Aurillac

Aurillac ( Occitan: Orlhac ) is a town in the French region of Auvergne and with 27 338 inhabitants (as of 1 January 2011) is the largest city in the department of Cantal. The city is the seat of the prefecture of the department. The prefecture also manages the district Aurillac, which consists of twelve cantons, it is the capital (French: chef- lieu) of the cantons Aurillac -1, Aurillac -2 -3 and Aurillac Aurillac - fourth

Location

Aurillac is located on the southwestern foot of the Cantal volcano in a fertile basin on the river Jordanne, which shortly thereafter flows into the Cère.

History

Remains of a temple of the first century AD show that there was a settlement already in Gallo-Roman times. To the 9th century by St. Geraud abbey was founded, the city began to develop, in particular, because the abbey became one of the most influential monasteries in Auvergne. The monastery comes from the first French pope, Sylvester II The Middle Ages was for the city of an era of economic prosperity. In the religious wars of the 16th century there was between the urban population and the monastery to mutual attacks and violent confrontations; partially, the city was destroyed in the process and recovered thereafter difficult. Later, the city lived on the production of lace in manufactories, today it is dominated by agricultural trade, the furniture industry and the tourism.

Attractions

See also: List of Monuments historiques in Aurillac

• Church of St- Geraud, original, enlarged from the 9th century in the 11th century, destroyed in the 16th century, rebuilt in stages until the 19th century; Stone monuments in the Chapelle St- Geraud.
• Old town around the church; old houses and along the Jordanne
• Pool of serpentine (12th century) on the Place St- Geraud
• Former hospice for pilgrims " Ancien Hôpital ", originally from the 12th century, richly decorated facade
• , Rebuilt the Château St- Étienne, a ruined 13th century in the 19th century, in the Musée des Volcans, the volcanoes
• Church of Notre -Dame- aux- Neiges, former Romanesque- Gothic chapel of the Order of the Cordeliers (13th century), with a Black Madonna of the 17th century
• South of the old, the Musée d'Art et d' Archéologie in a former Salesian Monastery

Economy and infrastructure

The Aurillac Airport is located three kilometers southwest of the city.

Sons and daughters of the town

• Gerbert of Aurillac (c. 950-1003 ), Pope 999-1003.
• William of Auvergne ( at 1180-1249 ), scholastic philosopher
• Alexis -Joseph Delzons (1775-1812), General of Infantry
• Paul Doumer (1857-1932), statesman
• Marie Marvingt (1875-1963), pilot and the second woman took off her flight test in France

Twinning

Since 1972, Aurillac and its neighboring city Arpajon- sur -Cère have common twinned with:

• Bocholt, Germany (since 1972)
• Bassetlaw, England ( since 1980)
• Bougouni, Mali (since 1985)
• Altea, Spain ( since 1992)