Villars-les-Dombes
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 Villars-les-Dombes
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Location within Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region
Villars-les-Dombes
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| Coordinates: 45°59′56″N 5°01′48″E / 45.9989°N 5.0299°ECoordinates: 45°59′56″N 5°01′48″E / 45.9989°N 5.0299°E | ||
| 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) | |
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) | |
| • Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) | |
| INSEE/Postal code | 01443 /01330 | |
| Elevation | 263–295 m (863–968 ft) (avg. 279 m or 915 ft) |
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1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. 2Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once. |
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1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.
Villars-les-Dombes is a commune in the Ain department in eastern France. Its people are known as Villardois.
The town is located within Ain, 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 waterfowl habitats and are suitable for breeding fish. Its ornithological park, Parc des Oiseaux, is the largest in France.
The Chalaronne river 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.
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.
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