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Benquet
Benquet
Commune
	Town hall
	Location of Benquet
	Benquet Benquet
	Coordinates: 43°49′51″N 0°30′02″W / 43.8308°N 0.5006°W
Country	France
Region	Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Department	Landes
Arrondissement	Mont-de-Marsan
Canton	Mont-de-Marsan-2
Intercommunality	Mont-de-Marsan Agglomération
Government
• Mayor (2020–2026)	Pierre Mallet
Area 1	29.33 km2 (11.32 sq mi)
Population (2021)	1,906
• Density	65/km2 (170/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	40037 /40280
Elevation	46–91 m (151–299 ft) ; (avg. 60 m or 200 ft)
	1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Benquet (French pronunciation: [bɛ̃kɛ]) is a commune in the Landes department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France.^[3]

Geography

Benquet is situated 5 miles (8 km) south of Mont-de-Marsan, at the confines of the Landes forest and of the agricultural region of Chalosse. It is 55 miles (89 km) from the Atlantic Ocean.

Neighboring cities are: Saint-Pierre-du-Mont, Bretagne-de-Marsan, Saint-Maurice-sur-Adour, Saint-Sever, Bas-Mauco, Haut-Mauco.

History

Benquet, belonging to the former royal province of Gascony, was under the rule of the abbey of Saint Sever. Jehan Bernard de Benquet, vassal of the prince of Navarre, had the title of Sénéchal of Marsan and of Gabardan. Fights with French Huguenots are reported here.

Population

Historical population
Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1968	828	—
1975	1,039	+3.30%
1982	1,154	+1.51%
1990	1,240	+0.90%
1999	1,291	+0.45%
2009	1,471	+1.31%
2014	1,618	+1.92%
2020	1,878	+2.51%
Source: INSEE^[4]

Its inhabitants are called Benquetois in French.

Economy

Mostly corn-growing, breeding (ducks, geese), foie-gras making. Agri-foodstuff research center.

Twin cities

Benquet is the twin village of Muespach-le-Haut, on the German border. As a matter of fact, population from Alsace flew their region and found shelter in South-Western France when the Nazi troops arrived in the early stages of World War II.

Sights

Churches St John the Baptist (19th century) and Saint Christau (eleventh century). Benquet is a stopover on the medieval pilgrimage route to Santiago Compostela (route of Vézelay). Benquet boasts a the privately owned château de Laurens Castelet and a "miraculous" spring, close to the church of St Christau.