Millevaches

Millevaches
Commune
Coat of arms of Millevaches
Coat of arms
Location of Millevaches
Millevaches is located in France
Map credit
Millevaches
Millevaches
Location within France
Millevaches is located in Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Map credit
Millevaches
Millevaches
Location within Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Coordinates: 45°38′32″N 2°05′46″E / 45.6422°N 2.0961°E / 45.6422; 2.0961
CountryFrance
RegionNouvelle-Aquitaine
DepartmentCorrèze
ArrondissementUssel
CantonPlateau de Millevaches
IntercommunalityHaute-Corrèze Communauté
Government
 • Mayor (2020–2026) Sylvie Prabonneau
Area
1
11.54 km2 (4.46 sq mi)
Highest elevation
956 m (3,136 ft)
Lowest elevation
800 m (2,600 ft)
Population
 (2023)
79
 • Density6.8/km2 (18/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code
19139 /19290
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Millevaches (French pronunciation: [milvaʃ]; Occitan: Miuvachas) is a commune in the Corrèze department in central France in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region.

Toponymy

The commune, although one of the least populated in the area, gave its name to the Millevaches plateau. This name is attested in the following forms: Millevaccas in 1048, from Mille Vaccis around 1315, Miauvatsas in the 17th-centuary. The legend confirms the obviate meaning of " thousand cows ", " immense pasture ", while Albert Dauzat proposed a Gallo-Latin hybrid *melo vacua "abandoned mountain", which Marcel Villoutreix does not consider impossible.

Its name is Miuvachas in Auvergnat and Limousin dialects.

History

In 1048, the Viscount of Aubusson ceded the locality of Millevaches to the Abbey of Uzerche. The village is mentioned in the cartulary of this abbey in 1145 and 1146 in the latinised form Millevacas. Most of the village was destroyed by a fire in 1871. On 4 September 1871, the fire, which was believed to have been caused by a peat bog fire, destroyed the church and presbytery, and seven to eight houses and barns.

Geography

Location

The commune located in the Massif Central, part of the Regional Natural Park of the Millevaches in Limousin. The village of Millevaches is distinguished by at least two characteristics. The first is that it is the highest commune of the whole Limousin, perched between 890 and 920 meters above sea level. The second is that it is located on the dividing watershed between the tributaries of the Loire and those of the Dordogne. To the north, it is Vienne which takes its source about 4 km from the village, to the south, the Vézère, the Luzège and the Triouzoune are just three to five kilometres away.

Population

Historical population
YearPop.±% p.a.
1968 113—    
1975 86−3.83%
1982 79−1.21%
1990 76−0.48%
1999 82+0.85%
2007 90+1.17%
2012 82−1.84%
2017 81−0.25%
2023 79−0.42%
Source: INSEE

Culture and heritage

Places and monuments

  • Church Sainte-Madeleine de Millevaches - Current church was rebuilt between 1871 and 1874 after a fire in 1871 destroyed the previous church. The vault of the nave collapsed in 1978 and was rebuilt. Listed in the General Inventory of Cultural Heritage.
  • War memorial.
  • House of the Parc Naturel Régional de Millevaches en Limousin.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Répertoire national des élus: les maires" (in French). data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises. 13 September 2022.
  2. ↑ "Populations de référence 2023" (in French). National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 18 December 2025.
  3. ↑ Villoutreix, Marcel (2002). "Les noms de lieux du Limousin, témoins de l'histoire d'une région,". Travaux d'Archéologie Limousine (6): 86. ISSN 0750-1099.
  4. ↑ Latta, Claude (1996). Le guide de la Corrèze (in French). Internet Archive. Lyon: La Manufacture. p. 154. ISBN 978-2-7377-0403-1.
  5. ↑ "On lit dans la Discussion, de Limoges". Journal de Chinon (in French). 11 September 1871. pp. 2–3. Retrieved 22 October 2026.
  6. ↑ Population municipale entre 1968 et 2023, INSEE
  7. 1 2 3 "Eglise paroissiale Sainte-Madeleine - POP". pop.culture.gouv.fr. Retrieved 21 October 2026.