Couture-sur-Loir

Couture-sur-Loir is a former commune in the Loir-et-Cher department of central France. On 1 January 2019, it was merged into the new commune Vallée-de-Ronsard.[2]

Couture-sur-Loir
Part of Vallée-de-Ronsard
Manoir de la Possonnière, birthplace of Pierre de Ronsard
Coat of arms
Location of Couture-sur-Loir
Couture-sur-Loir
Couture-sur-Loir
Coordinates: 47°45′16″N 0°41′19″E
CountryFrance
RegionCentre-Val de Loire
DepartmentLoir-et-Cher
ArrondissementVendôme
CantonMontoire-sur-le-Loir
CommuneVallée-de-Ronsard
Area
1
14.3 km2 (5.5 sq mi)
Population
 (2017)[1]
412
 • Density29/km2 (75/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Postal code
41800
Elevation54–136 m (177–446 ft)
(avg. 70 m or 230 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

It is situated in the northwest of the Loir-et-Cher department, 33 km (21 mi) to the west of Vendôme. It lies mainly on the left bank of the river Loir.

Geography

Couture is in the canton of Montoire-sur-le-Loir, which corresponds to the historic Bas-Vendômois district.

Adjacent to the village centre (with a crossroad street pattern) or bourg are two parallel settlements, Le Poirier and more distinctly Le Pin.

Economy

The main industry (apart from farming and tourism) is gravel extraction; excavated areas have been adapted for water sports. A number of inhabitants are employed by the paper manufacturers at Bessé-sur-Braye (Sarthe).

History

It is first referred to as Villas culturas in a charter of the 9th-century bishop of Le Mans, Saint Aldric (earlier references are doubtless fictitious).

A partial source for the history of Couture in the later 17th century are the memoirs of Louis XIV's valet, Marie Dubois, who came from the village.

Population
Historical population
YearPop.±%
1793825—    
1806950+15.2%
1821878−7.6%
1831930+5.9%
1841909−2.3%
1851930+2.3%
1861906−2.6%
1872854−5.7%
1881836−2.1%
1891843+0.8%
1901782−7.2%
1911749−4.2%
1921681−9.1%
1931640−6.0%
1946720+12.5%
1954635−11.8%
1962618−2.7%
1968606−1.9%
1975535−11.7%
1982467−12.7%
1990450−3.6%
1999433−3.8%
2008425−1.8%
2013411−3.3%

Sights

The housing reflects periods of prosperity and villégiature-type occupation in recent centuries.

Renowned for the Renaissance chateau of La Possonnière, birthplace of the poet Pierre de Ronsard, the village also possesses an Angevin-style church dedicated to Saints Gervase and Protase. The church contains the tombstone of Ronsard's parents and is known for its spire.

Personalities

Notable 20th-century inhabitants have included the Hallopeau and Sainte-Claire Deville families (noted scientists), the academic inspector Jean Pasquier and the Catholic historian François Lebrun. It is also the town where Pierre de Ronsard (1524-1585) was born.

See also

References
  1. Téléchargement du fichier d'ensemble des populations légales en 2017, INSEE
  2. Arrêté préfectoral 29 November 2018 (in French)



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