Bourbonnais
The Bourbonnais is a historic province in central France.
location
The Bourbonnais stretched to the left of the Loire and was surrounded by the historic provinces
- Nivernais in the north,
- Burgundy in the northeast,
- Lyonnais in the southeast,
- Auvergne to the south and
- Berry to the west.
Today, with its main town of Moulins, it is largely part of the Allier department in the Auvergne region , which was created in 1961 and merged into the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in 2016 . The remaining areas were assigned to the departments of Puy-de-Dôme , Creuse (in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region ) and Cher (in the Center-Val de Loire region ). Before its dissolution in 1791, the Bourbonnais covered 8,039 km² with 285,000 inhabitants. In addition to the former capital, Montluçon and Vichy are other important places. The Loire , Allier and Cher rivers flow through the region .
The Bourbonnais is divided into the following landscapes, which can still be found today in the names of the communal associations (French communauté de communes ):
- Limagne Bourbonnaise in the south of the province, left of the Allier river, main town Gannat
- Montagne Bourbonnaise in the south of the province, to the right of the Allier river, main town Vichy
- Bocage Bourbonnais in the north of the province, to the left of the Allier river, main town Montluçon
- Sologne Bourbonnaise in the north of the province, to the right of the Allier river, capital Moulins
history
In the Middle Ages the province belonged to the county of Bourges . In the middle of the 13th century, the Bourbonnais came under the influence of the Duke of Burgundy , but through a female line of succession, the area finally came into the possession of the Capetian Prince Robert , the youngest son of King Louis IX. of the saint .