Chabanais

Chabanais (Occitan: Chabanès) is a commune in the Charente department in southwestern France.

Chabanais
Commune
Route nationale 141
Coat of arms
Location of Chabanais
Chabanais Chabanais
Coordinates: 45°52′30″N 0°43′14″E
Country	France
Region	Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Department	Charente
Arrondissement	Confolens
Canton	Charente-Vienne
Government
• Mayor (2008–2014)	Michel Gealageas
Area ^1	15.01 km^2 (5.80 sq mi)
Population  (2017-01-01)[1]	1,651
• Density	110/km^2 (280/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	16070 /16150
Elevation	148–250 m (486–820 ft) (avg. 156 m or 512 ft)
^1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km^2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Geography

The river Vienne passes through Chabanais. The village is located in the Rochechouart crater, an ancient asteroid impact crater that eroded away and is no longer visible. Located in the heart of the Charente, Chabanais is 42 km west of Limoges, 50 km northeast of Angoulême, 77 km north of Périgueux and 84 km southeast of Poitiers.

The town is small enough to be considered a large village and it boasts an open-air market every Thursday, adding to a number of small, privately owned shops. The town has a rail station connecting with Limoges to the east and Angoulême to the west.

The Vienne River close to the bridge

History

Chabanais was struck by an F2 tornado on 5 May 1997. In the summer of 2018, the town centre and some surrounding hamlets were struck by a devastating hailstorm which punctured many roofs on buildings and destroyed hundreds of car windscreens and bodywork.

Population

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±%
1962	2,164	—
1968	2,439	+12.7%
1975	2,434	−0.2%
1982	2,242	−7.9%
1990	2,107	−6.0%
1999	1,944	−7.7%
2008	1,879	−3.3%

See also

• Communes of the Charente department

References

1. "Populations légales 2017". INSEE. Retrieved 6 January 2020.