Avaray (French pronunciation: [avaʁɛ]) is a commune in the Loir-et-Cher department in central France.

Avaray
Coat of arms of Avaray
Location of Avaray
Map
Avaray is located in France
Avaray
Avaray
Avaray is located in Centre-Val de Loire
Avaray
Avaray
Coordinates: 47°43′24″N 1°33′55″E / 47.7233°N 1.5653°E / 47.7233; 1.5653
CountryFrance
RegionCentre-Val de Loire
DepartmentLoir-et-Cher
ArrondissementBlois
CantonLa Beauce
IntercommunalityCC Beauce Val Loire
Government
 • Mayor (2020–2026) Jean-François Mézille[1]
Area
1
13.88 km2 (5.36 sq mi)
Population
 (2021)[2]
699
 • Density50/km2 (130/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code
41008 /41500
Elevation75–118 m (246–387 ft)
(avg. 106 m or 348 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

History

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Avaray is a French territorial title belonging to a family some of whose members have been conspicuous in history. The Béarnaise family named Besiade moved into the province of Orléanais in the 17th century, and there acquired the estate of Avaray. In 1667 Theophile de Besiade, marquis d'Avaray, obtained the office of grand bailiff of Orleans, which was held by several of his descendants after him.[3]

Claude Antoine de Besiade, marquis d'Avaray, was deputy for the bailliage of Orleans in the states-general of 1789, and proposed a Declaration of the Duties of Man as a pendant to the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen; he subsequently became a lieutenant-general in 1814, a peer of France in 1815, and duc d'Avaray in 1818. Antoine Louis Francois de Besiade, comte d'Avaray, son of the above, distinguished himself during the Revolution by his devotion to the comte de Provence, afterwards Louis XVIII, whose emigration he assisted. Having nominally become king in 1799, that prince created the estate of Ile-Jourdain a duchy, under the title of Avaray, in favour of the comte d'Avaray, whom he termed his "liberator".[3]

Population

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Historical population
YearPop.±% p.a.
1968 491—    
1975 466−0.74%
1982 481+0.45%
1990 514+0.83%
1999 577+1.29%
2007 722+2.84%
2012 720−0.06%
2017 737+0.47%
Source: INSEE[4]

Sights

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The Château d'Avaray was built in the 16th century; of this building only four corner towers remain. In the 1730s a central building with two curving wings was erected. The park is magnificent and is said to have been designed by Le Nôtre.[5]

See also

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References

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  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" (in French). The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 28 December 2023.
  3. ^ a b Prinet 1911, p. 51.
  4. ^ Population en historique depuis 1968, INSEE
  5. ^ Châteaux of the Loire. (Nagel Travel Guide Series.) Geneva: Nagel; p. 45
Attribution