Cinq-Mars-la-Pile

For homonymy, see Pile.

Cinq-Mars-la-Pile (French pronunciation: [sɛ̃ maʁ la pil] ^ⓘ) is a commune in the Indre-et-Loire department in central France.

Cinq-Mars-la-Pile
Commune
The Pile, a Gallo-Roman tower
Coat of arms
Location of Cinq-Mars-la-Pile
Cinq-Mars-la-Pile Show map of France Cinq-Mars-la-Pile Show map of Centre-Val de Loire
Coordinates: 47°20′54″N 0°27′45″E
Country	France
Region	Centre-Val de Loire
Department	Indre-et-Loire
Arrondissement	Chinon
Canton	Langeais
Government
• Mayor (2020–2026)	Sylvie Pointreau[1]
Area 1	20.11 km2 (7.76 sq mi)
Population  (2021)[2]	3,842
• Density	190/km2 (490/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	37077 /37130
Elevation	37–101 m (121–331 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Population

Historical population

Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1793 1,200 —     1800 1,187 −0.16% 1806 1,102 −1.23% 1821 1,270 +0.95% 1831 1,626 +2.50% 1836 1,690 +0.78% 1841 1,728 +0.45% 1846 2,200 +4.95% 1851 1,889 −3.00% 1856 1,822 −0.72% 1861 1,999 +1.87% 1866 1,980 −0.19% 1872 1,962 −0.15% 1876 2,054 +1.15% 1881 2,152 +0.94% 1886 2,136 −0.15% 1891 2,058 −0.74% 1896 2,003 −0.54%	Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1901 2,010 +0.07% 1906 1,941 −0.70% 1911 1,799 −1.51% 1921 1,791 −0.04% 1926 1,837 +0.51% 1931 1,731 −1.18% 1936 1,613 −1.40% 1946 1,850 +1.38% 1954 2,110 +1.66% 1962 2,080 −0.18% 1968 2,032 −0.39% 1975 1,955 −0.55% 1982 2,196 +1.67% 1990 2,370 +0.96% 1999 2,621 +1.12% 2007 3,175 +2.43% 2012 3,404 +1.40% 2017 3,566 +0.93%
Source: EHESS[3] and INSEE (1968-2017)[4]

Sights

• Pile of Cinq-Mars: the town derives its name from a thirty metres high, brick Roman tower perched on the hillside. It is remarkably well preserved. This is the highest funeral stack in Gaul (the other buildings are located in Aquitaine). In 2005, excavations unearthed remains of a monumental terrace with a remains of a building and a statue of a captive Oriental. The complex has been dated to the late second century or early third, seems to confirm it as a monument to a funeral pyre or pile. This aspect of the mausoleum suggests that it is a monument marking the grave of a dignitary of the Tours area, perhaps high-ranking military.^[5][6]
• Monument in honour of Robert H. Dunlap, General U.S. Marine who was killed in May 1931 while trying to rescue a woman in a landslide in the village. A veteran of the First World War he was in France to follow lectures at Military College. It is one of six memorials in the series "Borne de la Terre sacrée" by the sculptor and former soldier of the First World War, Deblaize Gaston.^[7]

See also

• Communes of the Indre-et-Loire department
• Henri Coiffier de Ruzé, marquis de Cinq-Mars
• Cinq-Mars pile

References

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. Des villages de Cassini aux communes d'aujourd'hui: Commune data sheet Cinq-Mars-la-Pile, EHESS (in French).
4. Population en historique depuis 1968, INSEE
5. Emmanuel Marot, La pile gallo-romaine de Cinq-Mars-la-Pile (Indre-et-Loire) : réexamen du dossier à la lumière des récentes découvertes
6. Base Mérimée: Pile romaine, Ministère français de la Culture. (in French)
7. Milestones, May. 1, 1931, Time Magazine