Aurillac (Orlhac in Occitan) is a French town located in the
center of the Massif Central, in the Cantal department of which it
is the prefecture, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes administrative
region.
The episcopal seat is located in Saint-Flour. Its
inhabitants are called the Aurillacois and the Aurillacoises.
At an average altitude of
680 meters, Aurillac is located at the foot of the Cantal mountains
in a small sedimentary basin. The "Aurillac basin" is located at the
intersection of several landscaped units: to the east, the
Cantallian massif made up of a summit area, in a supra-forest
situation (high summer pastures capped by ridges which constitute
the framework and the geographical center of the massif), and a
plateau cut by two valleys which both open into the basin, the
valley of the Cère and the Jordanne. The valleys and gorges of the
Cère cross the basin from east to west. To the southwest, the region
is bordered by the volcanic plateau of Carladès and to the south by
the plateau of the Cantal chestnut grove which corresponds to a
crystalline base.
The city is built on the banks of the
Jordanne, a tributary of the Cère which flows nearby.
We can think that in the Gallic period, the primitive
regional site of the city was on the heights which dominate the city
at Saint-Jean-de-Dône ("Dône" = dunum) and that, like most of the
oppida, it was abandoned after the Roman conquest in favor of a new
town established in the plain. With the return of the insecurity of
the Late Empire, we are witnessing the enshrining movement: a new
fortified site is established halfway between the old oppidum and
the ancient Gallo-Roman city, where it is today. hui the
Saint-Etienne castle.
The history of the city is not really
known until 856, year of birth of Count Géraud d'Aurillac, at the
castle of which his father, also named Géraud, was the lord. Around
885, he founded a Benedictine abbey which would later bear his name.
It is in this monastery, rebuilt in the eleventh century, that
Gerbert, the first French pope under the name of Sylvester II, will
study.
The city was established on a land of salvation which
is located between four crosses and which was founded in 898 by
Géraud, shortly after the abbey. Circular in shape, the first urban
unit was formed in the immediate vicinity of the Aurillac abbey.
Géraud died around 910 but his influence is such that over the
centuries, Géraud has always remained a common baptismal name among
the population of Aurillac and the surrounding area.
It was
in the thirteenth century that we began to learn about municipal
customs, thanks to a conflict between consuls and abbots. After the
capture of the Château Saint-Étienne in 1255 and two arbitral awards
called the Paix d'Aurillac, relations will normalize.
In the
thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, Aurillac supported several
sieges against the English and in the sixteenth century, continued
to suffer civil and religious wars.
The influence of the
abbey declined with its secularization and its commissioning.
In 1569, the city was delivered by treason to the Protestants,
the inhabitants tortured, ransomed and the abbey sacked. Its entire
library and archives are burnt.
Before the Revolution,
Aurillac housed a presidial and carried the title of capital of
Haute-Auvergne. In 1794, after a period of alternation with
Saint-Flour, Aurillac definitely became the capital of Cantal.
It was the arrival of the railway in 1866 that accelerated the
development of the city.
At the first census, in 1759,
Aurillac had 6,268 inhabitants, it now has around 25,000.
Château de Salles (A few minutes from Aurillac) - A 15th century
château set in the middle of a private 8 hectare estate. The hotel
benefits from a panorama towards the Mounts of Cantal, and offers to
its customers a restaurant, a swimming pool, a gymnasium and tennis
courts.
Castle of Saint-Cirq Lapopie (Saint-Cirq Lapopie)
By road, the city is served by the National
Route 122, which connects the A75 motorway to Figeac.
By
rail, Aurillac station is located on the Figeac to Arvant line and
is served by TER Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes which go to Toulouse-Matabiau,
Clermont-Ferrand and Brive-la-Gaillarde.
Aurillac airport is
linked to Paris-Orly by three daily flights by the airline company
Air France Hop.