Arlebosc

Arlebosc (French pronunciation: [aʁləbɔsk]; Occitan: Arlabòsc) is a commune in the Ardèche department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of southern France.

Arlebosc
Commune
Statue of Joan of Arc at Arlebosc
Location of Arlebosc
Arlebosc Show map of France Arlebosc Show map of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Coordinates: 45°02′14″N 4°39′07″E
Country	France
Region	Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Department	Ardèche
Arrondissement	Tournon-sur-Rhône
Canton	Haut-Vivarais
Intercommunality	CA Arche Agglo
Government
• Mayor (2020–2026)	Michel Gay[1]
Area 1	12.35 km2 (4.77 sq mi)
Population  (2022)[2]	361
• Density	29.2/km2 (75.7/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	07014 /07410
Elevation	265–1,028 m (869–3,373 ft) (avg. 420 m or 1,380 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Geography

Arlebosc is located some 12 km west by south-west of Tournon-sur-Rhône and 8 km north-east of Lamastre. Access to the commune is by the D578 road from Saint-Jeure-d'Ay in the north passing through the village and continuing west then south-west to join the D534 north-west of Lamastre. Apart from the village there are the hamlets of Saint-Just in the north-east and Les Fauries in the western extension of the commune. The commune is rugged and heavily forested with some farmland on the eastern side.^[3]

The Doux river forms part of the south-western border and flows through the commune from south-west to north-east. The Ruisseau de Balaye forms the western border as it flows south to join the Doux. Other streams rise in the commune and flow south-east to join the Doux. The Merdenc rises in the north of the commune and forms part of the northern border as it flows north-east to join the Daronne south-east of Saint-Félicien.^[3]

Neighbouring communes and villages

^[3]

Toponymy

A legend attributes the name of the commune to one of its Lords: Bozon d'Arles.

In reality, it is a name from the Old French -bosc (a primitive form of bois meaning "wood") attested in the Occitan form of Arlabosc from 912 and Latinized to Allabosco in the 14th century.^[4]

Ernest Nègre^[4] explained the first element as an Occitan form erela meaning "cranberry". The French term for cranberry (Airelle) is considered to be a borrowing from a variant of the Massif Central or the Alpine éiréla (also airelo). The Provençal aire is also used for "cranberry", from the Latin ater meaning "black",^[5] d'où la signification globale de « bois des airelles ».3, so the overall meaning is "forest of cranberries".

Administration

List of Successive Mayors^[6]

From	To	Name
1809		Jean-Baptiste Bouvet
1809	1816	Jean André Etienne-Peyrouze
1817		Jean Alexandre du Rouchet de Chazotte
1945	1954	Marius Sarzier
1954	1977	André Banchet
1977	1989	Michel Vert
1989	2008	Jean-Claude Deloche
2008	2020	Jean Paul Agier
2020	current	Michel Gay

Demography

The inhabitants of the commune are known as Arleboscois or Arleboscoises in French.^[7]

Historical population

Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1793 1,000 —     1800 784 −3.42% 1806 950 +3.25% 1821 971 +0.15% 1831 926 −0.47% 1836 1,035 +2.25% 1841 1,015 −0.39% 1846 1,020 +0.10% 1851 989 −0.62% 1856 1,042 +1.05% 1861 1,044 +0.04% 1866 1,050 +0.11% 1872 1,098 +0.75% 1876 1,103 +0.11% 1881 1,080 −0.42% 1886 1,074 −0.11% 1891 1,141 +1.22% 1896 1,033 −1.97%	Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1901 986 −0.93% 1906 1,010 +0.48% 1911 896 −2.37% 1921 804 −1.08% 1926 739 −1.67% 1931 690 −1.36% 1936 668 −0.65% 1946 614 −0.84% 1954 534 −1.73% 1962 501 −0.79% 1968 479 −0.75% 1975 433 −1.43% 1982 378 −1.92% 1990 360 −0.61% 1999 321 −1.27% 2007 345 +0.91% 2012 336 −0.53% 2017 331 −0.30%
Source: EHESS[8] and INSEE[9]

Distribution of Age Groups

The population of the town is older than the departmental average.

Percentage Distribution of Age Groups in Arlebosc and Ardèche Department in 2017

	Arlebosc		Ardèche
Age Range	Men	Women	Men	Women
0 to 14 Years	13.6	13.0	17.7	16.1
15 to 29 Years	9.3	11.8	14.4	13.0
30 to 44 Years	14.8	14.8	17.3	16.9
45 to 59 Years	22.2	23.1	21.6	20.7
60 to 74 Years	29.0	20.1	19.7	19.7
75 to 89 Years	9.9	16.6	8.5	11.2
90 Years+	1.2	0.6	0.9	2.4

Source: INSEE^[9][10]

Sites and Monuments

Church of Saint Sacrement at Arlebosc

• The Chateau of Chazotte (17th century) is registered as an historical monument.^[11]
• The Chateau of Malgaray
• The Chateau of Romaneaux
• The Church of Saint Sacrement from the 19th century. The church contains several items that are registered as historical objects:
  • 2 Statues: Torch-bearing Angels (18th century)^[12]
  • A Silk Cope (19th century)^[13]
  • A Group Sculpture: Crucifixion^[14]
  • A Ciborium (1657)^[15]
• The Chapel of Saint Just

Picture Gallery

• 
  Chapel at Saint Just
• 
  Tincey Cross from 1890
• 
  Cross in front of the Chapel at Saint Just

Notable people linked to the commune

• Myriam Gagnaire, a presenter on France 3 and TV5 Monde on "Side gardens" is a resident of the commune and artistic director of http://www.lacompagnieduchatquilouche.fr Archived 2019-02-12 at the Wayback Machine, a cultural association whose headquarters is in Arlebosc and covers the Ardèche department with various cultural and educational activities in association with the local authorities.

See also

• Communes of the Ardèche department