Editing Creuse

{{short description|Department of France}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2020}}
{{Infobox settlement
<!-- See Template:Infobox settlement for additional fields and descriptions -->
| name                     = Creuse
| native_name              = [[Occitan language|Occitan]]: ''Cruesa'' or ''Crosa''
| native_name_lang         = fr<!-- ISO 639-2 code e.g. "fr" for French. If more than one, use {{lang}} instead -->
| type                     = [[Departments of France|Department of France]]
| image_skyline            = Guéret - Préfecture de la Creuse.jpg
| image_alt                = 
| image_caption            = [[Prefectures in France|Prefecture]] building of the Creuse department, in Guéret
| image_flag               = Drapeau fr département Creuse.svg
| flag_alt                 = 
| image_shield             = Blason Bourbon-La Marche.svg
| shield_alt               = 
| nickname                 = 
| motto                    = 
| image_map                = Creuse-Position.svg
| map_alt                  = 
| map_caption              = Location of Creuse in France
| pushpin_map              = 
| pushpin_label_position   = 
| pushpin_map_alt          = 
| pushpin_map_caption      = 
| coordinates              = {{coord|46|07|20|N|1|54|46|E|region:FR_type:adm2nd_scale:2000000|display=inline,title}}
| coor_pinpoint            = 
| coordinates_footnotes    = 
| subdivision_type         = Country
| subdivision_name         = France
| subdivision_type1        = [[Regions of France|Region]]
| subdivision_name1        = [[Nouvelle-Aquitaine]]
| established_title        = 
| established_date         = 
| founder                  = 
| seat_type                = [[Prefectures in France|Prefecture]]
| seat                     = [[Guéret]]
| parts_type               = [[Subprefectures in France|Subprefectures]]
| parts_style              = para
| p1                       = [[Aubusson, Creuse|Aubusson]]
| government_footnotes     = 
| leader_party             = [[The Republicans (France)|LR]]
| leader_title             = [[President of the Departmental Council]]
| leader_name              = Valérie Simonet<ref>{{cite web|title=Répertoire national des élus: les conseillers départementaux|url=https://www.data.gouv.fr/fr/datasets/r/601ef073-d986-4582-8e1a-ed14dc857fba|website=data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises|date=4 May 2022|language=fr}}</ref>
| unit_pref                = Metric<!-- or US or UK -->
| area_magnitude           = 
| area_footnotes           = {{ref|area|1}}
| area_total_km2           = 5565
| area_note                = 
| elevation_footnotes      = 
| elevation_m              = 
| elevation_min_m          = 
| elevation_max_m          = 
| population_total         = {{France metadata Wikidata|population_total}}
| population_as_of         = {{France metadata Wikidata|population_as_of}}
| population_footnotes     = {{France metadata Wikidata|population_footnotes2}}
| population_rank          = [[List of French departments by population|101st]]
| population_density_km2   = auto
| population_demonym       = 
| population_note          = 
| blank_name_sec1          = [[Departments of France|Department number]]
| blank_info_sec1          = 23
| blank_name_sec2          = [[Arrondissements of France|Arrondissements]]
| blank_info_sec2          = [[arrondissements of the Creuse department|2]]
| blank1_name_sec2         = [[Cantons in France|Cantons]]
| blank1_info_sec2         = [[cantons of the Creuse department|15]]
| blank2_name_sec2         = [[Communes in France|Communes]]
| blank2_info_sec2         = [[communes of the Creuse department|256]]
| timezone1                = [[Central European Time|CET]]
| utc_offset1              = +1
| timezone1_DST            = [[Central European Summer Time|CEST]]
| utc_offset1_DST          = +2
| postal_code_type         = 
| postal_code              = 
| area_code_type           = 
| area_code                = 
| iso_code                 = 
| website                  = 
| footnotes                = {{note|area|1}} French Land Register data, which exclude [[estuary|estuaries]], and lakes, ponds, and glaciers larger than 1&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>
}}

'''Creuse''' ({{IPA|fr|kʁøz|-|LL-Q150 (fra)-GrandCelinien-Creuse.wav}}; {{langx|oc|Cruesa}} or {{lang|oc|Crosa}}) is a [[departments of France|department]] in central France named after the river [[Creuse (river)|Creuse]]. After [[Lozère]], it is the second least populated department in [[France]]. It is bordered by [[Indre]] and [[Cher (department)|Cher]] to the north, [[Allier]] and [[Puy-de-Dôme]] to the east, [[Corrèze]] to the south, and [[Haute-Vienne]] to the west. In 2020, the population of this department is 115,995, while the official estimates in 2022 is 113,711.

