Monflanquin

Monflanquin (French pronunciation: [mɔ̃flɑ̃kɛ̃]; Languedocien: Montflanquin) is a commune in the Lot-et-Garonne department in south-western France. Built in 1256 as a military bastide town on a strategic north-south route, it changed hands several times during the Hundred Years' War.

Monflanquin
Commune
A general view of Monflanquin
Coat of arms
Location of Monflanquin
Monflanquin Show map of France Monflanquin Show map of Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Coordinates: 44°31′59″N 0°46′07″E
Country	France
Region	Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Department	Lot-et-Garonne
Arrondissement	Villeneuve-sur-Lot
Canton	Le Haut agenais Périgord
Intercommunality	Bastides en Haut-Agenais Périgord
Government
• Mayor (2020–2026)	Nathalie Founaud-Veysset[1]
Area 1	62.21 km2 (24.02 sq mi)
Population  (2022)[2]	2,358
• Density	37.90/km2 (98.17/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	47175 /47150
Elevation	64–207 m (210–679 ft) (avg. 181 m or 594 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

The village is a member of the Les Plus Beaux Villages de France ("The most beautiful villages of France") association.

History

In 1252, Guillaume Amanieu, Lord of Calviac (in Monflanquin), ceded the Monflanquin mountain to Alphonse of Poitiers. The latter founded a Bastide there in the 13th century. Based on our current knowledge, everything suggests that the "Monflanquin mountain" was ceded to Alphonse of Poitiers without paréage. In 1256, Alphonse of Poitiers began the foundation of the fortified town. In 1269, the foundation charter was confirmed. When Alphonse of Poitiers died after his wife, Jeanne of Toulouse, daughter of Raymond VII of Toulouse, without an heir, his lands became part of the royal domain of Philip III.

In 1279, Monflanquin became one of the twelve bailiwicks of the Agenais. The Archbishop of Bordeaux, Bertrand de Got, visited the town in 1304. He was elected Pope the following year under the name Clement V. The fortified town having come under English influence, King Edward III of England confirmed the town's privileges in 1318. In 1374, the inhabitants of Monflanquin aided the French King's army, which was heading towards Tonneins to drive the English out of the Agenais.

On 31 August 1574, Guy de Montferrand,^[3] lord of Langoiran, governor of Périgord "for those of the reformed religion" and Geoffroy de Vivans took the town with 2000 men and took 125 gentlemen prisoner.^[4] The town was the capital of the Monflanquin district from 1790 to 1795.

From 1911 to 1933, the commune was the operating center of the Tramways de Lot-et-Garonne, a meter-gauge secondary railway company that constituted the Lot-et-Garonne departmental network.^[5]

Demography

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1968	2,354	—
1975	2,368	+0.08%
1982	2,356	−0.07%
1990	2,431	+0.39%
1999	2,258	−0.82%
2007	2,342	+0.46%
2012	2,345	+0.03%
2017	2,313	−0.27%
Source: INSEE[6]

Notable people

• Louis Couffignal (1902–1966), mathematician and cybernetics pioneer
• Pierre Charles Fournier de Saint-Amant (1800 - 1872), chess player

See also

• Communes of the Lot-et-Garonne department