Bellegarde-en-Marche
Commune
Coat of arms
Location of Bellegarde-en-Marche
Bellegarde-en-Marche Show map of France Bellegarde-en-Marche Show map of Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Coordinates: 45°58′58″N 2°17′43″E / 45.9828°N 2.2953°E / 45.9828; 2.2953
Country	France
Region	Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Department	Creuse
Arrondissement	Aubusson
Canton	Aubusson
Intercommunality	CC Marche et Combraille en Aquitaine
Government
• Mayor (2020–2026)	Jean-Pierre Bonnaud^[1]
Area ¹	3.14 km² (1.21 sq mi)
Population (2021)^[2]	375
• Density	120/km² (310/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	23020 /23190
Elevation	530–648 m (1,739–2,126 ft) (avg. 603 m or 1,978 ft)
¹ French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Bellegarde-en-Marche (French pronunciation: [bɛlɡaʁd ɑ̃ maʁʃ], literally Bellegarde in Marche; Auvergnat: Belagarda) is a commune in the Creuse department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in central France.

History

Bellegarde is a bastide (fortified village) created in the 13th century, during the defence of the Limousin against the English who then disputed territory in Western metropolitan France (Guyenne). King Louis VIII, fighting against Henry III, the English king, decided to establish a forward military post in Bellegarde.^[3] It took its current name in 1892.

It is the former capital of the Franc-alleu, a medieval free-trade zone at a crossroads between two powerful regions: Auvergne and Limousin.
In the wake of Aubusson and Felletin, tapestry workshops were set up in the city during and after the Renaissance. Bellegarde was even considered for a time a "rival" of Aubusson and Felletin in this activity.

Geography

A farming village situated some 5 miles (8.0 km) northeast of Aubusson at the junction of the D9, D39, D40a and the D988 roads.

Population

Historical population
Year	Pop.	±%
1962	404	—
1968	413	+2.2%
1975	417	+1.0%
1982	407	−2.4%
1990	425	+4.4%
1999	425	+0.0%
2008	434	+2.1%

Sights

The church, dating from the nineteenth century.
A sixteenth-century tower.
Some very old houses.
Remains of a feudal castle.
The chapel of Notre-Dame, dating from the nineteenth century.
Tour Jacqueron, a defensive tower marking the East end of the old Bastide.

Tour de l'horloge (clock tower)
Mairie (Townhall) and Post Office
Turett from the Chevanne House (Maison Chevanne), which is a local Air Memorial Museum, a tourism office and a public library
Bellegarde-en-Marche has a long history of goat-eating, one of its streets was paved with goats' horns
As Bellegarde developed in the 17th century, new houses were built. This one is dated 1666
Tour jacqueron, the East end of the old village
Grand Rue ("main street") with its pharmacy

Notable people

François Goubert (1735–1815), was a clergyman and a politician. Prefect of Aubusson in 1762, he became parish priest in Bellegarde in 1788 and official of Chénérailles. He was elected deputy of the Creuse clergy in 1789.
François Denhaut (1877–1952), an early French aviator & engineer who invented and tested a type of flying boat, died here.
Lionel de Marmier (1897–1944), born in Bellegarde-en-Marche, pilot of the French Air Force and resistance fighter, a figure of free France.