Bassignac


Bassignac is a commune in the Cantal department in the Auvergne region of south-central France.

Geography

Bassignac is located some 35 km north-east of Tulle and 10 km south by south-west of Bort-les-Orgues. Access to the commune is by the D922 road from Ydes in the north which passes through the length of the commune and the village and continues south to Mauriac. The D12 comes from Veyrières in the west and goes down the western border joining the D922 at Vendes. The D512 branches off the D12 and passes through Parensol continuing north to join the D922 south of Ydes. Apart from the village there are the hamlets of Le Fau, Le Marlat, Parensol, Montgroux, Vendes, Brousse, and Champleix. The commune is mixed forest and farmland.
Vendes is the largest village in the commune with 60 inhabitants in winter and about 100 in summer and is dominated by the old Sumène viaduct.
The Sumène river flows through the commune from north to south turning west to form the southern border of the commune and continuing west to join the Dordogne north of Arches. The Ruisseau de la Graille rises in the centre of the commune and flows north then south to join the Sumène. The Ruisseau de Rouillade flows south forming the eastern border of the commune before joining the Sumène near the centre of the commune.

History

In the 10th century the hamlet of Vendes was the property of Artaud de Charlus. Charlus was a promontory some 4 km north of Vendes and had a fortified chateau on top. There are no remains except a view across the mountains of Auvergne. The Lévis-Charlus family was a noble family.
Bassignac appears as Baßignac on the 1750 Cassini Map and as Bassignac on the 1790 version.
There was a railway running through the commune with the second longest viaduct in Cantal at 367m and a height of 46m. The viaduct and railway were opened in 1893 as part of the SNCF line from Paris-Austerlitz-Aurillac. The line closed on 3 July 1994 and the viaduct was abandoned.

Administration

List of Successive Mayors
FromToNamePartyPosition
20012020Marc MaisonneuvePS

Demography

In 2010 the commune had 224 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.

Education

The commune has a public primary school at Vendes.

Associations

Civil heritage

The commune has many buildings and sites that are registered as historical monuments:
The commune has several religious buildings and sites that are registered as historical monuments: