Aveyron (; ) is a department in the region of Occitania, Southern France. It was named after the river Aveyron. Its inhabitants are known as Aveyronnais (masculine) or Aveyronnaises (feminine) in French.[ Comparateur de territoires, INSEE]
History
Aveyron is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790. The earliest known inhabitants of the region were the
Rutenii tribe, though the area was inhabited prior to their tenure. The department has many prehistoric monuments, including over a thousand
, the most of any department in France.
During the medieval and early modern periods, and until the 1790s, the territory included within Aveyron was a province known as Rouergue. In 1797, Victor of Aveyron (a feral child) was found wandering the woods in the area. The story of Victor is told in the film The Wild Child.
In 1817, a local prosecutor, Antoine Bernardin Fualdès, was assassinated. The sordid circumstances of his death, following which his body was found floating in the river Aveyron, led to the matter becoming publicised as a cause célèbre. Recent studies have indicated that he met his end at the initiative of a right-wing royalist organisation known as the Chevaliers de la Foi (Knights of Faith).
Heraldry
Geography
Aveyron is the centre of a triangle formed by the cities of
Toulouse,
Clermont-Ferrand, and
Montpellier. The department approximately follows the outline of the former province of
Rouergue. It is the 5th largest department in metropolitan France in terms of area (). Its prefecture is
Rodez.
The department comes under the jurisdiction of the Academy of Toulouse and the Montpellier Court of Appeal. The INSEE and Post Code is 12. Aveyron is located in the south of the Massif Central. The highest point in the department is the summit of the Signal de Mailhebiau at 1469m on the Plateau of Aubrac. The Aveyron department is divided into several natural regions such as the Grand Causses and Rougiers.
Aveyron department consists of an ancient high rocky plateau of great geological diversity. The Truyère, Lot, Aveyron, and Tarn rivers have carved a number of deep gorges. The department is surrounded by those of Tarn, Tarn-et-Garonne, Lot, Hérault, Gard, Lozère and Cantal. The Lac de Villefranche-de-Panat is used as a reservoir to provide drinking water supplies for the region.
Climate
Demography
In 2017, the department had 279,206 inhabitants. The evolution of the number of inhabitants is known through the population censuses conducted in the department since 1793.
Principal towns
The most populous commune is
Rodez, the prefecture. Of the department's population, 25% live in the four largest communes:
Rodez,
Millau, Onet-le-Château, and Villefranche-de-Rouergue. As of 2019, there are 7 communes with more than 5,000 inhabitants:
[ Populations légales 2019: 12 Aveyron, INSEE]
Second homes
As of 2020, 17.3% of available housing in the department were second homes.
[ Catégories et types de logements, INSEE ]
+Communes with population over 2,000 and more than 10% of second homes in 2019
second homes |
| Saint-Geniez-d'Olt-et-d'Aubrac | | 30.3% |
| Espalion | | 19.9% |
| Salles-la-Source | | 18.5% |
| Sévérac-d'Aveyron | | 18.4% |
| Saint-Affrique | | 15.4% |
| Bozouls | | 10.1% |
| Naucelle | | 10.0% |
Politics
Departmental Council
The Department Council of Aveyron has 46 seats. The President of the Departmental Council has been Jean-François Galliard of the Union of Democrats and Independents (UDI) from 2017 to 2021. The President has been
Arnaud Viala since 2021.
Members of the National Assembly
Following the 2017 legislative election, Aveyron elected the following representatives to the National Assembly:
|
|
| | Aveyron's 1st constituency | Stéphane Mazars | La République En Marche! |
| | Aveyron's 2nd constituency | Anne Blanc | La République En Marche! |
| | Aveyron's 3rd constituency | Arnaud Viala | The Republicans |
Culture
Regional sub-dialect
The regional sub-dialect spoken in Aveyron is a form of
Languedoc Occitan language called
Rouergat. Faced with the risk of disappearance of the language several associations asked the State and political communities for an ambitious language policy.
[ Article in La Dépêche.fr on 24 October 2009 consulted on 29 December 2009 ]
In Rouergat,
Aveyron is written:
-
Avairon (traditional Occitan spelling) – e.g. "Roergue forma lo despartament de l'Avairon"
-
Oboyróu (spelling of Father Vayssier) – e.g. "Rouergue fouórmo lou desportomén de l'Oboyróu"
Tourism
Aveyron contains part of the Cévennes National Park. Tourist attractions include the castle of Najac, a
medieval ruin perched high on a hill, and other castles and monasteries such as Conques Abbey, Sylvanès Abbey, Bonneval Abbey and
Loc-Dieu Abbey, located near
Martiel in a region with many
. The small city of
Millau is the site of the world's tallest bridge, the
Millau viaduct, opened by President
Jacques Chirac in December 2004.
Activities include horseriding, fishing, swimming in the Lacs du Lévézou and hiking/camping. The inhabitants are also very good craftsmen, and Aveyron is full of various craft objects, handmade, that can be found locally. Examples include the Laguiole knife, the world famous Roquefort cheese, from the village of the same name and other local produce. Markets take place every Saturday on market places around the region.
Saint-Sernin-sur-Rance is the commune where the feral child Victor of Aveyron was found in the late 18th century.
