Bellac (; ) is a commune in the Haute-Vienne department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in western France.
Bellac is where the French author Jean Giraudoux, writer of L'Apollon de Bellac, was born in 1882. His house has been turned into a museum.
Geography
Bellac lies northwest of
Limoges at the confluence of the rivers
Gartempe and , in the Department of
Haute-Vienne.
Poitiers is to the northwest, and Angoulême to the southwest. The hills known as the Monts de Blond lie immediately to the south.
Administration
Bellac is a sous-préfecture of Haute-Vienne, seat of the arrondissement of Bellac which covers 57 communes. Furthernore, it is part of the canton of Bellac and of the
communauté de communes Haut Limousin en Marche.
[ Commune de Bellac (87011), INSEE]
Population
Inhabitants are known as
Bellachons in French.
Transport
Bellac is west of the A20 Limoges-Orléans motorway, and lies at a crossroads where the RN145 crosses the RN147. Both these roads had been designated part of the (RCEA) and were thus at risk of being upgraded to motorway. However, the latest thinking is that the RCEA will be re-routed from
La Souterraine south down the A20 to Limoges and then via upgraded to the N520/N141 routes to Angoulême and the west.
Classifications
Bellac is classified as a
, a village étape, a , and a
.
Notable people
-
Jean Giraudoux (1882–1944), writer, dramatist and playwright, was born in Bellac
-
Charles Silvestre (1889–1948), writer, winner of the Prix Femina in 1926, died in Bellac
Climate
See also
-
Communes of the Haute-Vienne department