[[Guéret]], the [[Prefectures in France|Prefecture]] of Creuse has a population approximately 12,000, making it the largest settlement in the department. The next biggest town is [[La Souterraine]] and then [[Aubusson, Creuse|Aubusson]]. The department is situated in the former [[Provinces of France|Province]] of [[County of La Marche|La Marche]]. Creuse is one of the most rural and sparsely populated departments in France, with a [[population density]] of {{convert|21|/km2|/mi2|disp=preunit|people|people|abbr=on}}, and a 2019 population of 116,617 - the [[Departments in France|second-smallest]] of any [[Departments in France|Departments]] in [[France]].<ref name=pop2019>[https://www.insee.fr/fr/statistiques/fichier/6011060/dep23.pdf Populations légales 2019: 23 Creuse], INSEE</ref> The land use is mostly agricultural and the department is well known for its [[chestnut]] and [[hazelnut]] production, and for the [[Charolais cattle|Charolais]] and [[Limousin cattle]] breeds.

==History==
Creuse is one of the original 83 departments created during the [[French Revolution]] on 4 March 1790. It was created from the former [[provinces of France|province]] of [[County of Marche|La Marche]].

The '''County of Marche''' was a county in [[France in the Middle Ages|medieval France]] that approximately corresponded to the modern ''département'' of Creuse. Marche first appeared as a separate fief around the mid-10th century, when [[William III, Duke of Aquitaine]], gave it to one of his vassals named Boso, who took the title of count. In the 12th century, the countship passed to the family of [[Lusignan]]. They also were sometimes [[counts and dukes of Angoulême|counts of Angoulême]] and counts of [[Limousin (province)|Limousin]]. With the death of the childless Count Guy in 1308, his possessions in La Marche were seized by [[Philip IV of France]]. In 1316 the king made La Marche an ''[[appanage]]'' for his youngest son the Prince, afterwards [[Charles IV of France|Charles IV]]. Several years later in 1327, La Marche passed into the hands of the [[House of Bourbon]]. The family of [[House of Armagnac|Armagnac]] held it from 1435 to 1477, when it reverted to the Bourbons. In 1527 La Marche was seized by [[Francis I of France|Francis I]] and became part of the domains of the French crown. It was divided into ''Haute Marche'' and ''Basse Marche'', the estates of the former continuing until the 17th century. From 1470 to the Revolution, the province was under the jurisdiction of the [[Parlement of Paris]].

In 1886, [[:fr:Bourganeuf ville lumière|Bourganeuf ville lumière]], located in a remote part of Creuse, became somewhat improbably the third town in France to receive a public electricity supply. Three years later, in 1889, the construction of a primitive hydro-electric factory at [[:fr:Cascade des Jarrauds|Cascade of the Jarrauds (''Cascade des Jarrauds'')]] on the little river [[:fr:Maulde (rivière)|Maulde]] at [[Saint-Martin-Château]], {{convert|14|km|mi|sp=us}} away, established a more reliable electricity supply for the little town. The creation of a power line from the plant to Bourganeuf was supervised by an innovative engineer named [[Marcel Deprez]]; this was the first time that a power line over such a long distance had been constructed in France. The achievement was crowned with the region's first telephone line, which was installed to permit instant communication between the generating station and the newly illuminated town.

==Geography==
[[File:Paysage creusois.jpg|left|thumb|Creuse landscape]]
Creuse is part of the [[regions of France|region]] of [[Nouvelle-Aquitaine]].

It is in the [[Massif Central]] and permeated by the [[Creuse (river)|Creuse]] and its tributaries. The river is dammed at several locations both for water supply and [[hydroelectricity]] generation. As is typical for an inland area of continental Europe, Creuse has relatively cold winters with some snowfall into April, but also hot summers. Rain falls throughout the year because of the relatively high elevation.

The topography is principally rolling hills intersected by often steep valleys. The terrestrial ecology is typically cool [[temperate]] with a species mix common in the western UK: with [[oak]], [[Ash tree|ash]], [[chestnut]], [[hazel]] and ''[[Prunus]]'' species dominating the woodlands. There are no commercial [[vineyard]]s. Much of the farming is beef cattle: [[Charolais cattle|Charolais]] and [[Limousin (cattle)|Limousin]], and also sheep.

