Saint-Flour
Saint-Flour | |
|---|---|
 Aerial view of Saint-Flour | |
 Flag  Coat of arms | |
Location of Saint-Flour  | |
  Saint-Flour  Saint-Flour | |
| Coordinates:45°02′04″N3°05′37″E/ 45.0344°N 3.0936°E | |
| Country | France |
| Region | Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes |
| Department | Cantal |
| Arrondissement | Saint-Flour |
| Canton | Saint-Flour-1and2 |
| Intercommunality | Saint-Flour Communauté |
| Government | |
| • Mayor(2020–2026) | Philippe Delort[1] |
| Area 1 | 27.14 km2(10.48 sq mi) |
| Population (2021)[2] | 6,423 |
| • Density | 240/km2(610/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+01:00(CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00(CEST) |
| INSEE/Postal code | 15187/15100 |
| Elevation | 757–1,040 m (2,484–3,412 ft) (avg. 783 m or 2,569 ft) |
| 1French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2(0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. | |
Saint-Flour(French:[sɛ̃fluʁ];Auvergnat:Sant Flor) is acommunein the south-central FrenchdepartmentofCantal,approximately 100 km south ofClermont-Ferrand.Its inhabitants are calledSanflorains.
Geography
[edit]The upper city (ville haute) of Saint-Flour is located on the abrupt volcanic dike Planèze, the lower city (ville basseor "Faubourg" ) extends on the banks of theAnder.[citation needed]
History
[edit]There are numerousdolmensin the neighborhood[3]and scattered traces ofBronze Ageoccupation. Roman occupation is signalled by twoRoman villasof middling importance, one near the railroad station, the other a modest Augustan-age villa near the hamlet of Roueyre, part of Saint-Flour. The Roman name of this smallvicuswasIndiciacumorIndiciacus,which evolved intoIndiciatin the sub-Roman period, a reference to the landmark of Planèze.
Middle Ages
[edit]Early, perhaps as early as the fifth century,[4]Florus of Lodève,credited in medieval tradition with being the firstbishop of Lodèveand belonging to the apostolic era,[5]arrived to Christianize the valley, and gave his name to the area, striking a rock with his staff, it was said, to create aholy springthat continued to be venerated under its Christianized guise, into the 20th century.[6]
The present town calledIndiciactook shape only around the millennium, clustered around the monastery founded on the high rock in 996, at first little more than an oratory. The site, already occupied by a small monastic community, was donated toOdilo of Clunyby the Auvergnat seigneur, Astorg de Brezons;[7]the donation was confirmed byPope Gregory V,i.e. in 996–99, but Astorg's nephew, Amblard "le mal Hiverné" ( "the furious" ), thecomptour[8]perhaps asserting residual family interests in the place, seized it and laid it waste, sparing the church. Astorg and Amblard together then donated it to St Peter's, but Amblard reconsidered and erected a fortress in the ruins of the monastery, but, seized with remorse, donated it once more to Odilo of Cluny.[9] Urban II,following theCouncil of Clermont(1095) consecrated the new abbey church, which received a triple dedication reflecting local tradition and present affiliations: Saint-Sauveur, Saint Pierre and Saint Flour.[10]
Thediocese of Saint-Flourwas established in August 1317 by theAvignon pope,John XXII.
French Revolution
[edit]During theFrench Revolution,the commune took several dechristianized successive names,Fort-Cantal'l,Fort-LibreandMont-Flour.It returned to its ancient historic designation in theAn II(1793). The territory of the commune was never changed. Briefly, between 1790 and 1795, it served as the préfecture, of the newly created département, beforeAurillachad succeeded to that position.
Population
[edit]
|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Source: EHESS[11]and INSEE (1968-2017)[12] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Notable natives
[edit]ThetroubadourBernart Amorosrecalled to his readers that he came from Saint-Flour:
Eu Bernartz Amoros clerges scriptors daquest libre si fui d'Alvergna don son estat maint bon trobador, e fui d'una villa que a nom Saint Flor de Planeza[13]
PoetPierre-Laurent Buirette de Belloy(1727–95), author of a once-celebrated tragedy on theSiege of Calais,was born at Saint-Flour.
