Souillac, Lot

Souillac
A general view of Souillac
Coat of arms
Souillac
Location within Midi-Pyrénées region Souillac
Coordinates:
Country	France
Region	Languedoc-Roussillon-Midi-Pyrénées
Department	Lot
Arrondissement	Gourdon
Canton	Souillac (Chef-lieu)
Intercommunality	Communauté de communes du Pays de Souillac
Government
• Mayor (2008–2014)	Jean-Claude Laval
Area1	25.92 km2 (10.01 sq mi)
Population (2006)2	3,970
• Density	150/km2 (400/sq mi)
INSEE/Postal code	46309 / 46200
Elevation	80–314 m (262–1,030 ft) (avg. 221 m or 725 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.

Souillac is a commune in the Lot department in south-western France, on the river Dordogne. It is the site of the new Brive–Souillac Airport, which opened in 2010. The town hosts an annual jazz festival in July. The abbey church has famous Romanesque carvings.

Geography

Souillac is in the upper Dordogne Valley where the river cuts through the limestone plateau of Haut-Quercy, a historic name for the northern part of the Department of Lot. This is part of the Massif Central, an elevated region in south central France. To the north of Souillac lies the commune of Lachapelle-Auzac, to the east Mayrac and Pinsac, to the south Lanzac, to the south west Peyrillac-et-Millac and Cazoulès, to the west Orliaguet and to the northwest Salignac-Eyvigues, Borrèze and Gignac.

The town

Souillac is a small market town, and is the hub for the area. This is an agricultural region which is known for its walnuts, strawberries and quiet, rural way of life.

Tourism

The town is on the main railway line from Paris to Toulouse and is about 15 km (9 mi) south of the Brive–Souillac Airport which has international flights. The most notable building in the town is the abbey church of Sainte-Marie. The domed roofs are similar to but rather smaller than those of Périgueux Cathedral. Fragments of the original Romanesque sculptures are grouped just inside the west door. Behind the abbey church is the Musée de l'Automate which has a large collection of mechanical figures and dolls.

An international jazz festival is held annually in the town in July. The festival was started in 1976 by a group of volunteers enthused by Sim Copans, a United States Army non-combatant in World War I who came to live in nearby Lanzac. The festival features live concerts and other jazz-related activities.

See also

• Communes of the Lot department