There are
about 36,500 communes in France with an median
population of 380 and a median area of 10,730
hectares. Each commune has its mayor and local
council.
The commune of Grandrif (63600) covers an area of 2,200 hectares with the village (Le Bourg) and about 20 surrounding hamlets. These range in size from several houses permanently occupied to one or two houses occupied only in the summer or not at all.
Grandrif has a stable population of about 170, although this increases considerably in the summer when many folk come to their holiday homes.
So you can see we are pretty tiny.
Grandrif is in the Canton of St. Antheme, in the Department of Puy-de-Dome and in the region of the Auvergne.
If you have a reasonable Atlas find Clermont Ferrand and St.Etienne and draw an imaginary line between them, halfway along that line you should find the town of Ambert. ( Of course if you've got Google then we are Grandrif 63600. Be warned, there is another hamlet with the same name about 11 miles south of us)
It takes us about 15 minutes to get Ambert where it is possible to buy pretty well anything you need.
The village has a school, a town hall and an auberge where meals and beverages can be obtained and basic groceries are available. It also houses a sub-post office. A baker comes twice a week and on Wednesdays a van visits the village selling fresh fruit and vegetables, cheese, canned foods, well just about anything it seems.
It is all very lovely and peaceful set in a charming valley surrounded by trees and pasture
The commune of Grandrif (63600) covers an area of 2,200 hectares with the village (Le Bourg) and about 20 surrounding hamlets. These range in size from several houses permanently occupied to one or two houses occupied only in the summer or not at all.
Grandrif has a stable population of about 170, although this increases considerably in the summer when many folk come to their holiday homes.
So you can see we are pretty tiny.
Grandrif is in the Canton of St. Antheme, in the Department of Puy-de-Dome and in the region of the Auvergne.
If you have a reasonable Atlas find Clermont Ferrand and St.Etienne and draw an imaginary line between them, halfway along that line you should find the town of Ambert. ( Of course if you've got Google then we are Grandrif 63600. Be warned, there is another hamlet with the same name about 11 miles south of us)
It takes us about 15 minutes to get Ambert where it is possible to buy pretty well anything you need.
The village has a school, a town hall and an auberge where meals and beverages can be obtained and basic groceries are available. It also houses a sub-post office. A baker comes twice a week and on Wednesdays a van visits the village selling fresh fruit and vegetables, cheese, canned foods, well just about anything it seems.
It is all very lovely and peaceful set in a charming valley surrounded by trees and pasture
Like many
other rural communes, there has been a steady decline
in the population from a peak of almost 1600 in the
middle of the nineteenth century. The biggest single
decline was occasioned by WW1 when many local men
were killed or severely injured.
Right up to WW2, the village had several bakeries, butchers and grocers. There were at least six hotels and restaurants surrounding the square. There was a tailor and a shop selling hats and haberdashery . Six workshops were turning out clogs of various types. There were four active flour, oil and sawmills.
Unlike some areas of France and England, we have distinct seasons with cold snowy winters and hot summers. With the many trees around autumn colours are spectacular. Being over 700 metres (2300ft.) up, Spring comes a little late.
We boast our own hydro-electric power station. The village is reputedly named after the big stream (Grand Rivus) which gurgles, sometimes rushes, through the village on its way to the Atlantic after it joins the Loire.
RETURN TO ENGLISH HOMEPAGE
Right up to WW2, the village had several bakeries, butchers and grocers. There were at least six hotels and restaurants surrounding the square. There was a tailor and a shop selling hats and haberdashery . Six workshops were turning out clogs of various types. There were four active flour, oil and sawmills.
Unlike some areas of France and England, we have distinct seasons with cold snowy winters and hot summers. With the many trees around autumn colours are spectacular. Being over 700 metres (2300ft.) up, Spring comes a little late.
We boast our own hydro-electric power station. The village is reputedly named after the big stream (Grand Rivus) which gurgles, sometimes rushes, through the village on its way to the Atlantic after it joins the Loire.
RETURN TO ENGLISH HOMEPAGE