Arcis-le-Ponsart (French pronunciation: [aʁsi lə pɔ̃saʁ]) is a commune in the Marne department in northeastern France. It is located along the D25 road, south of Courville, 32.2 kilometres (20.0 mi) by road southwest of Reims. The commune of Arcis-le-Ponsart has an area of 15.4 square kilometres (5.9 sq mi). The local economy is mainly agricultural based. Igny Abbey lies in this commune.
Arcis-le-Ponsart | |
|---|---|
 The town hall in Arcis-le-Ponsart | |
Location of Arcis-le-Ponsart  | |
  Arcis-le-Ponsart  Arcis-le-Ponsart | |
| Coordinates: 49°14′09″N 3°41′40″E / 49.2358°N 3.6944°E | |
| Country | France |
| Region | Grand Est |
| Department | Marne |
| Arrondissement | Reims |
| Canton | Fismes-Montagne de Reims |
| Intercommunality | CU Grand Reims |
| Government | |
| • Mayor (2020–2026) | Jean-Luc Dubois[1] |
Area 1 | 15.43 km2 (5.96 sq mi) |
| Population (2021)[2] | 287 |
| • Density | 19/km2 (48/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
| INSEE/Postal code | 51014 /51170 |
| Elevation | 100–248 m (328–814 ft) |
| 1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. | |
Toponymy
editUntil the early nineteenth century, the town was called Arcis-le-Poussart or simply Pousard.[3] The name Arcis comes from the Latin word "arx", meaning "fortified place"; and the nickname Ponsart refers to a former local knight from Arcy, Ponsard.[4]
History
editIn 1127, Bernard of Clairvaux founded Igny Abbey on land purchased from Ponsard.[4] During the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, the monks of this abbey cleared and cultivated the land and surrounding forests. Arcis-le-Ponsard was damaged repeatedly, including the troops of the Hundred Years War, those of Charles V, the Franco-Spanish War (1635–1659), the French Revolutionary Wars, and the Prussian and Russian armies of 1814.[4] During the First World War, a military camp was installed here.
Landmarks
editThe Église Notre-Dame, a ruin, is attributed partly to twelfth century and partly Renaissance style.[5] It became a historical monument on 18 November 1919. The Abbaye Notre-Dame d'Igny was founded in the 1120s by monks from the Abbey of Clairvaux, sent by St. Bernard of Clairvaux. Following a pilgrimage to the abbey which brought rapid development, a daughter house, Signy Abbey, was founded in 1135. The second abbot, Guerric of Igny, was raised to the rank of Blessed; his relics are still venerated in Igny.[6] At the time of the French Revolution, the religious community was dispersed. It was rebuilt in 1780.[5] Monastic life resumed in 1876 with the support of the Diocese of Reims. Destroyed in 1918, the abbey was rebuilt in 1929 and occupied by a community of nuns from Laval.
Population
edit
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| Source: EHESS[3] and INSEE (1968-2020)[7] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Répertoire national des élus: les maires". data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises (in French). 2 December 2020.
- ^ "Populations légales 2021" (in French). The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 28 December 2023.
- ^ a b Des villages de Cassini aux communes d'aujourd'hui: Commune data sheet Arcis-le-Ponsart, EHESS (in French).
- ^ a b c "Histoire et Patrimonie" (in French). Commune of Arcis-le-Ponsard. Retrieved 27 August 2012.
- ^ a b Hare, Augustus John Cuthbert (1896). North-eastern France (Public domain ed.). Macmillan. pp. 426–. Retrieved 28 August 2012.
- ^ "L'abbaye d'Igny" (in French). Arcis-le-Ponsart. Retrieved 30 August 2012.
- ^ Population en historique depuis 1968, INSEE