Mauriac (Cantal)
| Mauriac | ||
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| region | Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes | |
| Department | Cantal | |
| Arrondissement | Mauriac | |
| Canton | Mauriac | |
| Community association | Pays de Mauriac | |
| Coordinates | 45 ° 13 ' N , 2 ° 20' E | |
| height | 351-760 m | |
| surface | 27.61 km 2 | |
| Residents | 3,603 (January 1, 2017) | |
| Population density | 130 inhabitants / km 2 | |
| Post Code | 15200 | |
| INSEE code | 15120 | |
| Website | www.mauriac.fr | |
 Mauriac, Town Hall ( Hôtel de ville ) |
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Mauriac is a town in the French region of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes in the Cantal department with 3603 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2017). The city is the seat of the sub-prefecture (French Sous-préfecture ) of the Arrondissement Mauriac , which consists of six cantons .
Geographical location
Mauriac lies on a western foothill of the Cantal Mountains on a basalt plateau at an altitude of 700 m.
The Mauriac area is sparsely populated. As the closest major city, Clermont-Ferrand is accessible via 106 km of winding country roads in the northeast. The small town of Aurillac in the south is 50 kilometers away by road, the small diocese town of Tulle in the west is 80 km away via the Argentat intermediate station .
Population development
| year | 1962 | 1968 | 1975 | 1982 | 1990 | 1999 | 2009 | 2016 |
| Residents | 3636 | 3803 | 4093 | 4333 | 4224 | 4019 | 3854 | 3667 |
| Sources: Cassini and INSEE | ||||||||
Attractions
- The city offers an ensemble of old basalt houses , which are grouped around the market square with the church and the town hall.
- The church of Notre Dame des Miracles (Holy Mother of Miracles), made of gray-red basalt, presumably from the beginning of the 12th century and probably built in two stages, is the most important Romanesque church in the Auvergne mountain region; it has three aisles and a transept with absiden. In the 19th century the 36 m long, 13.5 m wide and 14.2 m high central nave was dismantled in the Romanesque style; the round arches are mostly pointed. The pilgrimage picture is a black Madonna - replaced after theft . The furnishings include a Romanesque baptismal font made of trachyte . The relief scenes with which it is decorated show, among other things, the legend of two inhabitants of the region who were captured by Arabs in Spain in the 11th century. They are said to have prayed so fervently to the patron saint of their church that they were found the next morning, still tied up in their chains, asleep in front of the portal. The capitals are also worth seeing ; In addition to biblical scenes, there are also geometrically shaped scenes in the “Mauriacois” style, which were often imitated in the area. The tympanum above the west portal shows a representation of Christ in the mandorla , the 12 apostles and Mary (with severed heads) and the signs of the zodiac .
Notre-Dame-des-Miracles church
East side of the church
Baptismal font in the church
- Monastère St-Pierre (Convent of St. Peter) with Gallo-Roman ruins and a chapter house from the 11th century.
- Museum with a collection of Gallo-Roman ceramics and exhibitions on craft topics such as cheese making and leather crafts.
literature
- Pierre Moulier: La Basilique Notre-Dame des Miracles de Mauriac. Une visite, une histoire. Créer, Nonette 2006, ISBN 2-84819-066-3 .
