Saint-Blancard (; Gascon: Sent Blancat) 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

Gers Gers (; oc, Gers or , ) is a department in the region of Occitania, Southwestern France. Named after the Gers River, its inhabitants are called the ''Gersois'' and ''Gersoises'' in French. In 2019, it had a population of 191,377.

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

Occitanie Occitanie may refer to: *Occitania, a region in southern France called ''Occitanie'' in French *Occitania (administrative region) Occitania ( ; french: Occitanie ; oc, Occitània ; ca, Occitània ) is the southernmost administrative region of ...

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 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 ...

Geography

Localisation

Saint-Blancard is located on the ridge between the valley of the

Gimone The Gimone (; oc-gsc, Gimona) is a river in south-western France, left tributary of the Garonne. Its source is in the foothills of the Pyrenees, near Lannemezan. It flows north through the following ''départements'' and towns: * Hautes-Pyrén ...

in the east and the valley of the

Arrats The Arrats is a 162 km long river in southern France, left tributary of the Garonne. Its source is in the northern foothills of the Pyrenees, near Sariac-Magnoac. It flows north through the following ''départements'' and towns: * Hautes-Pyr ...

in the west . The D228 crosses the D576 in the village.

Auch Auch (; oc, label= Gascon, Aush ) is a commune in southwestern France. Located in the region of Occitanie, it is the capital of the Gers department. Auch is the historical capital of Gascony. Geography Localization Hydrography The R ...

is at 40 km,

Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger Regions of France, region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania. The city is on t ...

at 80 km and

Tarbes Tarbes (; Gascon: ''Tarba'') is a commune in the Hautes-Pyrénées department in the Occitanie region of southwestern France. It is the capital of Bigorre and of the Hautes-Pyrénées. It has been a commune since 1790. It was known as ''Turb ...

at 60 km from Saint-Blancard. Map commune FR insee code 32365

Hydrography

The Arrats runs in the west of the commune. South of the village is a small lake for the farmers. There is a privately owned

watermill A watermill or water mill is a mill that uses hydropower. It is a structure that uses a water wheel or water turbine to drive a mechanical process such as milling (grinding), rolling, or hammering. Such processes are needed in the productio ...

. To the southeast lies a 6 km long reservoir with a surface area of 263 hectares, ''Lac de la Gimone''. The lake forms the border between Gers and

Haute-Garonne Haute-Garonne (; oc, Nauta Garona, ; en, Upper Garonne) is a department in the Occitanie region of Southwestern France. Named after the river Garonne, which flows through the department. Its prefecture and main city is Toulouse, the country' ...

. It was created by the placement of a dam on the river Gimone. The commune has a system of streams and small lakes that serve the agriculture.

History

Politics

The office of nine communes united under the name ''Les Hautes Vallees'', is located in the village.

Population

The inhabitants are called Saint Blancardais.

Services

With a small shop, the village is still self-supporting. At the store is a gas depot. There is a hairdresser and a post office in Saint-Blancard. The municipality encourages the middle class by counting low rents for buildings. In a former

convent school Catholic schools are pre-primary, primary and secondary educational institutions administered under the aegis or in association with the Catholic Church. , the Catholic Church operates the world's largest religious, non-governmental school syste ...

is now a hotel / pub / restaurant next to the town hall. There is a school. There are Bed & Breakfast and there are cottages. There is a football field. In the village is radio ''Coteaux'', 97.7 and 104.5 FM located . At the lake is a nautical center. There is a swimming facility. There is a field for motorized paragliding. The village has a

rehabilitation center Drug rehabilitation is the process of medical or psychotherapeutic treatment for dependency on psychoactive substances such as alcohol, prescription drugs, and street drugs such as cannabis, cocaine, heroin or amphetamines. The general intent i ...

. There are also homes for rehabilitation treatment.

Sites of interest

The most striking building in town is the castle. The 15th-century church ''Saint-Pancrare'' is built next to the castle. At the junktion west of the castle is a monument to a former

Count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New Yor ...

''Armand'' who was also

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well as ...

of the village. In a pasture north of the castle stand on a hill, the remains of the

windmill A windmill is a structure that converts wind power into rotational energy using vanes called sails or blades, specifically to mill grain (gristmills), but the term is also extended to windpumps, wind turbines, and other applications, in so ...

(moulin à vent fr) from Saint-Blancard. That place is called ''Chez Baptiste''. In front of the castle is a monument to the fallen, a cross and a statue of

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religious contexts * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also call ...

. Between these statues is a

boules ''Boules'' () is a collective name for a wide range of games similar to bowls and bocce (In French: jeu or jeux, in Croatian: boćanje and in Italian: gioco or giochi) in which the objective is to throw or roll heavy balls (called in France, ...

alley with lights located. In the middle of the village stands a cross aging from 1895 in memory of the famille (family) Furgatte. In the east of the village stands a twelve-foot-high wooden cross back from the seventeenth century.

Notable people

In the village is the Château de Saint-Blancard (Castle of Saint-Blancard). Among the barons and

marquess A marquess (; french: marquis ), es, marqués, pt, marquês. is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman ...

es that lived in the castle were: * Bernard d' Ornezan, Baron of Saint-Blancard in the

diocese In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associat ...

Lombez Lombez ( or ; oc, Lombèrs) is a commune in the Gers department in southwestern France. Geography Population See also * Lombez Cathedral *Communes of the Gers department The following is a list of the 461 Communes of France, communes of ...

, around 1400, * and

Armand de Gontaut, baron de Biron Armand de Gontaut, baron de Biron (, 152426 July 1592) was a soldier, diplomat and Marshal of France. Beginning his service during the Italian Wars, Biron served in Italy under Marshal Brissac and Guise in 1557 before rising to command his own c ...

and

Maréchal de camp ''Maréchal de camp'' (sometimes incorrectly translated as field marshal) was a general officer rank used by the French Army until 1848. The rank originated from the older rank of sergeant major general (French: ''sergent-major général''). S ...

, mid sixteenth century.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saintblancard Communes of Gers