Bessines-sur-Gartempe is a commune

Communes of France

The commune is the lowest level of administrative division in the French Republic. French communes are roughly equivalent to incorporated municipalities or villages in the United States or Gemeinden in Germany...

 in the Haute-Vienne

Haute-Vienne

Haute-Vienne is a French department named after the Vienne River. It is one of three departments that together constitute the French region of Limousin.The chief and largest city is Limoges...

 department in the Limousin

Limousin (région)

Limousin is one of the 27 regions of France. It is composed of three départements: Corrèze, Creuse and the Haute-Vienne.Situated largely in the Massif Central, as of January 1st 2008, the Limousin comprised 740,743 inhabitants on nearly 17 000 km2, making it the second least populated region of...

 region

Régions of France

France is divided into 27 administrative regions , 22 of which are in Metropolitan France, and five of which are overseas. Corsica is a territorial collectivity , but is considered a region in mainstream usage, and is even shown as such on the INSEE website...

 in western France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

.

Geography

The river Semme

Semme

The Semme is a 50.3 km long river in the Creuse and Haute-Vienne départements, central France. Its source is in Saint-Priest-la-Feuille...

 forms part of the commune's north-eastern border, flows westward through the northern part of the commune, north of Morterolles-sur-Semmes, a hamlet, then forms part of the commune's north-western border.

The river Gartempe

Gartempe

The Gartempe is a French river, 205 kilometres long. It is a left tributary of the Creuse River, which it joins in La Roche-Posay. Its source is in the municipality of Peyrabout.Among its tributaries are the Anglin, the Brame and the Semme....

 forms part of the commune's eastern border, flows westward through the middle of the commune, north of Bessines-sur-Gartempe, the main village, then forms part of the commune's western border.

Inhabitants are known as Bessinauds.

Culture

In the late 20th century, the community's local band, a traveling chamber orchestra known as "La Banda de Bessines" ("The Bessines Band"), gained some national repute, winning French National Band Championships in 1988, 1989, 1991, 1992, 1995, 1996, and 2005.

Bessines sur Gartempe has also been awarded the prestigious "Village d'Etape" status.