Villars-les-Dombes

Villars-les-Dombes
Coat of arms
Villars-les-Dombes
Location within Rhône-Alpes region Villars-les-Dombes
Coordinates:
Country	France
Region	Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Department	Ain
Arrondissement	Bourg-en-Bresse
Canton	Villars-les-Dombes
Intercommunality	Centre Dombes
Government
• Mayor (2008–2014)	Gabriel Humbert
Area1	24.63 km2 (9.51 sq mi)
Population (2008)2	4,330
• Density	180/km2 (460/sq mi)
INSEE/Postal code	01443 / 01330
Elevation	263–295 m (863–968 ft) (avg. 279 m or 915 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. 2 Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once.

Villars-les-Dombes is a commune in the Ain department in eastern France. Its people are known as Villardois.

Geography

The town is in the part of Ain which is half-way between Lyon (33 km) and Bourg-en-Bresse (29 km), in the heart of the area known as the Dombes, notable for its hundreds of lakes which are suited to fish-rearing as well as to water fowls. Its ornithological park, with a wide variety of species from around the world, is the largest in France.

The Chalaronne forms part of the commune's south-western border, flows northward through the western part of the commune, crosses the town, then forms part of its northern border.

History

The lordship of Villars (of which archival evidence dates from 940) became, by marriage, the lordship of Thoire-et-Vilars in 1188, and in about 1400 its caput was Trévoux (the estate was managed from there). In 1565, Villars was promoted to a marquisate dependent on the house of Savoie (Savoy), a benefice of the Honour of Savoy.

In 1705, the maréchal de Villars obtained the collection of several lands, a small French enclave in the (German-influenced) province of Franche-Comté, as the duchy of Villars. His line died out in 1788, on the death of his son, Honoré-Armand, 2nd Duke de Villars.

Population

Historical population
Year	Pop.	±%
1793	566	—
1800	381	−32.7%
1806	528	+38.6%
1821	513	−2.8%
1831	588	+14.6%
1836	654	+11.2%
1841	789	+20.6%
1846	1,036	+31.3%
1851	1,153	+11.3%
1856	1,094	−5.1%
1861	1,111	+1.6%
1866	1,304	+17.4%
1872	1,473	+13.0%
1876	1,612	+9.4%
1881	1,535	−4.8%
1886	1,607	+4.7%
1891	1,482	−7.8%
1896	1,426	−3.8%
1901	1,482	+3.9%
1906	1,524	+2.8%
1911	1,616	+6.0%
1921	1,429	−11.6%
1926	1,370	−4.1%
1931	1,388	+1.3%
1936	1,397	+0.6%
1946	1,358	−2.8%
1954	1,334	−1.8%
1962	1,583	+18.7%
1968	1,842	+16.4%
1975	2,344	+27.3%
1982	2,796	+19.3%
1990	3,415	+22.1%
1999	4,190	+22.7%
2008	4,330	+3.3%

See also

• Dombes
• Communes of the Ain department

References

• INSEE

External links

• Official website in French
• Dombes and Villars-les-Dombes in French
• Photos of Villars-les-Dombes in French