Villerest (French pronunciation: [vilʁɛ]; Arpitan: Vilarês) is a commune in the Loire department in central France. It is a Medieval-era commune located just south of the city of Roanne. The village is bordered by the river Loire.

Villerest
Commune
Coat of arms of Villerest
Location of Villerest
Map
Villerest is located in France
Villerest
Villerest
Villerest is located in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Villerest
Villerest
Coordinates: 45°59′39″N 4°02′14″E / 45.9942°N 4.0372°E / 45.9942; 4.0372
CountryFrance
RegionAuvergne-Rhône-Alpes
DepartmentLoire
ArrondissementRoanne
CantonRoanne-2
IntercommunalityRoannais Agglomération
Government
 • Mayor (2020–2026) Philippe Perron[1]
Area
1
14.82 km2 (5.72 sq mi)
Population
 (2021)[2]
5,170
 • Density350/km2 (900/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code
42332 /42300
Elevation261–426 m (856–1,398 ft)
(avg. 360 m or 1,180 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Population edit

Historical population
YearPop.±% p.a.
1793 950—    
1800 435−10.56%
1806 546+3.86%
1821 587+0.48%
1831 964+5.09%
1836 1,030+1.33%
1841 976−1.07%
1846 1,006+0.61%
1851 1,031+0.49%
1856 1,130+1.85%
1861 1,211+1.39%
1866 1,208−0.05%
1872 1,207−0.01%
1876 1,227+0.41%
1881 1,230+0.05%
1886 1,281+0.82%
1891 1,270−0.17%
1896 1,218−0.83%
YearPop.±% p.a.
1901 1,204−0.23%
1906 1,201−0.05%
1911 1,149−0.88%
1921 976−1.62%
1926 1,034+1.16%
1931 1,127+1.74%
1936 1,076−0.92%
1946 1,039−0.35%
1954 1,286+2.70%
1962 1,524+2.15%
1968 1,743+2.26%
1975 2,239+3.64%
1982 2,928+3.91%
1990 4,104+4.31%
1999 4,243+0.37%
2007 4,414+0.50%
2012 4,696+1.25%
2017 4,902+0.86%
Source: EHESS[3] and INSEE (1968-2017)[4]

Sights edit

  • Le Barrage de Villerest, a hydroelectric dam that also prevents flooding along the Loire. This dam also creates a reservoir, the Lac de Villerest.
  • The village itself contains many buildings from the Middle Ages.[5] These include numerous houses, and the Eglise de Saint-Priest. Maybe most famous from this time period are the ramparts that are still mostly intact today.

International relations edit

Villerest is twinned with:

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ "Répertoire national des élus: les maires". data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises (in French). 2 December 2020.
  2. ^ "Populations légales 2021". The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 28 December 2023.
  3. ^ Des villages de Cassini aux communes d'aujourd'hui: Commune data sheet Villerest, EHESS (in French).
  4. ^ Population en historique depuis 1968, INSEE
  5. ^ Technologies, e-Obs. "Villerest - Station Verte".
  6. ^ "Piatra Neamţ - Twin Towns". © 2007-2008 piatra-neamt.net. Archived from the original on 16 November 2009. Retrieved 27 September 2009.
  7. ^ "Geograph:: Twinning plaque in Storrington village... (C) Basher Eyre".