===Principal towns===

The most populous commune is [[Guéret]], the prefecture. As the second-least populous department of France, Creuse has no big cities and towns. As of 2019, there are 5 communes with more than 2,000 inhabitants:<ref name=pop2019/>

{| class=wikitable
! Commune
! Population (2019)
|-
| [[Guéret]]
| style="text-align: center;" | 12,734
|-
| [[La Souterraine]]
| style="text-align: center;" | 4,982
|-
| [[Aubusson, Creuse|Aubusson]]
| style="text-align: center;" | 3,248
|-
| [[Sainte-Feyre]]
| style="text-align: center;" | 2,482
|-
| [[Bourganeuf]]
| style="text-align: center;" | 2,478
|}

==Demographics==
{{historical populations|cols=2|align=none|percentages=pagr|footnote=source:<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://splaf.free.fr/23his.html|title=Historique de la Creuse|website=Le SPLAF}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.insee.fr/fr/statistiques/4176909?geo=DEP-23|title=Évolution et structure de la population en 2016|publisher=INSEE}}</ref>|graph-pos=bottom
|11=1791|12=238,352|13=1801|14=218,041|15=1806|16=226,283|17=1821|18=248,785|19=1831|20=265,384|21=1841|22=278,029|23=1851|24=287,075|25=1861|26=270,055|27=1872|28=274,663|29=1881|30=278,782|31=1891|32=284,660|33=1901|34=277,831|35=1911|36=266,235|37=1921|38=228,244|39=1931|40=207,882|41=1936|42=201,844|43=1946|44=188,669|45=1954|46=172,702|47=1962|48=163,515|49=1968|50=156,876|51=1975|52=146,214|53=1982|54=139,968|55=1990|56=131,349|57=1999|58=124,470|59=2006|60=124,354|61=2011|62=122,560|63=2016|64=119,502|65=2019|66=116,617|67=2020|68=115,995|69=2022 (estimate)|70=113,711}}

The population peaked at 287,075 in 1851, after which it declined gently until the First World War. During and after the war, the decline in population became much more rapid both because of the death and disruption that characterised the war years and because of the higher wages available to any workers with marketable skills in the economically more dynamic towns and cities outside Creuse. By 1921 the registered population had slumped by almost 38,000 (approximately 14%) in ten years to 228,244, and the decline continued throughout the twentieth century.

Over the last four decades of the twentieth century Creuse experienced the greatest proportional population decline of any French department, from 164,000 in 1960 to 124,000 in 1999 – a decrease of 24%. The department is thus unofficially sometimes dubbed as the "capital of French depopulation" or the "[[Pskov Oblast]] of France".

==Politics==
{{See also|Departmental Council of Creuse}}
The [[List of presidents of departmental councils (France)|President of the Departmental Council]] is Valérie Simonet of [[The Republicans (France)|The Republicans]].

{| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%;"
!colspan=2| Party || Seats
|-
! style="background-color: {{party color|The Republicans (France)}}" |
|[[The Republicans (France)|The Republicans]]|| align="right" | 12
|-
! style="background-color: {{party color|Miscellaneous right}}" |
|[[Miscellaneous right]]|| align="right" |6
|-
! style="background-color: {{party color|Socialist Party (France)}}" |
|[[Socialist Party (France)|Socialist Party]]|| align="right" | 8
|-
! style="background-color: {{party color|Miscellaneous Left}}" |
|[[Miscellaneous left]]|| align="right" | 4
|-
|}

===Current National Assembly Representative===

{| class="wikitable"
|-
!colspan="2"|Constituency!!Member<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.assemblee-nationale.fr/|title=Assemblée nationale ~ Les députés, le vote de la loi, le Parlement français|first=Assemblée|last=Nationale|website=Assemblée nationale}}</ref>!!Party
|-
|style="background-color: {{party color|Union of the Right for the Republic}}" |
| [[Creuse's constituency]]
| [[Bartolomé Lenoir|Bartholomé Lenoir]]
| [[Union of the Right for the Republic]]
|}

==Culture==

===Language===
Until the 1980s, [[Occitan language|Occitan]] was the primary language of rural areas. There remain three different Occitan dialects in use in Limousin, although their use is rapidly declining. These are:
* [[Limousin (dialect)|Limousin]] ({{langx|oc|Lemosin}}) dialect
* [[Auvergnat (dialect)|Auvergnat]] ({{langx|oc|Auvernhat}}) dialect in the East
* in the North, the [[Crescent (Occitania)|Crescent transition area]] between Occitan and French is sometimes considered as a separate (basically Occitan) dialect called Marchois ({{langx|oc|Marchés}}).

