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Aveyron

Coordinates: 44°15′N 02°42′E / 44.250°N 2.700°E / 44.250; 2.700
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This article is about the French department. For other uses, see Aveyron (disambiguation).

Aveyron
Avairon (Occitan)
Department of France
From top down, left to right: Conques, prefecture building in Rodez, Castle of Belcastel, the river Aveyron in Villefranche-de-Rouergue and Peyre
Flag of Aveyron
Flag
Coat of arms of Aveyron
Coat of arms
Location of Aveyron in France
Location of Aveyron in France
Coordinates: 44°15′N 02°42′E / 44.250°N 2.700°E / 44.250; 2.700
CountryFrance
RegionOccitania
PrefectureRodez
SubprefecturesMillau
Villefranche-de-Rouergue
Government
 • President of the Departmental CouncilArnaud Viala[1] (UDI)
Area
1
 • Total
8,735 km2 (3,373 sq mi)
Population
 (2021)[2]
 • Total
279,649
 • Rank79th
 • Density32/km2 (83/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)
Department number12
Arrondissements3
Cantons23
Communes285
^1 French Land Register data, which exclude estuaries and lakes, ponds and glaciers larger than 1 km2

Aveyron (French: [avɛʁɔ̃] ⓘ; Occitan: Avairon [aβajˈɾu]) 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.[3] The inhabitants of Aveyron's prefecture, Rodez, are called Ruthénois, based upon the first settlers in the area, the Ruteni. With an area of 8,735 square kilometres (3,373 sq mi) and a population of 279,595, Aveyron is a largely rural department with a population density of 32 people/km2 (83 people/sq mi).[4]

History

[edit]
Ruteni coin, 5th–1st century BCE

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 dolmens, the most of any department in France.

Victor of Aveyron in 1800

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).[5]

Heraldry

[edit]
Arms of Aveyron
Arms of Aveyron
 The Arms of Aveyron are those of the province of Rouergue and are blazoned as follows:

Blazon:
Gules, a lion rampant gardant in Or.



Geography

[edit]

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 (8,735 km2 (3,373 sq mi)). 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

[edit]
Town Sunshine

(hours/yr) 		Rain

(mm/yr)		 Snow

(days/yr)		 Storm

(days/yr)		 Fog

(days/yr)
National average 1,973 770 14 22 40
Millau[7] 2,146 732 25 25 59
Paris 1,661 637 12 18 10
Nice 2,724 767 1 29 1
Strasbourg 1,693 665 29 29 56
Brest 1,605 1,211 7 12 75
Climate data for Millau
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 17.6
(63.7) 		21.8
(71.2) 		23.9
(75.0) 		27.0
(80.6) 		29.2
(84.6) 		35.1
(95.2) 		37.5
(99.5) 		38.0
(100.4) 		34.1
(93.4) 		28.9
(84.0) 		23.9
(75.0) 		19.1
(66.4) 		38.0
(100.4)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) 6.1
(43.0) 		7.3
(45.1) 		10.8
(51.4) 		13.5
(56.3) 		17.7
(63.9) 		21.9
(71.4) 		25.5
(77.9) 		25.1
(77.2) 		20.7
(69.3) 		15.5
(59.9) 		9.7
(49.5) 		6.9
(44.4) 		15.1
(59.2)
Daily mean °C (°F) 3.2
(37.8) 		3.9
(39.0) 		6.7
(44.1) 		9.1
(48.4) 		13.2
(55.8) 		16.9
(62.4) 		19.9
(67.8) 		19.6
(67.3) 		15.9
(60.6) 		11.9
(53.4) 		6.7
(44.1) 		4.0
(39.2) 		10.9
(51.6)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) 0.2
(32.4) 		0.4
(32.7) 		2.6
(36.7) 		4.7
(40.5) 		8.6
(47.5) 		11.9
(53.4) 		14.3
(57.7) 		14.1
(57.4) 		11.1
(52.0) 		8.3
(46.9) 		3.6
(38.5) 		1.1
(34.0) 		6.7
(44.1)
Record low °C (°F) −17.5
(0.5) 		−19.4
(−2.9) 		−12.9
(8.8) 		−5.5
(22.1) 		−2.0
(28.4) 		3.0
(37.4) 		6.0
(42.8) 		4.9
(40.8) 		1.6
(34.9) 		−4.1
(24.6) 		−10.3
(13.5) 		−13.0
(8.6) 		−19.4
(−2.9)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 55.4
(2.18) 		47.4
(1.87) 		42.5
(1.67) 		69.9
(2.75) 		73.4
(2.89) 		60.5
(2.38) 		39.7
(1.56) 		54.8
(2.16) 		77.7
(3.06) 		79.6
(3.13) 		69.1
(2.72) 		61.6
(2.43) 		731.6
(28.80)
Average precipitation days (≥ 1 mm) 8.7 7.7 7.9 9.4 8.8 6.7 4.2 5.5 6.8 8.8 9.3 8.8 92.6
Mean monthly sunshine hours 100 115 173 183 218 262 296 261 208 132 100 98 2,146
Source 1: Meteorological data for Millau – 715m altitude, from 1981 to 2010 January 2015
Source 2: Record temperatures for Millau since 1951 January 2015

