Bellac

Subprefecture and commune in Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France

(2020–2026) Claude Peyronnet^[1]Area24.42 km² (9.43 sq mi)Population3,596 • Density150/km² (380/sq mi)Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET) • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)INSEE/Postal codeElevation175–301 m (574–988 ft)
(avg. 245 m or 804 ft)¹ French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Bellac (French pronunciation: [bɛlak] ^ⓘ; Occitan: Belac [beˈlak]) is a commune in the Haute-Vienne department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in western France.

Bellac is where the French author Jean Giraudoux, writer of L'Apollon de Bellac, was born in 1882. His house has been turned into a museum.

Geography

Bellac lies 45 km (28 mi) northwest of Limoges at the confluence of the rivers Gartempe and Vincou [fr], in the Department of Haute-Vienne. Poitiers is 70 km (43 mi) to the northwest, and Angoulême 100 km (62 mi) to the southwest. The hills known as the Monts de Blond [fr] lie immediately to the south.

Administration

Bellac is a sous-préfecture of Haute-Vienne, seat of the arrondissement of Bellac which covers 57 communes. Furthernore, it is part of the canton of Bellac and of the communauté de communes Haut Limousin en Marche.^[3]

Population

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1968	5,240	—
1975	5,360	+0.32%
1982	5,079	−0.77%
1990	4,924	−0.39%
1999	4,576	−0.81%
2007	4,401	−0.49%
2012	4,211	−0.88%
2017	3,808	−1.99%
Source: INSEE[4]

Inhabitants are known as Bellachons in French.

Transport

Bellac is 30 km (19 mi) west of the A20 Limoges-Orléans motorway, and lies at a crossroads where the RN145 crosses the RN147. Both these roads had been designated part of the Route Centre-Europe Atlantique [fr] (RCEA) and were thus at risk of being upgraded to motorway. However, the latest thinking is that the RCEA will be re-routed from La Souterraine south down the A20 to Limoges and then via upgraded to the N520/N141 routes to Angoulême and the west.

Classifications

Bellac is classified as a cité de caractère [fr], a village étape, a station verte de vacances [fr], and a station touristique [fr].

Notable people

• Jean Giraudoux (1882–1944), writer, dramatist and playwright, was born in Bellac
• Charles Silvestre (1889–1948), writer, winner of the Prix Femina in 1926, died in Bellac

See also

• Communes of the Haute-Vienne department

References