Le Crest

Le Crest
region	Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Department	Puy-de-Dôme
Arrondissement	Clermont-Ferrand
Canton	Les Martres-de-Veyre
Community association	Mond'Arverne Communauté
Coordinates	45 ° 41 ′ N , 3 ° 8 ′ E Coordinates: 45 ° 41 ′ N , 3 ° 8 ′ E
height	366-653 m
surface	6.84 km 2
Residents	1,267 (January 1, 2017)
Population density	185 inhabitants / km 2
Post Code	63450
INSEE code	63126
Website	www.lecrest.fr
	; Le Crest

Le Crest is a French commune with 1,267 inhabitants (at January 1, 2017) in the department of Puy-de-Dôme in the region Auvergne Rhône-Alpes . It is located about 15 km south of Clermont-Ferrand .

population

The population has been increasing steadily since the 1960s. Le Crest is increasingly becoming a place of residence for commuters to the nearby city of Clermont-Ferrand , while maintaining the rural character of a former winegrowing village.

Number of inhabitants
year	1962	1968	1975	1982	1990	1999
Residents	357	386	507	763	937	1,128

geography

The circular, medieval village center of Le Crest is visible from afar on a hill at the eastern end of the Plateau de la Serre. To the south of the village center, the new residential districts extend on the slopes of the plateau, to the north of which the terrain slopes down to the Auzon River .

The Plateau de la Serre is a 3.5 million year old lava flow, which today protrudes a few hundred meters above the landscape due to the process of relief reversal .

history

The region was already in the younger Neolithic around 5000 BC. Colonized what finds from 2006 showed. The settlement around a castle, founded after 1000, of which three walls built around 1450 and the tower have been preserved, was for a long time owned by the Dukes of Auvergne. Together with the castles of Opme and La Batisse in Chanonat , the castle of Le Crest made it possible to control the valleys of the Auzon, the Monne and the Allier. An underground passage from the 15th century that is now filled in connected Le Crest with La Batisse.

The legendary Antonin (Anton) Docher (1852–1928) was born in Crest . He lived as a Franciscan missionary for 34 years in New Mexico in the pueblo of Isleta .

During the Second World War, Crest was a center of the Resistance .

Attractions

The landmark of the place is the clock tower, visible from afar, the only remnant of a medieval castle complex. From here a panoramic view extends over the volcanoes of Auvergne to the Forez.
Hiking trails lead to the Plateau de la Serre with an observatory of the French bird protection association LPO for observing migratory birds.
Romanesque church from the 13th century
Fountain