Balaguier-d'Olt

Balaguier-d'Olt
Commune
Location of Balaguier-d'Olt
Balaguier-d'Olt Balaguier-d'Olt
Coordinates: 44°31′29″N 1°58′23″E
Country	France
Region	Occitania
Department	Aveyron
Arrondissement	Villefranche-de-Rouergue
Canton	Lot et Montbazinois
Government
• Mayor (2020–2026)	Yves Ville
Area 1	10.84 km2 (4.19 sq mi)
Population  (2021)	181
• Density	17/km2 (43/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC 01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC 02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	12018 /12260
Elevation	152–378 m (499–1,240 ft) (avg. 150 m or 490 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Balaguier-d'Olt (French pronunciation: [balaɡje dɔlt], literally Balaguier of Olt; Occitan: Balaguièr d'Òlt) is a commune in the Aveyron department in the Occitanie region of southern France.

Geography

Balaguier-d'Olt is located some 12 km south-west of Figeac just east of Ambeyrac. The whole north-western border of the commune is the Lot river which is also the departmental boundary between Aveyron and Lot. Access to the commune is by the D86 road from Ambeyrac which follows the river through the village and continues north-east to Capdenac-Gare. The D38 branches off the D86 and crosses the only bridge in the commune across the Lot to Saint-Pierre-Toirac. The D647 branches off the D86 just north of the village and goes south-east to Foissac. Apart from the village there is the hamlet of Vernet-le-Bas in the north of the commune. The commune is mixed forest and farmland.

Geologically the commune is divided into two parts: first the Lot valley which consists of Toarcian marl and secondly the limestone plateau overlooking it.

The Ruisseau de Bournac flows from the north-east and the Ruisseau de Fréjéroque flows from the east both joining in the commune and flowing into the Lot.

Administration

List of Successive Mayors

From	To	Name
1840	1848	Joseph Daube
1848	1860	Pierre Trenty
1860	1868	Jean Louis Obscur
1868	1904	Félix Vernet
2001	2008	Claude Roques
2008	2026	Yves Ville

Demography

The inhabitants of the commune are known as Balaguiérois or Balaguiéroises in French.

Historical population

Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1793 485 —     1800 414 −2.24% 1841 619 0.99% 1846 632 0.42% 1851 635 0.09% 1856 619 −0.51% 1861 621 0.06% 1866 578 −1.42% 1872 574 −0.12% 1876 536 −1.70% 1881 516 −0.76% 1886 531 0.57% 1891 510 −0.80% 1896 415 −4.04% 1901 377 −1.90% 1906 340 −2.04%	Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1911 316 −1.45% 1921 256 −2.08% 1926 251 −0.39% 1931 221 −2.51% 1936 238 1.49% 1946 214 −1.06% 1954 163 −3.35% 1962 113 −4.48% 1968 115 0.29% 1975 119 0.49% 1982 160 4.32% 1990 150 −0.80% 1999 143 −0.53% 2007 142 −0.09% 2012 136 −0.86% 2017 162 3.56%
Source: EHESS and INSEE

Sites and Monuments

The Romanesque Church of Vernet-le-Bas has a bell tower dating from the 12th century and has Romanesque capitals on three sides. Inside the church the Romanesque Altar (12th century) is still preserved in one of the side chapels. It is carved in sandstone decorations and presents interlacing. It is registered as an historical object.

See also

• Communes of the Aveyron department

Bibliography

• Christian-Pierre Bedel (preface Jacques Dournes), Capdenac Los Aures Asprièras, Balaguier, Bolhac, Causse-e-Diege Foissac, Naussac, Salas, Sonnac / Christian-Pierre Bedel e los estatjants del canton de Capdenac, Rodez, Mission departmental culture, coll. "Al Canton", 1996, ill., cov. ill., 28 cm, 240 pp. ISBN 2-907279-23-8, ISSN 1151-8375, BNF No. FRBNF36688708 (in French)

External links

• Balaguier-d'Olt on Géoportail, National Geographic Institute (IGN) website (in French)
• Balaguyer on the 1750 Cassini Map