troubadour is usually called a '' trobai ...

Fernand Faure Fernand Faure (16 March 1853 – 6 November 1929) was a French economist and politician. He held office as a deputy from 1885 to 1889, then despite repeated attempts at reelection was out of office until becoming a Senator in 1924. During the inte ...

(1853–1929): economist and politician *

Oscar Bardi de Fourtou Marie François Oscar Bardi de Fourtou (3 January 1836 – 6 December 1897) was a French politician. Born into a bourgeois family, he served as Minister of Transport from 7 December 1872 to 18 May 1873. He also served as Minister of Interior and ...

(1836-1897): politician *

Jean-Pierre Escalettes Jean-Pierre Escalettes (born 29 May 1935 in Béziers) is the former president of the French Football Federation having served in the role from 12 February 2005 to 2 July 2010. He was awarded the presidency after winning the ball with 92.56% of ...

: (1935-) football player