Saint-Flour (Cantal)
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Saint-Flour Sant Flor |
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| region | Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes | |
| Department | Cantal | |
| Arrondissement | Saint-Flour | |
| Canton |
Saint-Flour-1 Saint-Flour-2 |
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| Community association | Saint-Flour Community | |
| Coordinates | 45 ° 2 ′ N , 3 ° 6 ′ E | |
| height | 757–1,040 m | |
| surface | 27.14 km 2 | |
| Residents | 6,435 (January 1, 2017) | |
| Population density | 237 inhabitants / km 2 | |
| Post Code | 15100 | |
| INSEE code | 15187 | |
| Website | Saint-Flour | |
 Saint-Flour - View from the lower town with the Pont Vieux on the upper town |
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Saint-Flour is a small town and municipality with 6,435 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2017) in the Cantal department in the French region of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, divided into two parts . The city is the seat of the diocese of Saint-Flour .
Location and climate
The small town, located on a basalt plateau of volcanic origin about 890 m high above the river Ander , is the seat of the sub-prefecture ( French sous-préfecture ) of the arrondissement Saint-Flour . The town of Le Puy-en-Velay is about 95 km (driving distance) to the east; the city of Rodez is about 110 km southwest. The climate is temperate; Rain (approx. 720 mm / year) falls over the year.
Population development
| year | 1850 | 1901 | 1954 | 1999 | 2017 | |||
| Residents | 5,312 | 5,634 | 5,763 | 6,625 | 6,435 | |||
| Sources: Cassini and INSEE | ||||||||
By the mechanization of agriculture caused rural exodus has hardly had an impact on Saint-Flour.
history
In the vicinity of Saint-Flour there are two Neolithic dolmens ; Celtic evidence is missing so far, but settlement of the hill rising steeply from three sides is likely. Remnants of the foundations of a Gallo-Roman country estate ( villa rustica ) were discovered during excavation work. A settlement was built around the grave of the eponymous Saint Florus , who had evangelized in the Auvergne in the 4th century. Around 1025, Abbot Odilo von Cluny founded a priory here . In 1317 the city was made a bishopric by the Pope. In 1337 the Hundred Years War began , but the city was little affected; in addition, a plague epidemic raged in the years 1348-1353.
Attractions
- Old town as upper town with numerous Renaissance houses
- Saint-Pierre Cathedral was rebuilt as a three-nave Gothic church in the years 1398–1466 in place of a collapsed Romanesque church
- The "Pont Vieux", a three-arched stone bridge over the Ander, was mentioned as early as 1404; in 1734 and 1769 it was restored after flood damage.
- The Musée Douet , a museum for regional art, presents furniture typical of the region.
- Statue of Liberty by the artist Vital Dubray from 1892 on the fountain of the Fontaine de la Renommée on the Cours Spy des Ternes.
- Surroundings
- Touls dolmen , about 15 km north-west of Saint-Flour
- Mons dolmen , about 3 km northeast of Saint-Flour
- Garabit Viaduct , approx. 15 km southeast; Train connection to Saint-Chély-d'Apcher
Town twinning
Personalities
- Jacques Paul Migne (1800–1875), French priest
Others
- Jacques Offenbach composed “La Rose de Saint-Flour” (“Rose of Saint-Flour”) an operetta set in the Auvergne ; the libretto is by Michel Carré . The first performance took place on June 12, 1856 in Paris .
- The international summer courses in Stochastics École d'Été de Probabilités de Saint-Flour have been held here since 1971 .
Web links
- Saint-Flour, sights - photos + info
- Saint-Flour - information
- Saint-Flour - Photos + Info (structurae)