Thiers (Puy-de-Dôme)

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Thiers
Coat of arms of Thiers
Thiers (France)
Thiers
region Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Department Puy-de-Dôme
Arrondissement Thiers ( sub-prefecture )
Canton Thiers (main town)
Community association Thiers Dore et Montagne
Coordinates 45 ° 51 '  N , 3 ° 33'  E Coordinates: 45 ° 51 '  N , 3 ° 33'  E
height 283-793 m
surface 44.49 km 2
Residents 11,847 (January 1, 2017)
Population density 266 inhabitants / km 2
Post Code 63300
INSEE code 63430
Website http://www.ville-thiers.fr/

Thiers

Template: Infobox municipality in France / maintenance / different coat of arms in Wikidata

Thiers is a French municipality with 11,847 inhabitants (at January 1, 2017) in the Puy-de-Dôme in the region Auvergne Rhône-Alpes . The small town is the seat of the sub-prefecture ( French: Sous-préfecture ) of the Arrondissement Thiers , which consists of six cantons , it is the capital (French: chef-lieu ) of the canton Thiers .

geography

The city is crossed by the Durolle River, which flows into the Dore in the municipality . The municipality is part of the Livradois-Forez Regional Nature Park .

Neighboring municipalities are (from the north clockwise): Paslières , Saint-Rémy-sur-Durolle , La Monnerie-le-Montel , Celles-sur-Durolle , Sainte-Agathe , Escoutoux , Peschadoires , Orléat and Dorat .

history

Thiers is of Celtic origin. A first settlement on the left bank of Durolle was destroyed by the Franks in 532. The reconstruction took place on the right bank in today's old town quarter. From here the city continued to grow up the slope. The city's heyday began with the arrival of cutlery . A legend says that Auvergnatian crusaders brought this art from the Orient to Thiers. There is evidence that the first cutlers settled here in the 14th century; they used the steep incline of the Durolle to drive their forge hammers. The industry quickly brought the city into reputation and wealth. From the 15th century onwards, forged products were mainly exported to Spain and northern Italy. At the end of the 18th century, around 10,000 and thus two thirds of the population lived from the blacksmith's trade . Today around 5,000 people are employed in around 300 artisanal cutleries in the city, the coutelleries .

Population development
year 1962 1968 1975 1982 1990 1999 2015
Residents 16,369 16,623 16,567 16,018 14,832 13,338 11,805

Attractions

Saint-Genès church
Hôtel du Pirou (15th century)
  • "Le Vieux Thiers", winding medieval old town with many restored half-timbered houses from the 15th to 17th centuries
  • St-Genès church, originally Romanesque from the 11th / 12th centuries. Century; 18th century porch with a richly sculptured wall grave from the 14th century; largest crossing dome in Auvergne
  • Eglise du Moutier, with beautiful capitals
  • La Chassaigne Castle , manoir-type country castle from the end of the 15th century with a spacious castle garden
  • Maison des Coutelliers with an exhibition on blacksmithing from the beginnings to the present day and a replica of a historical cutlery
  • Musée de la Coutellerie, knife-making museum with film screening
  • Le Creux de l'Enfer, contemporary art museum in a former knife factory
  • L'Orangerie, show of tropical plants
  • Parc du Moutier

Town twinning

Thiers' twin towns are Schrobenhausen in Bavaria and Bridgnorth in the English county of Shropshire , which in turn are related to each other.

Born in Thiers

literature

  • Anne Henry: Thiers, une exception industrial. Puy-de-Dôme (= Images du patrimoine. 229). Étude du Patrimoine Auvergnat, Clermont-Ferrand 2004, ISBN 2-905554-26-6 .

Web links

Commons : Thiers  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Website of the museum
  2. ^ Website Thiers - Le Jumelage , viewed on January 7, 2017
  3. ↑ Bruno W. Häuptli:  STEPHAN von Muret. In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). Volume 27, Bautz, Nordhausen 2007, ISBN 978-3-88309-393-2 , Sp. 1381-1384.  ( Article / beginning of article in Internet archive )