École d'Eté de Probabilités
[edit]The annualÉcole d'Eté de Probabilités de Saint-Flourhas resulted in a series of volumes concerningprobability theory.Founded in 1971, the summer school is sponsored byClermont Auvergne University,theEuropean Mathematical Society,andCNRS.[14]
Monuments
[edit]- Saint-Flour Cathedral:aGothiccathedral dating back to the 15th century. In the cathedral, there is a black Christ, stained-glass windows presenting the history ofFlorus,the Frescoes of Hell and Purgatory, and organs.
- Notre-Dame Collegiale: Gothic style, dating from the 14th century, served as a hall for thegrain tradein the 19th century. It was rehabilitated between 2005 and 2008, and houses arose window,designed by the sculptor Francesco Marino Di Teana, who also worked on the bronze door and stained glass.
- Saint Vincent Church: a Gothic style church which reflects the importance of religion in theMiddle Agesin Saint-Flour and was a privileged place in the city, testified in its various uses: convent of theJacobins,then court,Masonic templeandmonasteryof the Visitation. The Saint Vincent Church has been listed as amonument historiquesince 1960. Frescoes of great historical importance dating from the 15th century were discovered by Yves Morvan, a specialist in medieval wall paintings. These frescoes depictingSaint Annaare a tribute by theDominicansto the mother of theVirgin Mary.[15]
Gallery
[edit]-
Skyline of the upper town -
Saint-Flour Cathedral -
Tourist office -
The upper part of the town with its wall -
Upper part of the town in the mist
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^"Répertoire national des élus: les maires".data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises(in French). 2 December 2020.
- ^"Populations légales 2021"(in French).The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies.28 December 2023.
- ^Thedolmen de la table du loup vieux(classed as a Monument in 1911) thedolmen de Toulsnear Coltines, thedolmen de Monsat Saint-Flour and others.
- ^Marcellin Boudet's estimated date (Boudet,La Source Minérale Gallo-Romaine de Coren Et Son Trsor; "the traditions of Saint Florus (Flour)...have been the subject of numerous discussions" (
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain:Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Saint-Flour".Catholic Encyclopedia.New York: Robert Appleton Company.)
- ^In two documents concerning the refounding of the monastery (1013, 1031) and in a letter from the prior toPope Urban IV(1231), expanded on byBernard Gui,Speculum sanctorale(1261) (Catholic Encyclopedia); "after the received fashion in France, the founders of the several churches are thrust back into Apostolic times", observes Sabine Baring-Gould (The Lives of the Saints,vol. 13,s.v."S. Florus, B. of Lodève" ); for other founding saints redated in medieval tradition to apostolic times, seeMartial of Limoges,Denis.
- ^Baring-Gould.
- ^Herbert Edward John Cowdrey,The Cluniacs and the Gregorian reform11970:84; the seigneurs of Brezons are called the Nonettes, from another of their fiefs, in Pierre Moulier and Pascale Moulier's discussion of Saint-Flour inÉglises romanes de Haute-Auvergne: La région de Saint-Flour
- ^comtour:an obscure title taken up by members of several feaudal families in the Haute-Avergne, notably those called thecomtours d'Apchon(Moulier 2001:16).
- ^Catholic Encyclopedia
- ^Moulier 2001:16,
- ^Des villages de Cassini aux communes d'aujourd'hui:Commune data sheet Saint-Flour,EHESS(in French).
- ^Population en historique depuis 1968,INSEE
- ^"I Bernart Amoros, cleric, writer of this book, came from Auvergne, from which many good troubadours have come; and I was from a town that has the name Saint Flor de Planeza" (Quoted in Amelia Eileen Van Vleck,Memory and Re-creation in Troubadour Lyric,1991:31.
- ^"Probability Summer School Saint-Flour/École d'Eté de Probabilités de Saint-Flour".Université Clermont Auvergne.
- ^Yves Morvan,Et c'est ainsi qu'Anna est grande…Découverte de peintures murales dans l'église Saint-Vincent de Saint-Flour,Bulletin historique et Scientifique de l'Auvergne, Tome XCIX, 1998, pp. 209-237.
External links
[edit]
- Tourism office website
- Picture of Saint-Flour Cathedral
- This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain:Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Saint-Flour".Catholic Encyclopedia.New York: Robert Appleton Company.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Geographic | |
| Other | |
