Coordinates: 45°39′21″N 0°58′53″E / 45.65583°N 0.98139°E / 45.65583; 0.98139

Commune of Châlus
Location
Châlus
Administration
Country	France
Region	Limousin
Department	Haute-Vienne
Arrondissement	Limoges
Canton	Châlus (chief town)
Intercommunality	Monts de Châlus
Mayor	Alain Brezaudy (2008–2014)
Statistics
Elevation	310–444 m (1,000–1,500 ft)
Land area1	27.98 km2 (10.80 sq mi)
Population2	1,759  (1999)
- Density	63 /km2 (160 /sq mi)
Miscellaneous
INSEE/Postal code	87032/ 87230
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.
2 Population sans doubles comptes: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once.

Châlus (Occitan: Chasluç) is a small town and commune in the Haute-Vienne département of France, in the Limousin région.

[edit] History

11th century: building of Châlus Chabrol.

Richard I of England lethally hurt in Châlus (right)

Châlus' claim to fame is that Richard I of England was killed here by a crossbow bolt, shot by one Pierre Basile while besieging the castle in 1199.

1275-1280: Géraud de Maumont makes build, in front of Châlus Chabrol, a second castle: Châlus Maulmont. This last one undergoes numerous damages especially in the French Revolution, and is dismantled in 1790, then used as prison. The tower of Châlus Maulmont collapsed on March 20, 1994^[1].

1745 : the first map, in the 1/8628th, of Châlus is established to appear in the atlas of Trudaine for the majority of Limoges, with the portion of road at the level of La-Ribière going to Châlus of the Big road from Limoges to Périgueux ^[2] and with the portion of road reaching the majority of Périgord ^[3].

Thomas Edward Lawrence (1888-1935) celebrated his 20th birthday in the former Grand Hôtel du Midi, Place de la Fountain, on August 16, 1908, whilst tracing the route of Richard I of England, on his cycling tour of France in preparation of his thesis on The Influence of the crusades on the European military architecture at the end of the XIIth century, before gaining the mythical nickname of Lawrence of Arabia.

[edit] Sights

Châlus has a castle named Château de Châlus-Chabrol and a ruined castle named Château de Châlus-Maulmont.

Richard's bowels are still preserved in the chapel, and there is a medieval garden. Other attractions of the village include a museum dedicated to the chestnut.

The biggest Giant sequoia (Sequoiadendron Giganteum) of Europe, a circumference of 13,3 m, is in a private garden^[4].

[edit] Demographics

At the 1999 census, the population was 1,759. On 1 January 2007, the estimate was 1,636.

Inhabitants are known as Chalusiens.

[edit] Notable people

• Aymery of Châlus (died October 31, 1349 in Avignon), canon of the chapter of Limoges Cathedral in 1314, archbishop of Ravenna in 1322, then bishop of Chartres in 1332, cardinal in 1342, named legate in Lombardy in 1342, then in Romagne, Corsica, Sardinia, then in Sicily where he steered 2-year-old in the name of the pope, was born in Châlus.
• Pierre de Châlus (died in February, 1352), abbot of Cluny.
• Robert de Châlus is killed in the battle of Poitiers, on September 19, 1356.
• Louis I of Bourbon count of Busset, baron of Busset, Châlus, Vésignieux, Saint-Martin-du-Puy, been born on October 18, 1648, is killed in the siége of Fribourg on November 10, 1677.
• Gaspard-Louis de Bourbon, count of Châlus, been born on May 16, 1745, died in Bets December 8, 1751 is interred in the cathedral Notre-Dame de Paris.
• Pierre Desproges
• The writer poet Georges-Emmanuel Clancier, author of the Black bread and whose several works make reference to Châlus (Terres de mémoires, Quadrille sur la tour, l'enfant double..).

Raymond de Châlus takes part in the 1st crusade of Saint Louis in 1250.

[edit] See also

• Communes of the Haute-Vienne department

[edit] References

• CC Monts de Châlus (English)
• INSEE commune file

[edit] Notes

1. ^ Chalus Maulmont on www.culture, data base Memoire
2. ^ Map of Châlus of the atlas of Trudaine On www.culture.gouv.fr
3. ^ Map from Chareille to Firbeix of the atlas of Trudaine on the Archim data base of ministère de la culture
4. ^ Paronomio, the Giant sequoia of Châlus

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Châlus

• About the Chateau (French)