Demography

[edit]

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.

Historical population
YearPop.±% p.a.
1791 371,835—    
1801 318,340−1.54%
1806 331,921+0.84%
1821 339,422+0.15%
1831 359,056+0.56%
1836 370,951+0.65%
1841 375,083+0.22%
1846 389,121+0.74%
1851 394,183+0.26%
1856 393,890−0.01%
1861 396,025+0.11%
1866 400,070+0.20%
1872 402,474+0.10%
1876 413,826+0.70%
1881 415,075+0.06%
1886 415,826+0.04%
1891 400,467−0.75%
1896 389,464−0.56%
YearPop.±% p.a.
1901 382,074−0.38%
1906 377,299−0.25%
1911 369,448−0.42%
1921 332,940−1.04%
1926 328,886−0.24%
1931 323,782−0.31%
1936 314,682−0.57%
1946 307,717−0.22%
1954 292,727−0.62%
1962 290,489−0.10%
1968 281,568−0.52%
1975 278,306−0.17%
1982 278,654+0.02%
1990 270,141−0.39%
1999 263,808−0.26%
2007 274,425+0.49%
2012 276,229+0.13%
2017 279,206+0.21%
Source: SPLAF[8] and INSEE[9]

Principal towns

[edit]

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:[10]

Commune Population (2019)
Rodez 24,475
Millau 21,979
Onet-le-Château 11,665
Villefranche-de-Rouergue 11,602
Saint-Affrique 8,023
Luc-la-Primaube 6,005
Decazeville 5,323

Second homes

[edit]

As of 2020, 17.3% of available housing in the department were second homes.[11]

Communes with population over 2,000 and more than 10% of second homes in 2019[12]
Town Municipal population Percentage of
second homes
Saint-Geniez-d'Olt-et-d'Aubrac 2,211 30.3%
Espalion 4,601 19.9%
Salles-la-Source 2,265 18.5%
Sévérac-d'Aveyron 4,069 18.4%
Saint-Affrique 8,023 15.4%
Bozouls 2,923 10.1%
Naucelle 2,007 10.0%

Politics

[edit]

Departmental Council

[edit]
Main article: Departmental Council of Aveyron

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.

Party Seats
• The Republicans
Union of Democrats and Independents		 30
Socialist Party 10
Radical Party of the Left 5
Independent 1

Members of the National Assembly

[edit]

Following the 2017 legislative election, Aveyron elected the following representatives to the National Assembly:

Constituency Member[13] Party
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

[edit]

Regional sub-dialect

[edit]

The regional sub-dialect spoken in Aveyron is a form of Languedoc Occitan called Rouergat. Faced with the risk of disappearance of the language several associations asked the State and political communities for an ambitious language policy.[14] 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

[edit]

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 dolmens. The small city of Millau is the site of the world's tallest bridge, the Millau viaduct, opened by President 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 couteau de Laguiole, 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

[edit]

Ten towns in Aveyron fall within the classification of a 1901 association Les Plus Beaux Villages de France:

Other tourist spots

[edit]

Societies

[edit]
  • 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

[edit]

