Saint-Léger-des-Vignes


Saint-Léger-des-Vignes is a Burgondian village located in the department of the Nièvre in central France.

Geography

Saint-Léger-des-Vignes is situated in the South of the Nièvre, on the road D981. It is the beginning point of the Canal du Nivernais and situated on the edge of the Loire. At the confluence of the Loire, the Aron and at the junction of the Canal du Nivernais and the Canal Latéral à la Loire, it is a real crossroads of waterways. The hills of Saint-Léger-des-Vignes are fully facing south. This is the place where vines were planted which gave the name to the village.

History

The name

Over the centuries, Saint-Léger-des-Vignes had several names:
On 29 May 1724, Bernard Borniol built his glass factory on the site of Saint-Léger-des-Vignes, which was called Desize at this time. It closed much later in 1840. However, a second glass factory was created where we can currently find the Fresneau Stadium. Here we produced bottles until its shutting down, 5 December 1931.

The rubber factory

The factory located in Decize was very beneficial for Saint-Léger-des-Vignes.
The Kleber factory was opened in 1942. It established the remarkable Fresneau Center where the old glass factory used to be before the 1930s.

Demography

The village had a population of 2,021 inhabitants in 2011. The evolution of the number of inhabitants is known from the population censuses conducted in the commune since 1793. From the 21st century, a census of communes with fewer than 10,000 inhabitants is held every five years, contrary to the other communes that have a sample survey every year.

Sports

Saint-Léger-des-Vignes has an important sports complex, the Fresneau Center where rugby is played in particular. The sports facilities are sometimes praised as the best of the whole Nièvre.
Grandstands with a seating capacity of 3,000 spectators were built in 1951. Several sports are practiced under the aegis of Esperance Saint-Léger sports association but the rugby XV is the most popular. The team which is in factory’s colors, rose the level "National 3" in the 1990s and came close to the level "National 2".

Personalities associated with the commune