Vals-près-le-Puy

Commune in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France

Coat of arms

Location of Vals-près-le-Puy

(2020–2026) Laurent Bernard^[1]Area

5.12 km² (1.98 sq mi)Population

(2021)^[2]

3,402 • Density660/km² (1,700/sq mi)Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET) • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)INSEE/Postal code

43251 /43750

Elevation632–850 m (2,073–2,789 ft)¹ French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Vals-près-le-Puy (French pronunciation: [vals pʁɛ lə pɥi], literally Vals near Le Puy; Occitan: Val delh Puèi), is a commune in the Haute-Loire department in south-central France.

Its inhabitants are called Valladiers (masc.) and Valladières (fem.).

Geography

The town is located in the valley of the river Dolaizon. It forms the South-West border of Le Puy-en-Velay and its highest point is Mount Ronzon (850 m).

Population

Historical population
Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1968	2,449	—
1975	3,070	+3.28%
1982	3,505	+1.91%
1990	3,426	−0.28%
1999	3,391	−0.11%
2007	3,534	+0.52%
2012	3,420	−0.65%
2017	3,396	−0.14%
Source: INSEE^[3]

Sights

Augustinian Monastery early 17th century. Historic Monument.
Church of Saint Vosy, chapel of the monastery. 17th century. Historic Monument.
Chibottes or tsabones, circular stone huts built in the 19th century as shelters by winegrowers.^[4]^[5]^[6]

Personalities

Auguste Aymard, 1808–1889, mayor Vals-près-le-Puy, polymath (curator of the Crozatier museum, archivist, palaeontologist, archaeologist).
Joseph Rumillet Charretier, 1833–1916, grew verbena (Fr: verveine) at his property in Vals and founded the distillery Verveine du Velay in 1858.

International relations

The commune is twinned with Aielo de Malferit, (Spain).

References

^ "Répertoire national des élus: les maires" (in French). data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises. 13 September 2022.
^ "Populations légales 2021". The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 28 December 2023.
^ Population en historique depuis 1968, INSEE
^ "CABANE DU CHEMIN DE BONNASSOU a VALS-PRES-LE-PUY (HAUTE-LOIRE) - Christian Lassure".
^ "Photos de cabanes en pierre sèche des départements français : Cabanes (Tsabones) en pierre sèche de haute-Loire : Chibottes, chazournes et capités".
^ Pinault, Gérald. "Restoring an Old Winegrower's Hut at Vals-près-le-Puy". www.pierreseche.com.

External links

Media related to Vals-près-le-Puy at Wikimedia Commons
Official website (in French)
Vals-près-le-Puy on the Institut Géographique National site (in French)
Financial Data for Vals-près-le-Puy from the Ministry of the Economy, Finances and Industry (in French)
Base Mérimée: Search for heritage in the commune, Ministère français de la Culture. (in French)
Vals-près-le-Puy on the Cassini map (in French)