Airvault
Airvault | |
---|---|
The church in Airvault | |
Coordinates: 46°49′38″N 0°08′11″W / 46.8272°N 0.1364°W | |
Country | France |
Region | Nouvelle-Aquitaine |
Department | Deux-Sèvres |
Arrondissement | Parthenay |
Canton | Le Val de Thouet |
Intercommunality | Airvaudais-Val du Thouet |
Government | |
• Mayor (2020–2026) | Olivier Fouillet[1] |
Area 1 | 63.88 km2 (24.66 sq mi) |
Population (2021)[2] | 3,287 |
• Density | 51/km2 (130/sq mi) |
Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
INSEE/Postal code | 79005 /79600 |
Elevation | 67–140 m (220–459 ft) |
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. |
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b4/Tour-porte.jpg/220px-Tour-porte.jpg)
Airvault (French pronunciation:
The inhabitants of Airvault are the Airvaudais and the Airvaudaises in French.
On 1 January 2019, the former commune of Tessonnière was merged into Airvault.[3]
Population
The population data below refer to the commune in its geography as of January 2023.
Year | Pop. | ±% p.a. |
---|---|---|
1968 | 3,616 | — |
1975 | 3,741 | +0.49% |
1982 | 3,687 | −0.21% |
1990 | 3,573 | −0.39% |
1999 | 3,386 | −0.60% |
2007 | 3,409 | +0.08% |
2012 | 3,366 | −0.25% |
2017 | 3,281 | −0.51% |
Source: INSEE[4] |
Historical sites
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e4/Fontaine-airvault.jpg/220px-Fontaine-airvault.jpg)
A Romanesque bridge over the Thouet leads into the town. The Saint Pierre church in the center of town was built around 975 AD by Aldéarde, the wife of viscount Herbert I of
Trivia
François-Marie Arouet might have chosen his pen name, Voltaire, by inverting the syllables of the word “Airvault”. Although this is largely unsubstantiated, one of Voltaire's parents allegedly owned property in the area.[5]
Airvault hosts a yearly didgeridoo, Jew's harp, and overtone singing festival Rêve de l'Aborigène.
See also
References
- ^ "Répertoire national des élus: les maires" (in French). data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises. 13 September 2022.
- ^ "Populations légales 2021" (in French). The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 28 December 2023.
- ^ Arrêté préfectoral (in French). 6 December 2018.
- ^ Population en historique depuis 1968, INSEE
- ^ Wade, Ida Owen. Voltaire's Name. PMLA, Vol. 44, No. 2. (Jun., 1929), pp. 546–564.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)