Villerest
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2023}}
{{Infobox French commune
|name = Villerest
|commune status = Commune
|image = Villerest loire.JPG
|image coat of arms = Blason ville fr Villerest (Loire).svg
|arrondissement = Roanne
|canton = Roanne-2
|INSEE = 42332
|postal code = 42300
|term = 2020–2026
|intercommunality = Roannais Agglomération
|coordinates = {{coord|45.9942|4.0372|format=dms|display=inline,title}}
|elevation m = 360
|elevation min m = 261
|elevation max m = 426
|area km2 = 14.82
|population = {{France metadata Wikidata|population_total}}
|population date = {{France metadata Wikidata|population_as_of}}
|population footnotes = {{France metadata Wikidata|population_footnotes}}
}}
Villerest ({{IPA|fr|vilʁɛ}}; {{langx|frp|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.
Population
{{Historical populations
|align = none
|cols = 2
|percentages = pagr
|source = EHESS{{Cassini-Ehess|40416|Villerest }} and INSEE (1968-2017)[https://www.insee.fr/fr/statistiques/4515315?geo=COM-42332#ancre-POP_T1 Population en historique depuis 1968], INSEE
|1793 |950
|1800 |435
|1806 |546
|1821 |587
|1831 |964
|1836 |1030
|1841 |976
|1846 |1006
|1851 |1031
|1856 |1130
|1861 |1211
|1866 |1208
|1872 |1207
|1876 |1227
|1881 |1230
|1886 |1281
|1891 |1270
|1896 |1218
|1901 |1204
|1906 |1201
|1911 |1149
|1921 |976
|1926 |1034
|1931 |1127
|1936 |1076
|1946 |1039
|1954 |1286
|1962 |1524
|1968 |1743
|1975 |2239
|1982 |2928
|1990 |4104
|1999 |4243
|2007 |4414
|2012 |4696
|2017 |4902
}}
Sights
- 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.{{cite web|url=http://www.villerest.fr/presentation/histoire-et-patrimoine/le-moyen-age-naissance-et-vie-d-un-bourg-fortifie.html|title=Villerest - Station Verte|first=e-Obs|last=Technologies}} 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
Villerest is twinned with:
- {{Flagicon|ROM}} Piatra Neamţ, Romania{{cite web|url=http://www.piatra-neamt.net/en/twin_towns.php|title=Piatra Neamţ - Twin Towns|publisher=© 2007-2008 piatra-neamt.net|access-date=2009-09-27|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091116145101/http://www.piatra-neamt.net/en/twin_towns.php|archive-date=2009-11-16}} and Storrington, West Sussex, England.{{cite web|url=https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/2625117|title=Geograph:: Twinning plaque in Storrington village... (C) Basher Eyre}}
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
{{commons category}}
{{Loire communes}}
{{authority control}}
Category:Communes of Loire (department)
{{Loire-geo-stub}}