The high street of Thenon (Av. de la 4eme République) passes north–south and is the scene of a weekly market and some shops. To the southern end is the cultural heart, the Place Pasteur with a church, older buildings (some medieval), a marketplace (shown here) and a small château dating from the 12th century (captured briefly by the English in 1439, retaken by Charles II's troops). Only part of the castle remains. Over the last 25 years, the main street has hosted at least three supermarkets, a grocer, a butcher, bars, a hardware store, 2 boulangeries, a bank and 2 chemists. However, with the reduced traffic on the D6089, the High Street has 'died' and most of its retail outlets have closed, except the boulangeries and chemists. The Mairie has offered subsidised rent to businesses willing to reoccupy the vacant stores, with some success as of 2015 when the bar/cafe was again reopened as a cooperative. A medium-sized supermarket on the now-quiet D6089 west of town has become the main retail store, with the bar and bank opposite in modern premises, and local residents feel that these closures and relocations have lost much. In addition, some commercial activity in Thenon has been lost because of the 1990s/2000s boom in French second homes, from which this region benefited through high property prices and more consumers and tax income, which has subsided. There is a primary school and middle school, the Collège Suzanne Lacore. The nearest high school is in Terrasson, 16.5 km away. The region has a strong farming heritage, but little industrial activity or service occupations (a large paper mill east at Le Lardin). With poor soils, walnut trees, figs, and sheep are common, with few vineyards and cereals. Tertiary sector jobs are found mainly in
Périgueux, 35 km away, or in the slightly larger towns like
Montignac on the
Vézère River, 14 km to the southeast (the nearest town to the
Lascaux caves). The beautiful countryside around the town is steep and rolling, with farms interspersed with woodlands, in which the local population continues to hunt enthusiastically for rabbits, wild boar and deer. Tourism peaks in the summer when the weekly market is a little more animated and the etang (lake) below the town hosts swimming and a cafe. The estate agent advertises in both French and English, and there are a few English and Dutch summer homes and year-round residents, mainly located outside the town in the surrounding villages. Property prices have not increased in recent years. The cheaper property prices attract overseas migrants compared to the Vézère and Dordogne villages to the south. ==Population==