Bibliography

[edit]
  • Encyclopedia Bonneton, Aveyron, Christine Bonneton, 2005 (in French)
  • Jean-Michel Cosson, Dictionary of Aveyron, Loubatières, ISBN 2-86266-471-5 (in French)
  • Daniel Crozes, The Guide to Aveyron, Éditions du Rouergue, ISBN 2-84156-541-6 (in French)
  • Aue/Miche, Aveyron (Discovered), MSM, ISBN 2-911515-44-7 (in French)
  • Dominique Auzias, Jean-Paul Labourdette, The small clever Aveyron, Collectif, Nouvelles Éditions Université, ISBN 2-7469-1664-9 (in French)
  • Paul Astruc, Major Criminal cases of Aveyron, Éditions De Borée, ISBN 2-84494-180-X (in French)
  • Christian Bernard, Aveyron in flowers: Illustrated inventory of vascular plants of Aveyron department, Éditions du Rouergue, ISBN 2-84156-658-7 (in French)
  • Francine Claustres, Aveyron Cuisine, Sud Ouest, ISBN 2-87901-257-0 (in French)
  • Aveyron: Farming Yields, Du Curieux, ISBN 2-914225-07-5 (in French)
  • French Hiking Federation, Aveyron on foot, Guide FFRP, ISBN 2-85699-893-3 (in French)
  • French Hiking Federation, The most beautiful villages in Aveyron… on foot: 20 walks and hikes, FFRP, ISBN 2-7514-0113-9 (in French)
  • Hubert Calmette, The paths of Émilie in Aveyron, French Hiking Federation, ISBN 2-84182-156-0 (in French)
  • Richard André, Romain Pages Éditions, Le Parc naturel régional des Grands Causses, ISBN 2-84350-194-6 (in French)
  • Rémi Soulié, The old Rouergue: Land of Aveyron, Paris, ISBN 2-84621-069-1 (in French)
  • Alain Marc, Aveyron, Logbooks, Éditions du Rouergue, ISBN 2-84156-610-2 (in French)
  • Laurent Millet, Family names of Aveyron, Archives Cult, ISBN 2-35077-013-3 (in French)
  • Laurent Barthe, Of Rouergue in Aveyron, Empreinte, ISBN 2-913319-34-3 (in French)
  • Aveyron 1900–1920 Édition De Boree, ISBN 2-84494-322-5 (in French)
  • Jean-Michel Cosson, Stéphane Monnet, Aveyron in the 1939–1945 war, Éditions De Boré, ISBN 2-84494-464-7 (in French)
  • Jill Dawson, Béatrice Dunner, The wild child of Aveyron, Du Rocher, ISBN 2-268-05377-6 (in French)
  • Jean Itard, Victor de l'Aveyron, Allia, ISBN 2-904235-78-7 (in French)
  • Dagonet/Christian, Regards to Aveyron, De Borée, ISBN 2-84494-536-8 (in French)
  • Nicole de Bertier, Meeting in Aveyron, Equinoxe, ISBN 2-84135-471-7 (in French)

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Répertoire national des élus: les conseillers départementaux". data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises (in French). 4 May 2022.
  2. ^ "Téléchargement du fichier d'ensemble des populations légales en 2021" (in French). The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 28 December 2023.
  3. ^ "Le nom des habitants des communes de France - Habitants". www.habitants.fr.
  4. ^ Comparateur de territoires, INSEE
  5. ^ Irving, Henry Brodribb (1906). Occasional Papers Dramatic and Historical. London: Bickers and Sons. pp. 185–227.
  6. ^ Paris, Nice, Strasbourg, Brest
  7. ^ Data from the Station at Millau from 1981 to 2010 (in French)
  8. ^ Historique de l'Aveyron, SPLAF, in French
  9. ^ Population en historique depuis 1968, INSEE
  10. ^ Populations légales 2019: 12 Aveyron, INSEE
  11. ^ Catégories et types de logements, INSEE (in French)
  12. ^ "Statistiques locales: Part des résidences secondaires, population municipale". INSEE.
  13. ^ Nationale, Assemblée. "Assemblée nationale ~ Les députés, le vote de la loi, le Parlement français". Assemblée nationale.
  14. ^ Article in La Dépêche.fr on 24 October 2009 consulted on 29 December 2009 (in French)
[edit]
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