Bellegarde-en-Marche

History

• It is the former capital of the Franc-alleu, a medieval free-trade zone at a crossroads between two powerful regions: Auvergne and Limousin.
• In the wake of Aubusson and Felletin, tapestry workshops were set up in the city during and after the Renaissance. Bellegarde was even considered for a time a "rival" of Aubusson and Felletin in this activity.

  Geography

Population

Sights

• The church, dating from the nineteenth century.
• A sixteenth-century tower.
• Some very old houses.
• Remains of a feudal castle.
• The chapel of Notre-Dame, dating from the nineteenth century.
• Tour Jacqueron, a defensive tower marking the East end of the old Bastide.

  Personalities

• François Goubert, is a clergyman and a politician. Prefect of Aubusson in 1762, he became parish priest in Bellegarde in 1788 and official of Chénérailles. He was elected deputy of the Creuse clergy in 1789.
• François Denhaut, an early French aviator & engineer who invented and tested a type of flying boat, died here.
• Lionel de Marmier, born in Bellegarde-en-Marche, pilot of the French Air Force and resistance fighter, a figure of free France.

  International relations

• Chamblon, Switzerland