La Courtine
La Courtine (French pronunciation: [la kuʁtin]; Auvergnat: La Cortina) is a commune in the Creuse department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in central France.
Geography
An area of lakes, forestry and farming comprising the village and several hamlets situated in the Creuse river valley, some 18 miles (29 km) south of Aubusson, at the junction of the D25, D29 and the D992. The commune is within the natural park of Millevaches, (1000 lakes, not cows).
History
La Courtine military camp
The foundation of the camp in 1904 transformed the town: the inhabitants remained peasants during the day but became bar-keepers at night and soon there were more bars than inhabitants.
Population
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
|---|---|---|
| 1962 | 1,184 | — |
| 1968 | 1,233 | +4.1% |
| 1975 | 1,164 | −5.6% |
| 1982 | 986 | −15.3% |
| 1990 | 1,057 | +7.2% |
| 1999 | 971 | −8.1% |
| 2008 | 874 | −10.0% |
| 2012 | 715 | −18.2% |
| 2013 | 699 | −2.2% |
Sights
- The thirteenth-century church.
- A watermill in the village of Lair.
- Eleventh-century defensive mottes at Cinq Mottes.
- A military camp, established in 1904, housing up to 4000 soldiers, site of the 1917 mutiny by troops of the Russian Expeditionary Force in France.
- The thirteenth-century churches at the hamlets of Saint-Denis and at Trucq.