Bellac (French pronunciation: [bɛlak] (listen); Occitan: Belac [beˈlak]) is a commune in the Haute-Vienne department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in western France.

Bellac
Subprefecture and commune
Bridge over the Vincou
Coat of arms
Location of Bellac
Bellac Show map of France Bellac Show map of Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Coordinates: 46°07′23″N 1°03′01″E
Country	France
Region	Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Department	Haute-Vienne
Arrondissement	Bellac
Canton	Bellac
Intercommunality	Haut-Limousin en Marche
Government
• Mayor (2020–2026)	Claude Peyronnet[1]
Area 1	24.42 km2 (9.43 sq mi)
Population  (Jan. 2019)[2]	3,639
• Density	150/km2 (390/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	87011 /87300
Elevation	175–301 m (574–988 ft) (avg. 245 m or 804 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Inhabitants are known as Bellachons.

Bellac is where the French author Jean Giraudoux, writer of L'Apollon de Bellac, was born in 1882. His house has been turned into a museum.

Geography

Bellac lies 45 km (28 mi) northwest of Limoges at the confluence of the rivers Gartempe and Vincou [fr], in the Department of Haute-Vienne. Poitiers is 70 km (43 mi) to the northwest, and Angoulême 100 km (62 mi) to the southwest. The hills known as the Monts de Blond [fr] lie immediately to the south.

Administration

Bellac is a sous-préfecture of Haute-Vienne, governing eight cantons and 63 communes.

Transport

Bellac is 30 km (19 mi) west of the A20 Limoges-Orléans motorway, and lies at a crossroads where the RN145 crosses the RN147. Both these roads had been designated part of the Route Centre-Europe Atlantique [fr] (RCEA) and were thus at risk of being upgraded to motorway. However, the latest thinking is that the RCEA will be re-routed from La Souterraine south down the A20 to Limoges and then via upgraded to the N520/N141 routes to Angoulême and the west.

Classifications

Bellac is classified as a cité de charactere [fr], a village étape, a station verte de vacances [fr], and a station touristique [fr].

Notable people

• Jean Giraudoux (1882–1944), writer, dramatist and playwright, was born in Bellac
• Charles Silvestre (1889–1948), writer, winner of the Prix Femina in 1926, died in Bellac

See also

• Communes of the Haute-Vienne department

Anne Pierpont Morgan helped France in two world wars. For her work in Bellac see Wikipedia and the Morgan Library website.

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bellac.

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