Saint-Benin-d'Azy

Commune in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, France

Coat of arms

Location of Saint-Benin-d'Azy

(2020–2026) Jean-Luc Gauthier^[1]Area

35.80 km² (13.82 sq mi)Population

(2021)^[2]

1,259 • Density35/km² (91/sq mi)Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET) • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)INSEE/Postal code

58232 /58270

Elevation202–398 m (663–1,306 ft)¹ French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Saint-Benin-d'Azy (French pronunciation: [sɛ̃ bənɛ̃ dazi]) is a commune in the Nièvre department in central France.^[3] The river Ixeure flows through the commune.^[4]

Administration

Saint-Benin-d'Azy is part of the canton of Guérigny and of the arrondissement of Nevers.^[3] The town is also the administrative centre of the Communauté de communes Amognes Cœur du Nivernais, a community of 28 communes.^[5]

History

The name of the town (Saint-Benin) comes from the evangelist "Saint-Begnine" who evangelized Burgundy. Azy is a reference to the Roman military camp which was based in Saint-Benin.

At the time of the French Revolution, the name was replaced with Azy aux Amognes which was more revolutionary. During this period, most of the town suffered of destructions. This is the case of the church Saint Christophe which was at the place of the current "Café des Arts" (a new church was built in 1830).

Economy

The economy of this small town is currently agriculture and services.

In the past, there were small industrial companies producing iron. Like the other French small towns, Saint-Benin-d'Azy has some wine growers. The production is consumed locally.

Notable people

The economist and sociologist Jean Fourastié

His celebrity comes from the invention of the expression «les 30 glorieuses» to qualify the economic situation of European countries after the WW2. He was born in Saint-Benin in 1907.

The artist Rosa Bonheur

Her quality paintings of animals have made her visit Saint-Benin a lot of times. She became a celebrity because of her painting Labourage Nivernais.

Some other personalities can be linked to Saint-Benin-d'Azy, such as Matthieu Poussereau, Paul Vacant or Niki de Saint Phalle.

References

^ "Répertoire national des élus: les maires". data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises (in French). 2 December 2020.
^ "Populations légales 2021". The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 28 December 2023.
^ ^a ^b INSEE commune file
^ Sandre. "Fiche cours d'eau - l'Ixeure (K1914500)".
^ CC Amognes Coeur du Nivernais (N° SIREN : 200067908), BANATIC