Saint-Blancard

Saint-Blancard
Bicycle. One of the art objects in the village Bicycle. One of the art objects in the village
Saint-Blancard
Location within Midi-Pyrénées region Saint-Blancard
Coordinates:
Country	France
Region	Languedoc-Roussillon-Midi-Pyrénées
Department	Gers
Arrondissement	Mirande
Canton	Masseube
Intercommunality	Hautes Vallées
Government
• Mayor (2008–2014)	Georges Barthe
Area1	14.87 km2 (5.74 sq mi)
Population (2008)2	334
• Density	22/km2 (58/sq mi)
INSEE/Postal code	32365 / 32140
Elevation	227–357 m (745–1,171 ft) (avg. 356 m or 1,168 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. 2 Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once.

Saint-Blancard (Gascon: Sent Blancat) is a commune in the Gers department in the Midi-Pyrénées region in southwestern France.

Geography

Auch is at 40 km, Toulouse at 80 km and Tarbes at 60 km from Saint-Blancard.

File:Saint-Blancard kasteel.jpg

The church and the castle

File:Saint-Blancard kerk 2.jpg

Inside the church.

File:Saint-Blancard meertje.jpg

Small lake near the village.

File:Saint-Blancard molen.jpg

Remains of the windmill.

History

Castle residents

In the village is the Château de Saint-Blancard (Castle of Saint-Blancard). Among the barons and marquesses that lived in the castle were:

• Bernard d'Ornezan, Baron of Saint-Blancard in the diocese of Lombez, around 1400,
• and Armand de Gontaut, baron de Biron and Maréchal de camp, mid sixteenth century.

The current village

Saint-Blancard is located on the ridge between the valley of the Gimone in the east and the valley of the Arrats in the west . The D228 crosses the D576 in the village. The most striking building in town is the castle. The 15th century church Saint-Pancrare is build next to the castle. At the junktion west of the castle is a monument to a former Count Armand who was also mayor of the village. In a pasture north of the castle stand on a hill, the remains of the windmill (moulin à vent fr) from Saint-Blancard. That place is called Chez Baptiste. In front of the castle is a monument to the fallen, a cross and a statue of Mary. Between these statues is a boules alley with lights located. The village has a rehabilitation center. There are also homes for rehabilitation treatment. In the middle of the village stands a cross aging from 1895 in memory of the famille (family) Furgatte. In the east of the village stands a twelve-foot-high wooden cross back from the seventeenth century. The Arrats the devant runs in the w4est of the communi. South of the village is a small lake for the farmers. There is a privately owned watermill (moulin à eau fr). To the southeast lies a 6 km long reservoir with a surface area of 263 hectares, Lac de la Gimone. The lake forms the border between Gers and Haute-Garonne. It was created by the placement of a dam on the river Gimone. The commune has a system of streams and small lakes that serve the agriculture.

Population

Historical population
Year	Pop.	±%
1962	273	—
1968	255	−6.6%
1975	217	−14.9%
1982	229	+5.5%
1990	205	−10.5%
1999	257	+25.4%
2008	334	+30.0%

The inhabitants are called Saint Blancardais.

Services

With a small shop, the village is still self-supporting. At the store is a gas depot. There is a hairdresser and a post office in Saint-Blancard. The municipality encourages the middle class by counting low rents for buildings. In a former convent school is now a hotel / pub / restaurant next to the town hall. There is a school. There are Bed & Breakfast and there are cottages. There is a football field. In the village is radio Coteaux, 97.7 and 104.5 FM located . At the lake is a nautical center. There is a swimming facility. There is a field for motorized paragliding. The office of nine communes united under the name Les Hautes Vallees, is located in the village.

See also

• Communes of the Gers department

References

• INSEE