Châlus

Châlus
The château of Châlus Chabrol
Coat of arms of Châlus Coat of arms
Châlus
Location within Limousin region Châlus
Coordinates:
Country	France
Region	Aquitaine-Limousin-Poitou-Charentes
Department	Haute-Vienne
Arrondissement	Limoges
Canton	Châlus
Intercommunality	Monts de Châlus
Government
• Mayor (2008–2014)	Alain Brezaudy
Area1	27.98 km2 (10.80 sq mi)
Population (2006)2	1,731
• Density	62/km2 (160/sq mi)
INSEE/Postal code	87032 / 87230
Elevation	310–444 m (1,017–1,457 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.

Châlus (Occitan: Chasluç) is a commune in the Haute-Vienne department in the Limousin region in western France.

History

File:Mort de Richard coeur de lion.jpg

Richard I of England lethally hurt in Châlus (right)

Richard I, King of England was besieging Châlus in 1199 when Pierre Basile wounded him with a crossbow bolt; Richard died of the wound.

In 1275-1280, Géraud de Maumont built a second castle, Châlus Maulmont, in front of Châlus Chabrol. Chateau Châlus Maulmont was damaged extensively during the French Revolution, and was dismantled in 1790, then used as a prison. The tower of Châlus Maulmont collapsed on March 20, 1994.

By 1745, the first map, in the 1/8628th, of Châlus is established to appear in the atlas of Trudaine for the majority of Limoges, with the portion of road at the level of La-Ribière going to Châlus of the Big road from Limoges to Périgueux and with the portion of road reaching the majority of Périgord.

T. E. Lawrence, who would later be known as Lawrence of Arabia, celebrated his 20th birthday at the former Grand Hôtel du Midi, Place de la Fountain, on August 16, 1908, whilst tracing the route of Richard I of England, on a cycling tour of France in preparation for his thesis: The Influence of the crusades on the European military architecture at the end of the XIIth century.

Sights

Châlus has a castle named Château de Châlus-Chabrol and a ruined castle named Château de Châlus-Maulmont.

Richard's entrails are still preserved in the chapel, and there is a medieval garden. Other attractions of the village include a museum dedicated to the chestnut.

The biggest Giant sequoia (Sequoiadendron Giganteum) in Europe, with a circumference of 13.3 m, is in a private garden.

Inhabitants are known as Chalusiens.

Personalities

• Aymery of Châlus (died October 31, 1349 in Avignon), canon of the chapter of Limoges Cathedral in 1314, archbishop of Ravenna in 1322, then bishop of Chartres in 1332, cardinal in 1342, named legate in Lombardy in 1342, then in Romagne, Corsica, Sardinia, then in Sicily where he steered 2-year-old in the name of the pope, was born in Châlus.
• Pierre de Châlus (died in February, 1352), abbot of Cluny.
• Robert de Châlus is killed in the battle of Poitiers, on September 19, 1356.
• Louis I of Bourbon count of Busset, baron of Busset, Châlus, Vésignieux, Saint-Martin-du-Puy, been born on October 18, 1648, is killed in the siége of Fribourg on November 10, 1677.
• Gaspard-Louis de Bourbon, count of Châlus, been born on May 16, 1745, died in Bets December 8, 1751 is interred in the cathedral Notre-Dame de Paris.
• Pierre Desproges
• The writer poet Georges-Emmanuel Clancier, author of the Black bread and whose several works make reference to Châlus (Terres de mémoires, Quadrille sur la tour, l'enfant double..).

Raymond de Châlus takes part in the 1st crusade of Saint Louis in 1250.

See also

• Communes of the Haute-Vienne department

References

• INSEE

External links

• About the Chateau (French)