Lavardin, Loir-et-Cher

{{Infobox French commune

|name = Lavardin

|commune status = Commune

|image = Lavardin.jpg

|caption = The 14th-century bridge and 15th-18th-century château

|image coat of arms = Blason ville fr Lavardin (Loir-et-Cher).svg

|arrondissement = Vendôme

|canton = Montoire-sur-le-Loir

|INSEE = 41113

|postal code = 41800

|mayor = Thiérry Fleury{{cite web|title=Répertoire national des élus: les maires|url=https://www.data.gouv.fr/fr/datasets/r/2876a346-d50c-4911-934e-19ee07b0e503|website=data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises|date=2 December 2020|language=fr}}

|term = 2020–2026

|intercommunality = CA Territoires Vendômois

|coordinates = {{coord|47.7425|0.8869|format=dms|display=inline,title}}

|elevation m = 71

|elevation min m = 63

|elevation max m = 146

|area km2 = 6.71

|population = {{France metadata Wikidata|population_total}}

|population date = {{France metadata Wikidata|population_as_of}}

|population footnotes = {{France metadata Wikidata|population_footnotes}}

}}

Lavardin is a commune in the Loir-et-Cher department of central France.{{Cite web |title=Commune de Lavardin (41113)|url=https://www.insee.fr/fr/metadonnees/geographie/commune/41113-lavardin |access-date=29 August 2024|publisher=INSEE}} It is located on the banks of the river Loir. It is a member of Les Plus Beaux Villages de France (The Most Beautiful Villages of France) Association.

Population

{{Historical populations

|source = INSEE[https://www.insee.fr/fr/statistiques/4515315?geo=COM-41113#ancre-POP_T1 Population en historique depuis 1968], INSEE

|percentages = pagr

|align = none

|1968 |268

|1975 |222

|1982 |256

|1990 |245

|1999 |262

|2007 |220

|2012 |199

|2017 |183

}}

Sights

Lavardin is classified as one of the most beautiful villages of France thanks to the ruins of its mediaeval castle (see main article: Château de Lavardin), its Gothic church and frescoes, its houses and the ancient bridge. The village has been frequented by renowned painters since about 1900, most notably Busson and Sauvage.

Early history

Salomon I of Lavardin became lord of Lavardin around 1030, and his descendants ruled there for the next three centuries.{{Cite book |title=Writing medieval women's lives |last=Livingstone |first=Amy |date=2012 |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |isbn=9780230114555 |editor-last=Goldy|editor-first=Charlotte Newman |location=New York |chapter=Piecing together the fragments: Telling the lives of the ladies of Lavardin through image and text |oclc=769987234 |editor-last2=Livingstone|editor-first2=Amy}}{{rp|133}} The church of St. Genest in Lavardin was built in the mid-to-late eleventh century, but the existence of a prior Merovingian cemetery on the site attests to the village's existence for several centuries prior to Salomon's reign.{{rp|133,147}}{{Cite journal|last=Schweitz|first=Daniel|last2=Schweitz|first2=Arlett|date=1981|title=Le Château de Lavardin|journal=Congrès archéologique de France|volume=139|pages=218}}

Culture

The historical card game of Chouine has had a renaissance in recent years and 'world championships' are currently held annually in the village.[https://web.archive.org/web/20161106143826/http://www.montoire-sur-le-loir.net/lavardin/chouine.html La Chouine] by Jacques Proust at montoire-sur-le-loir.net (archived). Retrieved 12 April 2023.

References

External links

[http://www.lavardin.net/ Official website] {{in lang|fr}}
[https://www.les-plus-beaux-villages-de-france.org/fr/nos-villages/lavardin/ Association des plus beaux villages de France: Lavardin] {{in lang|fr}}

{{Commons category|Lavardin (Loir-et-Cher)|Lavardin, Loir-et-Cher}}

Category:Communes of Loir-et-Cher

Category:Plus Beaux Villages de France