Couture-sur-Loir
![Coat of arms of Couture-sur-Loir](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/76/Blason_ville_fr_Couture-sur-Loir_%28Loir-et-Cher%29.svg/73px-Blason_ville_fr_Couture-sur-Loir_%28Loir-et-Cher%29.svg.png)
![Map](https://maps.wikimedia.org/img/osm-intl,11,a,a,270x200.png?lang=en&domain=en.wikipedia.org&title=Couture-sur-Loir&revid=1241648614&groups=_dc2a90c399b51e627d9e1b26fa2efd60219a4632)
(avg. 70 m or 230 ft)
Couture-sur-Loir (French pronunciation: [kutyʁ syʁ lwaʁ], literally Couture on 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]
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
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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,[3] 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.[3]
See also
- Braye (river)
- Communes of the Loir-et-Cher department
References
- ^ Téléchargement du fichier d'ensemble des populations légales en 2019, INSEE
- ^ Arrêté préfectoral 29 November 2018 (in French)
- ^ a b Saintsbury, George (1911). "Ronsard, Pierre de" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 23 (11th ed.). pp. 691–693.
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