Arcis-le-Ponsart (French pronunciation: [aʁsi pɔ̃saʁ]) is a commune in the Marne department in northeastern France. It is located along the D25 road, south of Courville, 32.2 kilometres (20.0 mi) by road southwest of Reims. The commune of Arcis-le-Ponsart has an area of 15.4 square kilometres (5.9 sq mi). The local economy is mainly agricultural based. Igny Abbey lies in this commune.

Arcis-le-Ponsart
The town hall in Arcis-le-Ponsart
The town hall in Arcis-le-Ponsart
Location of Arcis-le-Ponsart
Map
Arcis-le-Ponsart is located in France
Arcis-le-Ponsart
Arcis-le-Ponsart
Arcis-le-Ponsart is located in Grand Est
Arcis-le-Ponsart
Arcis-le-Ponsart
Coordinates: 49°14′09″N 3°41′40″E / 49.2358°N 3.6944°E / 49.2358; 3.6944
CountryFrance
RegionGrand Est
DepartmentMarne
ArrondissementReims
CantonFismes-Montagne de Reims
IntercommunalityCU Grand Reims
Government
 • Mayor (2020–2026) Jean-Luc Dubois[1]
Area
1
15.43 km2 (5.96 sq mi)
Population
 (2021)[2]
287
 • Density19/km2 (48/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code
51014 /51170
Elevation100–248 m (328–814 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Toponymy

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Until the early nineteenth century, the town was called Arcis-le-Poussart or simply Pousard.[3] The name Arcis comes from the Latin word "arx", meaning "fortified place"; and the nickname Ponsart refers to a former local knight from Arcy, Ponsard.[4]

 
Église Notre-Dame

History

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In 1127, Bernard of Clairvaux founded Igny Abbey on land purchased from Ponsard.[4] During the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, the monks of this abbey cleared and cultivated the land and surrounding forests. Arcis-le-Ponsard was damaged repeatedly, including the troops of the Hundred Years War, those of Charles V, the Franco-Spanish War (1635–1659), the French Revolutionary Wars, and the Prussian and Russian armies of 1814.[4] During the First World War, a military camp was installed here.

Landmarks

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The Église Notre-Dame, a ruin, is attributed partly to twelfth century and partly Renaissance style.[5] It became a historical monument on 18 November 1919. The Abbaye Notre-Dame d'Igny was founded in the 1120s by monks from the Abbey of Clairvaux, sent by St. Bernard of Clairvaux. Following a pilgrimage to the abbey which brought rapid development, a daughter house, Signy Abbey, was founded in 1135. The second abbot, Guerric of Igny, was raised to the rank of Blessed; his relics are still venerated in Igny.[6] At the time of the French Revolution, the religious community was dispersed. It was rebuilt in 1780.[5] Monastic life resumed in 1876 with the support of the Diocese of Reims. Destroyed in 1918, the abbey was rebuilt in 1929 and occupied by a community of nuns from Laval.

Population

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Historical population
YearPop.±% p.a.
1793 495—    
1821 577+0.55%
1846 528−0.35%
1872 495−0.25%
1901 501+0.04%
1926 303−1.99%
1946 353+0.77%
1962 341−0.22%
YearPop.±% p.a.
1968 301−2.06%
1975 247−2.79%
1982 231−0.95%
1990 243+0.64%
1999 261+0.80%
2009 270+0.34%
2014 309+2.74%
2020 291−1.00%
Source: EHESS[3] and INSEE (1968-2020)[7]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Répertoire national des élus: les maires". data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises (in French). 2 December 2020.
  2. ^ "Populations légales 2021" (in French). The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 28 December 2023.
  3. ^ a b Des villages de Cassini aux communes d'aujourd'hui: Commune data sheet Arcis-le-Ponsart, EHESS (in French).
  4. ^ a b c "Histoire et Patrimonie" (in French). Commune of Arcis-le-Ponsard. Retrieved 27 August 2012.
  5. ^ a b Hare, Augustus John Cuthbert (1896). North-eastern France (Public domain ed.). Macmillan. pp. 426–. Retrieved 28 August 2012.
  6. ^ "L'abbaye d'Igny" (in French). Arcis-le-Ponsart. Retrieved 30 August 2012.
  7. ^ Population en historique depuis 1968, INSEE