===Cuisine===
The Creuse Cake is a dessert named after the region. It is made with butter and hazelnuts.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.jedecouvrelafrance.com/f-1019.creuse-gateau-creusois.html |title=Creuse cake - Creuse - Limousin - Discover - I Discover France |access-date=15 November 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160917131933/http://www.jedecouvrelafrance.com/f-1019.creuse-gateau-creusois.html |archive-date=17 September 2016 |url-status=usurped }}</ref> There are many varieties, and they are sold throughout France.<ref>[http://www.encreuse.com/traditions/cuisine/#ancre255143 Recettes de Cuisine]. ''EnCreuse''.</ref>

==Notable people==
* [[George Sand]] (1804–1878) She situated some of the action of her 1844 novel ''Jeanne'' in rural Boussac.
* [[Thierry Ardisson]] (1949- ), host and journalist
* [[Pierre d'Aubusson]] (1423–1503), [[List of Grand Masters of the Knights Hospitaller|Grand Master]] of the [[order of St. John of Jerusalem]] (the [[Knights Hospitaller]]) .
* [[Jacques Barraband]] (1767–1809) painter and draftsman
* [[Léonard-Léopold Forgemol de Bostquénard]] (1821–1897), general in the French Army.
* [[Jean de Brosse]] (1375–1433) councillor to [[Charles VII of France]]
* [[Gustave Caillebotte]] (1848–1894) Impressionist painter, owned a castle in Creuse
* [[Gilles Clément]] (1943- ): prizewinning park and landscape designer
* [[François Denhaut]] (1877–1952) inventor of flying boats
* [[David Feuerwerker]] (1912–1980), rabbi of Creuse.
* [[Armand Guillaumin]] (1841–1927) impressionist painter
* [[Jean Guitton]] (1901–1999) Catholic philosopher and theologian
* [[Marcel Jouhandeau]] (1888–1979) writer
* [[Lucien Le Cam]] (1924–2000) statistician
* [[Pierre Leroux]] (1797–1871) philosopher and political economist
* [[Jean Lurçat]] (1892–1966) tapestry artist
* [[Jules Marouzeau]] (1878–1964) Latinist and philologist
* [[Pierre Michon]] (1945- ) novelist
* [[Martin Nadaud]] (1815–1898) politician and writer
* [[Raymond Poulidor]] (1936–2019) cyclist
* [[Michael Riffaterre]] (1924–2006), writer and critic
* [[Maurice Rollinat]] (1846–1903) poet
* [[Jules Sandeau]] (1811–1883) novelist
* [[Georges Sarre]] (1935- ) Secretary of State
* [[Antoine Varillas]] (1624–1696) historian
* [[Hubert Védrine]] (1947- ) Minister of Foreign Affairs
* [[Jacques Laffite]] (1943- ) racing driver
* [[Jean-Pierre Jabouille]] (1942- ) racing driver has creusoises origins and has a property in Creuse, sponsor of a motor rally Creusekistan 
* [[Marcel Balsa]], born on 1 January 1909 in [[Saint-Frion]] and died 11 August 1984 in [[Maisons-Alfort]], French driver.
* [[Nathalie Baye]] (1948- ) actor is a resident of the department
* [[Victor Lanoux]] the actor settles in Creuse to [[La Chapelle-Taillefert]]
* The lawyer [[Serge Klarsfeld]] and the comic [[Popeck]] took refuge through the organization of Felix Chevrier, the castle Masgelier in [[Le Grand-Bourg]] and stayed there several months
* [[François Baroin]], French politician native son of [[Dun-le-Palestel]] The summers were devoted to the Creuse, where the mother of the little Frenchman had a house.
* [[Jean-Francois Cope]], French politician
* [[Claude Chabrol]], filmmaker, spent part of his childhood in [[Sardent]] with his grandmother
* [[Jean Auclair]], (1946-) is a French politician.
* [[Michel Vergnier]], (1946-) Socialist politician, deputy mayor of Gueret since 29 November 1998.

