Balsac, Aveyron

Balsac
Part of Druelle Balsac
Location of Balsac
Balsac Balsac
Coordinates: 44°24′14″N 2°26′45″E
Country	France
Region	Occitania
Department	Aveyron
Arrondissement	Rodez
Canton	Vallon
Commune	Druelle Balsac
Area 1	15.57 km2 (6.01 sq mi)
Population  (2017)	631
• Density	41/km2 (100/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Postal code	12510
Elevation	374–606 m (1,227–1,988 ft) (avg. 577 m or 1,893 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Balsac (French pronunciation: [balsak]) is a village in the Aveyron department in the Occitanie region of southern France. It was merged into the new commune of Druelle Balsac on 1 January 2017.

Geography

Balsac is located some 10 km north-west of Rodez and 8 km south-east of Saint-Christophe-Vallon, immediately west of Rodez–Marcillac Airport. Access to the commune is by the D598 which branches off the D57 west of the commune and passes through the village continuing to join the D840 south-east of the commune. The D626 goes north-east from the village to join the D840. The commune is entirely farmland.

The Ruisseau des Parranies and its tributary the Ruisseau du Sauvage rise in the south of the commune and flow west then north-west, forming part of the western border of the commune, to join the Ruisseau de l'Ady west of the commune.

Administration

List of Successive Mayors

From	To	Name
1866	1868	Louis Bernat
1868	1874	Auguste Bernat
1874	1881	Théophile Guizot
1881	1888	Adrien Vareilles
1888	1907	Auguste Bernat
1907	1908	Joseph Sanhes
1908	1911	Ernest Mercadier
1911	1912	Etienne Malaterre
1912	1919	Henri Molinier
1919	1925	Théophile Palayret
1925	1935	Casimir Molinie
1935	1945	Etienne Bonnefous
1945	1947	Marcel Palayret
1947	1977	Etienne Bonnefous
1977	1995	François Pons
1995	2008	Alain Gabriac
2008	2017	Daniel Raynal

Demography

The inhabitants of the commune are known as Balsacois or Balsacoises in French.

Historical population

Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1793 591 —     1800 461 −3.49% 1866 595 +0.39% 1872 569 −0.74% 1876 605 +1.55% 1881 648 +1.38% 1886 633 −0.47% 1891 612 −0.67% 1896 563 −1.66% 1901 536 −0.98% 1906 520 −0.60% 1911 481 −1.55% 1921 434 −1.02%	Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1926 407 −1.28% 1931 411 +0.20% 1936 402 −0.44% 1946 400 −0.05% 1954 361 −1.27% 1962 346 −0.53% 1968 328 −0.89% 1975 347 +0.81% 1982 407 +2.30% 1990 411 +0.12% 1999 501 +2.22% 2007 573 +1.69% 2012 615 +1.42%
Source: EHESS and INSEE

Sites and monuments

There are two sites which are registered as historical monuments:

• The Ruins of the old Priory of Sauvage (13th century)
• The Chateau of Balsac (14th - 16th centuries) belonged to a number of noble families, including the Glandières and the Faramonds, until 1780 when it came into the possession of the Grailhe family of Rodez. During the periods that followed, the chateau was owned by a series of illustrious personages. The Chateau currently operates as a guest house and table d'hote.
• The Parish Church contains three items that are registered as historical objects:
  • A Statue: Virgin and child (15th century)
  • A Statue: Saint Antoine (15th century)
  • A Statue: Saint Foy (15th century)

See also

• Communes of the Aveyron department

References

Bibliography

• Christian-Pierre Bedel, preface by José Monestier, Marcilhac, Balsac, Claravals, Moret, Muret, Nòuviala, Prunas, Salas-Comtals, Sent-Cristòfa, Valadin / Christian-Pierre Bedel e los estatjants del canton de Marcilhac, Rodez, Mission départementale de la culture, 2001, Al canton collection, 392 pages, ill., cov. ill.; 28 cm, ISBN 2-907279-52-1, ISSN 1151-8375, BnF 38803935q (in French)

External links

• Balsac on the old National Geographic Institute website (in French)
• Balsac on Géoportail, National Geographic Institute (IGN) website (in French)
• Balſac on the 1750 Cassini Map