Saint-Didier-en-Velay

Saint-Didier-en-Velay
Commune
Coat of arms
Location of Saint-Didier-en-Velay
Saint-Didier-en-Velay Saint-Didier-en-Velay
Coordinates: 45°18′08″N 4°16′30″E
Country	France
Region	Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Department	Haute-Loire
Arrondissement	Yssingeaux
Canton	Deux Rivières et Vallées
Intercommunality	Loire-Semène
Government
• Mayor (2020–2026)	Emmanuel Salgado
Area 1	25.56 km2 (9.87 sq mi)
Population  (2021)	3,480
• Density	140/km2 (350/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	43177 /43140
Elevation	640–924 m (2,100–3,031 ft) (avg. 835 m or 2,740 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Saint-Didier-en-Velay (French pronunciation: [sɛ̃ didje ɑ̃ vəlɛ], literally Saint-Didier in Velay; Occitan: Sant Desdèir de La Seuva) is a commune in the Haute-Loire department in south-central France.

Population

Historical population

Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1793 3,203 —     1821 3,540 +0.36% 1846 4,045 +0.53% 1872 4,743 +0.61% 1901 5,891 +0.75% 1926 3,087 −2.55% 1946 2,586 −0.88% 1962 2,603 +0.04%	Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1968 2,555 −0.31% 1975 2,422 −0.76% 1982 2,580 +0.91% 1990 2,723 +0.68% 1999 2,891 +0.67% 2007 3,302 +1.68% 2012 3,476 +1.03% 2017 3,403 −0.42%
Source: EHESS and INSEE (1968-2017)

Sights

In the church of Saint Didier, there is an impressive Spanish Baroque painting of Mary Magdalene which has been attributed to Murillo or Zurbarán. It is most likely a 17th century copy of a painting by Murillo.

Personalities

• Claude-Jean Allouez
• Jean-Baptiste Bouchardon (1667–1742), sculptor and architect

See also

• Communes of the Haute-Loire department