==Tourism==
[[File:Gentioux monument aux morts pacifiste.JPG|thumb|upright|Famous [[pacifist]] World War I [[War memorial|memorial]] in Gentioux]]

As a traditionally rural and lightly populated area, with ancient and typical ''art de vivre'', original stone architecture, no major urban center and many heritage site such as [[castles]], [[abbeys]] and [[Dolmen|Celtic stone monuments]]: the Creuse department has become a [[Green tourism]] destination since the late 1990s.{{citation needed|date=July 2019}} Creuse enjoys a [[temperate climate]] with mild springs and autumns, rather cold and snowy but sunny winters, and relatively warm and sunny summers, but not as hot as in the southern parts of France. Thanks to its preserved forested landscape, little pollution and wonderful stone buildings, many foreigners (notably British and Dutch, but also German and Belgian) have sought to buy holiday homes in Creuse.{{citation needed|date=July 2019}}

The major tourist attractions are the [[tapestry]] museum in [[Aubusson, Creuse|Aubusson]] and the many castles, notably those of Villemonteix, [[Boussac, Creuse|Boussac]], and Banizette. The monastery of [[Moutier-d'Ahun]] has exceptional wood carvings from the 17th century. ([[:fr:Abbaye de Moutier-d'Ahun]]). After World War 1, some towns in France set up pacifist war memorials. Instead of commemorating the glorious dead, these memorials denounce war with figures of grieving widows and children rather than soldiers. Such memorials provoked anger among veterans and the military in general. The most famous is at [[Gentioux-Pigerolles]] in the department (see picture on the left). Below the column which lists the name of the fallen, stands an orphan in bronze pointing to an inscription 'Maudite soit la guerre' (Cursed be war). Feelings ran so high that the memorial was not officially inaugurated until 1990 and soldiers at the nearby army camp were under orders to turn their heads when they walked past.

The Chapelle du Mas-Saint-Jean is in Saint-Sulpice-le-Dunois. A local legend declares that [[Joan of Arc]] prayed there in about 1430.<ref>[http://www.paysdunois.fr/article582.html "Jeanne d'Arc at the Chapelle du Mas-Saint-Jean: reality Or legend?"], Town of Dunois website</ref>

[[Guéret]], Creuse is also home to a large nearby animal park named Les Loups de Chabrières containing some of France's few remaining wolves, held in semi-captivity. It includes 24 European Grey Wolves, two Canadian White Wolves and two Canadian Black Wolves in five enclosures.

Motor racing Mas du Clos It is twelve kilometers from Aubusson at the foot of the family castle of [[Saint-Avit-de-Tardes]]. [[Pierre Bardinon]] creates all pieces in 1963.

==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:ChateauDeVillemonteix.jpg|Villemonteix Castle in winter
File:Bourganeuf - Château.JPG|[[Bourganeuf]] [[Castle]] with infamous [[Cem Sultan]] tower
File:EvauxLesBains1.jpg|View of [[Evaux-les-Bains]]
File:PontSuspenduTardes1.jpg|19th-century bridge architecture in Creuse
File:Aubusson tour de l horloge.JPG|[[Aubusson, Creuse|Aubusson]]'s [[Medieval]] Clock Tower
File:Tapisserie d'Aubusson (Huet).JPG|typical [[Aubusson tapestry]]
File:PierresJaumatres3.jpg|Natural granitic site of Les Pierres-Jaumâtres, in Creuse
File:Monet The Petite Creuse River.jpg|[[Monet]]'s ''Petite Creuse'', 1889
File:Paysage en Creuse.JPG|Western Creuse typical landscape
File:Ruisseau du Langladure au Moulin.jpg|Small river in Creuse
File:ChateauBoussacSurPetiteCreuse.jpg|Boussac [[Castle]], Creuse
Image:Pont senoueix vgen.jpg|Senoueix Bridge
Image:Vache-de-race-limousine-en-correze-2.jpg|typical [[Limousin cattle]] in Creuse
Image:Guéret Loups de Chabrières.JPG|The [[Gray wolf|wolves]] of Chabrières
Image:Lac vassivière vue géné.jpg|Lake Vassivière in Creuse
</gallery>

==See also==
*[[Cantons of the Creuse department]]
*[[Communes of the Creuse department]]
*[[Arrondissements of the Creuse department]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Creuse (department)|Creuse}}
{{EB1911 poster|Creuse}}
* {{in lang|fr}} [https://www.creuse.fr/ Departmental Council website]
* {{in lang|fr}} [https://www.creuse.gouv.fr/ Prefecture website]
* [http://www.tourisme-creuse.com Official Tourism Website]
* {{in lang|fr}} [http://www.portail-paysdegueret.com/ Land of Gueret Portal (Portail du Pays de Guéret)]
* [http://www.pontnoir.com The English Language Portal for La Creuse]
* [http://www.creuse-news.eu News from the Creuse and practical advice about living there, in English ] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141011213342/http://www.creuse-news.eu/ |date=11 October 2014 }}

{{Departments of France}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Creuse| ]]
[[Category:Massif Central]]
[[Category:1790 establishments in France]]
[[Category:Departments of Nouvelle-Aquitaine]]
[[Category:States and territories established in 1790]]