Beaufort (French pronunciation: [bofɔʁ] ) is a commune in the Isère department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of south-eastern France.[3]

Beaufort
Beaufort at the beginning of the 20th century
Beaufort at the beginning of the 20th century
Location of Beaufort
Map
Beaufort is located in France
Beaufort
Beaufort
Beaufort is located in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Beaufort
Beaufort
Coordinates: 45°19′38″N 5°07′21″E / 45.3272°N 5.1225°E / 45.3272; 5.1225
CountryFrance
RegionAuvergne-Rhône-Alpes
DepartmentIsère
ArrondissementVienne
CantonBièvre
Government
 • Mayor (2020–2026) Christiane d'Ornano[1]
Area
1
8.69 km2 (3.36 sq mi)
Population
 (2021)[2]
580
 • Density67/km2 (170/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code
38032 /38270
Elevation266–374 m (873–1,227 ft)
(avg. 280 m or 920 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

The inhabitants of the commune are known as Beaufortois or Beaufortoises.[4]

Geography

edit

Beaufort is located some 50 km north-east of Grenoble and 8 km east of Beaurepaire. Access to the commune is by the D73 road which changes to the D519D then the D519 from Lapeyrouse-Mornay in the east which passes through the commune north of the village and continues east, changing again to the D519, to Marcilloles. Access to the village is by the D73C which branches from the D73 in the commune and continues south to join the D130 just outside the commune. the D156B branches from the D73 in the commune and goes south-east to Thodure. Apart from the village there are the hamlets of Bas Beaufort and Chantabot. The commune is entirely farmland.[5][6]

La Raille stream flows through the commune from north-west to south-east where it continues to join the Torrent de la Perouse at Viriville. In the north-west of the commune are canals and ponds for a fish farm.[5][6]

Toponymy

edit

Beaufort appears as Beaufort on the 1750 Cassini Map[7] and the same on the 1790 version.[8]

Administration

edit

List of Successive Mayors[9]

From To Name
2001 2020 Norbert Bouvier
2020 2026 Christiane d'Ornano

Demography

edit

In 2017 the commune had 548 inhabitants.

Historical population
YearPop.±% p.a.
1793 425—    
1800 399−0.90%
1806 562+5.88%
1821 601+0.45%
1831 674+1.15%
1836 723+1.41%
1841 757+0.92%
1846 704−1.44%
1851 739+0.98%
1856 702−1.02%
1861 651−1.50%
1866 660+0.27%
1872 596−1.69%
1876 567−1.24%
1881 558−0.32%
1886 520−1.40%
1891 514−0.23%
1896 476−1.52%
YearPop.±% p.a.
1901 460−0.68%
1906 471+0.47%
1911 442−1.26%
1921 408−0.80%
1926 352−2.91%
1931 376+1.33%
1936 381+0.26%
1946 354−0.73%
1954 367+0.45%
1962 380+0.44%
1968 373−0.31%
1975 337−1.44%
1982 369+1.30%
1990 406+1.20%
1999 415+0.24%
2007 531+3.13%
2012 577+1.68%
2017 548−1.03%
Source: EHESS[10] and INSEE[11]

Culture and heritage

edit
  • The Fountains of Beaufort are classed as a Sensitive natural area.[12]

Notable people linked to the commune

edit
  • Joseph Vacher (1869-1896), a criminal, considered to be one of the first serial killers in France was born in the commune.

See also

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ "Répertoire national des élus: les maires" (in French). data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises. 13 September 2022.
  2. ^ "Populations légales 2021" (in French). The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 28 December 2023.
  3. ^ INSEE commune file
  4. ^ Inhabitants of Isère (in French)
  5. ^ a b c Beaufort on Google Maps
  6. ^ a b Beaufort on the Géoportail from National Geographic Institute (IGN) website (in French)
  7. ^ Beaufort on the 1750 Cassini Map
  8. ^ Beaufort on the 1790 Cassini Map
  9. ^ List of Mayors of France (in French)
  10. ^ Des villages de Cassini aux communes d'aujourd'hui: Commune data sheet Beaufort, EHESS (in French).
  11. ^ Population en historique depuis 1968, INSEE
  12. ^ Discover the Espaces Naturels Sensibles of Isère, www.isere.fr, p. 26 (consulted on 22 July 2014) (in French)