Baulou

Baulou (French pronunciation: [bolu]; Occitan: Baulon) is a commune in the Ariège department in the Occitanie region of south-western France.^[3]

Baulou
Commune
The church in Baulou
Location of Baulou
Baulou Show map of France Baulou Show map of Occitanie
Coordinates: 43°01′01″N 1°32′03″E
Country	France
Region	Occitania
Department	Ariège
Arrondissement	Foix
Canton	Val d'Ariège
Intercommunality	CA Pays Foix-Varilhes
Government
• Mayor (2020–2026)	Nathalie Esquinol[1]
Area 1	14.62 km2 (5.64 sq mi)
Population  (2021)[2]	167
• Density	11/km2 (30/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	09044 /09000
Elevation	393–655 m (1,289–2,149 ft) (avg. 490 m or 1,610 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 Baulouais or Baulouaises.^[4]

Geography

Baulou is located in the Pre-Pyrenees in the Plauntaurel Mountains and a part of the Parc naturel régional des Pyrénées ariégeoises some 12 km south by south-west of Pamiers and 6 km north-west of Foix. Access to the commune is by the D1 road from Vernajoul in the south-east which passes through the commune and ends in the village. The D11 branches from the D117 south-west of the commune and passes through continuing north-east to Loubens. The D1a branches off the D11 in the commune and goes north-west to Aigues-Juntes. Apart from the village there is the hamlet of Clarac in the commune. The commune is mainly forest with some farmland along the D1 and in scattered parts.^[5][6]

The Ruisseau d'Argentat rises north of the village and flows towards the north-west into a small artificial lake before continuing north-west to join the Lèze north-west of Aigues-Juntes. Many streams feed the left bank of the Ruisseau d'Argentat including the Goute de Chenaut which also forms the north-western border of the commune, the Freyché, the Goute de Tariol, the Goute du Peyfourcat, and the Goute du Gouas. The Ruisseau de Carol flows from the south to the village then continues north to join the Ruisseau de la Plaine north of the commune. The Fajal rises in the north-east of the commune and flows south.^[5][6]

Toponymy

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

History

In 1901, during the building of the Foix - Saint Girons railway a mammoth was discovered and called the "Mammoth of Baulou" by the scientific community.^[9] It was displayed in the hall of the Château de Foix departmental museum^[10] before being transferred to the Parc pyrénéen de l'art préhistorique (Pyrenean park of prehistoric art) at Tarascon-sur-Ariège.^[11]

Administration

List of Successive Mayors^[12]

From	To	Name
2001	2014	Robert Baures
2014	2026	Nathalie Esquinol

Demography

In 2017 the commune had 168 inhabitants.

Historical population

Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1793 350 —     1800 199 −7.75% 1806 424 +13.44% 1821 360 −1.08% 1831 447 +2.19% 1836 458 +0.49% 1841 470 +0.52% 1846 491 +0.88% 1851 481 −0.41% 1856 464 −0.72% 1861 478 +0.60% 1866 465 −0.55% 1872 482 +0.60% 1876 523 +2.06% 1881 477 −1.82% 1886 452 −1.07% 1891 402 −2.32% 1896 589 +7.94%	Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1901 458 −4.91% 1906 371 −4.13% 1911 349 −1.22% 1921 236 −3.84% 1926 246 +0.83% 1931 237 −0.74% 1936 224 −1.12% 1946 216 −0.36% 1954 210 −0.35% 1962 157 −3.57% 1968 144 −1.43% 1975 123 −2.23% 1982 114 −1.08% 1990 130 +1.66% 1999 146 +1.30% 2007 162 +1.31% 2012 164 +0.25% 2017 168 +0.48%
Source: EHESS[13] and INSEE[14]

A Stone Cross with a five branched star referring to the Egyptian goddess Sothis

Sites and monuments

Statue of Madeleine in an artificial cave. Note the skull beneath the crucifix in her hand.

• The Labouiche Subterranean River

See also

• Communes of the Ariège department

References

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. INSEE commune file
4. Inhabitants of Ariège (in French)
5. Baulou on Google Maps
6. Baulou on the Géoportail from National Geographic Institute (IGN) website (in French)
7. Boulou on the 1750 Cassini Map
8. Boulou on the 1790 Cassini Map
9. L. Bertrand, Discovery of a Mammoth Skeleton at Baulou, near Foix (Ariège), Bulletin of the Geological Society of France, 1901, Vol. 1, 187 pages, (in French)
10. The Mammouth of Baulou restored from its ashes, Stéphane Marcelot, 20 May 2009 (in French)
11. Saint-Girons. To discover or rediscover, 17 May 2013, consulted on 21 December 2014 (in French)
12. List of Mayors of France (in French)
13. Des villages de Cassini aux communes d'aujourd'hui: Commune data sheet Baulou, EHESS (in French).
14. Population en historique depuis 1968, INSEE