Vayrac

Vayrac
Commune
The Dordogne at Vayrac, with the hamlet of Mézels in the background
Coat of arms
Location of Vayrac
Vayrac Show map of France Vayrac Show map of Occitanie
Coordinates: 44°57′13″N 1°42′18″E / 44.9536°N 1.705°E / 44.9536; 1.705
Country	France
Region	Occitania
Department	Lot
Arrondissement	Gourdon
Canton	Martel
Intercommunality	Causses et Vallée de la Dordogne
Government
• Mayor (2020–2026)	Loïc Lavergne-Azard^[1]
Area ¹	16.33 km² (6.31 sq mi)
Population (2021)^[2]	1,291
• Density	79/km² (200/sq mi)
Demonym(s)	Vayracois, Vayracoises
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	46330 /46110
Elevation	110–312 m (361–1,024 ft) (avg. 139 m or 456 ft)
¹ French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Vayrac (French pronunciation: [vɛʁak]; Occitan: Vairac) is a commune in the Lot department in south-western France. The inhabitants of Vayrac are called the Vayracois.

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Geography

Location

Vayrac is located in the Haut Quercy, in the north of the Lot, in the Valley of the Dordogne Lotoise between Martel and Bretenoux on the D803 and on the edge of the Sourdoire and Maumont rivers.

Neighbouring communes

The commune is bordering the Corrèze department.

Toponymy

The name Vayrac, of Gallo-Roman origin, is based on a surname Varius. The ending -ac is derived from the suffix Gallic -acon (itself from the common Celtic *-āko-), often Latinized in -acum in the texts. This is the domain of Varius.^[3]

History

In the Vayrac commune is found the Gaulish oppidum of the Puy D'issolud (about 300 m above sea level). This site was officially recognised, in April 2001, by the French Ministry of Culture as the site of ancient Uxellodunum,^[4] the location of the last battle of Julius Caesar against the rebel Gauls in 51 B.C. post the Battle of Alesia. In addition to an impressive quantity of armaments (Gaulish and Roman arrows), the famous underground galleries have been discovered, made by the sappers of Caesar in order to divert the spring feeding the only source to which the Gauls could come too, to obtain their water supply.

During the Second World War, a number of works of the Louvre Museum were hidden in a barn in Vayrac. On a particularly hot and dry summer day, a fire broke out. The farm workers abandoned their fields to come and form a water-bucket chain and saved the national treasures.^[5]

Places and monuments

Église Saint-Martin - fortified church from the end of the 15th century or the beginning of the 16th century, classified as a historical monument on 3 May 1913.^[6]
The Musée d'Uxellodunum (open July/August), place du 11-Novembre 1918 in Vayrac, presents a model of the historic site of Uxellodunum as well as a number of objects found during the various archaeological excavations campaigns (peaks of arrows, pottery, miscellaneous objects).

Église Saint-Martin
Town Hall
Musée d'Uxellodunum

Notable persons

Martin Malvy (born 1936), journalist, politician and former Minister in the French Government, current Conseil Régional of the Regional Council of Midi-Pyrénées, former Conseiller Général of the Lot elected in the canton of Vayrac.

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.
^ Bazalgues, Gaston (2002). À la découverte des noms de lieux du Quercy. Toponymie lotoise (in French). Éditions de la Bouriane et du Quercy. p. 127. ISBN 2-910540-16-2.
^ "UXELLODUNUM". UXELLODUNUM (in French). Retrieved 26 May 2019.
^ (épisode raconté par Frédérique Hébrard dont la mère, Lucie Mazauric, veillait sur les œuvres du Louvre - consulter Le Louvre en voyage de Lucie Mazauric)
^ Base Mérimée: Église paroissiale Saint-Martin, Ministère français de la Culture. (in French)