Les Plus Beaux Villages de France
Ten towns in Aveyron fall within the classification of a 1901 association
Les Plus Beaux Villages de France:
Other tourist spots
Societies
-
Central Agricultural Society of Aveyron, founded in 1798
-
Society of letters, sciences and arts of Aveyron, founded in 1836
Notable people linked to the department
-
Denis Auguste Affre, Archbishop of Paris (1793–1848)
-
Georges d'Armagnac, Bishop of Avignon, cardinal and Bishop of Rodez (died in 1585)
-
Louis Gabriel Ambroise de Bonald, philosopher (1754–1840)
-
Louis-Jacques Maurice de Bonald, bishop (1787–1870)
-
Émile Borel, mathematician (1871–1956)
-
José Bové, anti-globalizationist, MEP since 2009, farmer, activist and former spokesman of French farmers union Confédération paysanne, peasant in the cause of Larzac (1953 -)
-
Michel Bras (1946 -), chef.
-
Jean Carrier, clergyman of the 15th century, the last supporter and successor of the Antipope Benedict XIII under the name of Benedict XIV
-
Edouard de Castelnau, General (1851–1944)
-
Jean-Henri Fabre, French entomologist and writer (1823–1915)
-
Robert Fabre, founder of the Movement of Radicals of the left, Ombudsman (1915–2006)
-
Maurice Fenaille, patron (1855–1937)
-
Denis-Luc Frayssinous, bishop and tutor of the Dauphin
-
Gustave Garrigou, winner of the Tour de France in 1911, born in Vabre-Tizac
-
Alexandre Geniez, racing cyclist
-
Guy Lacombe, football coach (1955–)
-
Cardinal Marty, Archbishop of Paris (1904–1994)
-
Amans-Alexis Monteil, historian (1769–1850)
-
Alain Peyrefitte, writer, minister, member of the Académie française (1925–1999)
-
Pierre Poujade, politician, was born and lived in Labastide l'Evêque
-
Denys Puech, sculptor, director of the Villa Medicis (1854–1942)
-
Jean Puech, former President of the General Council of Aveyron, Senator, and former minister (1942 -)
-
Guillaume-Thomas Raynal, historian, philosopher (1713–1796)
-
Emilie de Rodat, founder of the congregation of the Sisters of the Holy Family of Villefranche (1787–1852)
-
Richard Sainct, motorcycle rider (1970–2004)
-
Pierre Frédéric Sarrus, mathematician (1798–1861)
-
Pierre Soulages, painter (1919–2022)
-
Jean Verdier, Cardinal Archbishop of Paris (1864–1940)
-
Eugène Viala, painter, poet (1859–1913)
-
Auguste Denayrouze, Scientist, Inventor, writer (1837–1883)
-
Gaëtan Roussel, songwriter (1972–)
-
Jules Merviel, cyclist active in the 1930s, born in Saint-Beauzély (1906–1976)
-
Bertrand Delanoe, French politician and Mayor of Paris (1950–)
-
Cyril Lignac, French chef and TV host
-
Jean Boudou, Occitan writer born in Crespin (home of Joan Bodon)
-
Bernard Laporte, rugby coach (1964–)
-
Francis Poulenc, Composer (1899–1963)
Bibliography
-
Encyclopedia Bonneton, Aveyron, Christine Bonneton, 2005
-
Jean-Michel Cosson, Dictionary of Aveyron, Loubatières,
-
Daniel Crozes, The Guide to Aveyron, Éditions du Rouergue,
-
Aue/Miche, Aveyron (Discovered), MSM,
-
Dominique Auzias, Jean-Paul Labourdette, The small clever Aveyron, Collectif, Nouvelles Éditions Université,
-
Paul Astruc, Major Criminal cases of Aveyron, Éditions De Borée,
-
Christian Bernard, Aveyron in flowers: Illustrated inventory of vascular plants of Aveyron department, Éditions du Rouergue,
-
Francine Claustres, Aveyron Cuisine, Sud Ouest,
-
Aveyron: Farming Yields, Du Curieux,
-
French Hiking Federation, Aveyron on foot, Guide FFRP,
-
French Hiking Federation, The most beautiful villages in Aveyron… on foot: 20 walks and hikes, FFRP,
-
Hubert Calmette, The paths of Émilie in Aveyron, French Hiking Federation,
-
Richard André, Romain Pages Éditions, Le Parc naturel régional des Grands Causses,
-
Rémi Soulié, The old Rouergue: Land of Aveyron, Paris,
-
Alain Marc, Aveyron, Logbooks, Éditions du Rouergue,
-
Laurent Millet, Family names of Aveyron, Archives Cult,
-
Laurent Barthe, Of Rouergue in Aveyron, Empreinte,
-
Aveyron 1900–1920 Édition De Boree,
-
Jean-Michel Cosson, Stéphane Monnet, Aveyron in the 1939–1945 war, Éditions De Boré,
-
Jill Dawson, Béatrice Dunner, The wild child of Aveyron, Du Rocher,
-
Jean Itard, Victor de l'Aveyron, Allia,
-
Dagonet/Christian, Regards to Aveyron, De Borée,
-
Nicole de Bertier, Meeting in Aveyron, '' Equinoxe,
See also
-
Arrondissements of the Aveyron department
-
County of Rodez
-
Cantons of the Aveyron department
-
Communes of the Aveyron department
-
Maison de Jeanne
External links
