Bourges

Bourges
region	Center-Val de Loire
Department	Cher
Arrondissement	Bourges
Canton	Bourges-1 ; Bourges-2 ; Bourges-3 ; Bourges-4
Community association	Bourges Plus
Coordinates	47 ° 5 ' N , 2 ° 24' E Coordinates: 47 ° 5 ' N , 2 ° 24' E
height	120-169 m
surface	68.74 km 2
Residents	64,551 (January 1, 2017)
Population density	939 inhabitants / km 2
Post Code	18000
INSEE code	18033
Website	www.bourges.fr

The gothic cathedral of Bourges

View from the north tower of the cathedral over Bourges

Bourges [ buʁʒ ] is a city with 64,551 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2017) in France . It is the capital of the Cher département in the Center-Val de Loire region and the seat of an archbishopric .

geography

The city is located at the confluence of the Auron and Moulon rivers with the Yèvre and the abandoned Canal de Berry , only a few kilometers from the theoretical center of France.

history

In ancient times, Bourges had the Latin name Avaricum (or Avariko in Celtic), which is likely to be derived from that of the Avara River (today Yèvre ). It was the chief town of the Celtic tribe of Biturig and one of the greatest cities in all of Gaul ; its population is said to have been 40,000. It was in a protected position near rivers and swamps. Here Caesar was victorious in 52 BC. Against the rebellious Gauls under Vercingetorix in the battle for Avaricum . After a long siege, the place was conquered, looted and burned down. The subsequently rebuilt city (which was later called Biturigae - in the 4th century AD ), now belonged first to the Roman province of Gallia Celtica , later to the province of Gallia Aquitania, and since Emperor Diocletian it functioned as the central location of the province of Aquitania . A dedicatory inscription for the Gallo-Roman god Mogetius was discovered. Belonging to the Visigoth Empire since 478 , Bourges passed into the possession of the Franks in 507 and now passed to Chlodomer , later to King Guntram I. In 583 Bourges was captured by Chilperic I's general Desiderius and almost entirely burned.

Rebuilt under the Carolingians , Bourges was the seat of the county of Bourges (or later vice-county) from the 8th century . In 1101 Eudes Herpin pawned the vice-county to King Philip I of France. As a result, Bourges became part of the French crown domain . From the 14th century it was the capital of the Duchy of Berry . Of the six church assemblies held at Bourges in 1031, 1225, 1276, 1286, 1336 and 1438, the one of 1438, which was held under the presidency of King Charles VII , was very important due to the so-called Pragmatic Sanction of the Gallican Church that was passed here .

In 1412 there was a comparison between King Charles VI in Bourges . and Duke John Fearless of Burgundy. In the time of his distress before 1429, Charles VII often held court in Bourges. 1464 founded Ludwig XI. here the University of Bourges . In 1528 a council spoke against Luther and the Reformation here. During the Huguenot Wars in 1562 Montgomery conquered Bourges for the Huguenots , but had to vacate it again for the Duke of Guise . It later sided with the Catholic League , but submitted to King Henry IV in 1594 .

The Spanish pretender to the throne, Don Carlos , stayed in Bourges from September 1839 to August 1845 after his flight from Spain and signed the deed of abdication on May 18, 1845 in favor of his son Carlos Luis , Prince of Asturias. From March 7 to April 2, 1849, Bourges was the scene of the great state trial against the defendants in the May 1848 assassination attempt, including Louis-Auguste Blanqui , Louis Blanc , Armand Barbès , Albert L'Ouvrier and François-Vincent Raspail .

Population development

year	1962	1968	1975	1982	1990	1999	2006	2016
Residents	60,632	70,814	77,300	76,432	75,609	72,480	70,828	65,555
Sources: Cassini and INSEE

Culture

The House of Culture in Bourges was officially opened on April 18, 1964 by André Malraux , then Minister of State for Culture. It is one of the first of its kind in France. The International Institute for Electroacoustic Music (IMEB) and the University of Music and Dance are also located in Bourges.
Every year the Printemps de Bourges music festival takes place in Bourges in spring.

Attractions

Half-timbered houses on the corner of Rue Pelvoysin and Rue Cambournac

The significant Gothic cathedral Saint-Etienne (built 1195-1255) belongs since 1992 to the World Heritage of UNESCO . St. Etienne is a five-aisled basilica without a transept with a double ambulatory . The glass paintings from the 13th century and the innovative vault construction are unique. The portals on the west facade are also significant.
Palais Jacques-Cœur , Gothic residence built for Charles VII's Finance Minister Jacques Cœur .
Hôtel Lallemant, Renaissance palace
Schöffenpalais
Classical buildings from the 17th and 18th centuries
Half-timbered houses from the 15th and 16th centuries
Gallo-Roman city wall
Notre-Dame and Saint-Bonnet churches
Porte Saint-Ursin, remains of a Romanesque collegiate church

Museums

Musée du Berry
Musée des Arts décoratifs
School museum
Musée Estève in the Hôtel des Échevins , life and work of the painter Maurice Estève
Natural History Museum (Muséum d'histoire naturelle de Bourges)
Resistance Museum (Musée de la résistance)

Infrastructure

The Bourges Gare de Bourges train station has direct connections to Paris (2 hours), Orléans , Tours and Lyon . The A71 autoroute connects Bourges with Orléans and Clermont-Ferrand. The Aéroport de Bourges , a small regional airport, is also located near the city .

Personalities

sons and daughters of the town

Radulf von Bourges (around 800–866), Archbishop of Bourges and reformer and founder of many monasteries
Jacques Cœur (1395–1456), merchant and royal Argentine of the 15th century
Louis XI. (1423–1483), King of France
Jean Colombe (around 1430–1493), late medieval illuminator
Philippe Basiron (1450–1491), composer, organist and cleric
Jean de La Chapelle (1651–1723), diplomat, political writer, playwright, novelist and member of the Académie française
Charles-Émile Callande de Champmartin (1797–1883), French painter
Louis Lacombe (1818-1884), composer
Agénor Bardoux (1829–1897), politician and writer
Édouard François André (1840–1911), botanist
Berthe Morisot (1841–1895), impressionist painter
Gaëtan Gatian de Clérambault (1872–1934), psychiatrist, ethnologist and photographer
Léon Pêtre (1881–1956), colonial administrator
Gérard Huet (* 1947), computer scientist
Jean-Christophe Rufin (* 1952), doctor, traveler, writer and humanitarian activist
Élisabeth Horem (* 1955), writer and translator
François Kalist (* 1958), Catholic clergyman, Archbishop of Clermont
Belle du Berry (1966-2020), French singer
Patrice Gay (* 1973), racing car driver
Géraud Portal (* 1987), jazz musician
Etienne Déconfin (* 1990), jazz musician