Ayen is a commune in the Corrèzedepartment in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of central France. The inhabitants of the commune are known as Ayennois or Ayennoises. The commune has been awarded two flowers by the National Council of Towns and Villages in Bloom in the Competition of cities and villages in Bloom.
Geography
Ayen is located some 20 km north-west of Brive-la-Gaillarde and 7 km west of Objat. Access to the commune is by road D5 from Saint-Robert in the west which passes through the village and continues south-east to join the D901. The D39 comes from Perpezac-le-Blanc in the south and passes through the village before continuing north to Juillac. The D17 from Rosiers-de-Juillac in the north-west passes through the north of the commune and continues south-west to join the D901. The D95 goes south-west from the village to Louignac and the D2 goes south to Cublac. The D140 goes north-east from the village to Vars-sur-Roseix. Apart from the village there are the hamlets of Ayen Bas to the west of the village; Laval, Soulet, and Leyfourchie in the north of the commune; and Graschamp, Le Temple, Les Chaumonts, and Les Charnie in the south. The commune is mixed forest and farmland. The Roseix river forms the northern border of the commune as it flows east by south-east to join the Loyre south of Objat. The Elle rises in the south of the commune and flows west then south forming the western border before it continues south to join the Corrèze west of Terrasson-Lavilledieu. Other unnamed streams rise in the commune and flow northwards to join the Roseix.
Neighbouring communes and villages
History
Ayen is a former county which was created as a duchy in February 1737 for Louis de Noailles. One of the largest commanderies of the Knights of Malta in the region was in the commune at the Temple of Ayen. In 1137 Ayen, as with all of Aquitaine, joined the kingdom of France through the marriage of Eleanor and Louis VII but, after the divorce from Eleanor, it came under English rule. After two turbulent centuries during which the Limousin barons indulged in incessant wars, the English reoccupied Malemort and Ayen whose chateau was occupied notably by Richard the Lion Heart. In 1415 the Brivistes supported by King Charles VI destroyed the Chateau of Malemort. The English survivors took refuge in the chateau at Ayen. The following year the peasants of the village laid siege to the chateau. After 17 days of blockade, overcome by hunger and thirst, the English surrendered. To prevent the fortress from falling into the hands of their enemies Jean I of Comborn, future chamberlain of Charles VII, received the mission to raze the Chateau of Ayen. Ayen was one of the stages of a route from Segur which was known by Richard the Lion-Heart. There are still remnants of the passage of his troops through Pompadour, Juillac, Ayen, and Noailles. Richard ended his life killed at the Siege of Chalus in 1199.
In 2010 the commune had 720 inhabitants. The evolution of the number of inhabitants is known from the population censuses conducted in the commune since 1793. From the 21st century, a census of communes with fewer than 10,000 inhabitants is held every five years, unlike larger communes that have a sample survey every year.
Culture and heritage
Civil heritage
The panoramic view from the ramparts of Upper Ayen.
