Bourges

Bourges (French pronunciation: [buʁʒ] (listen)) is a commune in central France on the Yèvre river. It is the capital of the department of Cher, and also was the capital of the former province of Berry.

For other uses, see Bourges (disambiguation).

Bourges
Prefecture and commune
Flag
Coat of arms
Location of Bourges
Bourges
Bourges
Coordinates: 47°05′04″N 2°23′47″E
CountryFrance
RegionCentre-Val de Loire
DepartmentCher
ArrondissementBourges
IntercommunalityCA Bourges Plus
Government
 • Mayor (2014–2020) Pascal Blanc
Area
1
68.74 km2 (26.54 sq mi)
Population
 (2017-01-01)[1]
64,551
 • Density940/km2 (2,400/sq mi)
Demonym(s)Berruyers
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code
18033 /18000
Elevation120–169 m (394–554 ft)
(avg. 153 m or 502 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

History
See also: Timeline of Bourges

The name of the commune derives either from the Bituriges, the name of the original inhabitants, or from the Germanic word Burg (French: bourg. Spanish: burgo. English, others: burgh, berg, or borough), for "hill" or "village". The Celts called it Avaricon; Latin-speakers: Avaricum. In the fourth century BC, as in the time of Caesar, the area around it was the center of a Gallic (Celtic) confederacy.

In 52 BC, the sixth year of the Gallic Wars, while the Gauls implemented a scorched-earth policy to try to deny Caesar's forces supplies, the inhabitants of Avaricum begged not to have their town burned. It was temporarily spared due to its good defences provided by the surrounding marshes, by a river that nearly encircled it, and by a strong southern wall. Julius Caesar's forces, nevertheless, captured and destroyed the town, killing all but 800 of its inhabitants.

Rome reconstructed Avaricum as a Roman town, with a monumental gate, aqueducts, thermae and an amphitheatre; it reached a greater size than it would attain during the Middle Ages. The massive walls surrounding the late-Roman town, enclosing 40 hectares, were built in part with stone re-used from earlier public buildings.

The third-century AD Saint Ursinus, also known as Saint Ursin, is considered the first bishop of the town. Bourges functions as the seat of an archbishopric. During the 8th century Bourges lay on the northern fringes of the Duchy of Aquitaine and was therefore the first town to come under Frankish attacks when the Franks crossed the Loire. The Frankish Charles Martel captured the town in 731, but Duke Odo the Great of Aquitaine immediately re-took it. It remained under the rule of counts who pledged allegiance to the Aquitanian dukes up to the destructive siege by the Frankish King Pepin the Short in 762, when Basque troops are found defending the town along with its count.

Bourges in 1820

During the Middle Ages, Bourges served as the capital of the Viscounty of Bourges until 1101. In the fourteenth century, it became the capital of the Duchy of Berry (established in 1360). The future king of France, Charles VII (r. 1422–1461), sought refuge there in the 1420s during the Hundred Years' War. His son, Louis XI, was born there in 1423. In 1438, Charles VII decreed the Pragmatic Sanction of Bourges. During this period, Bourges was a major centre of alchemy.

The Gothic Cathedral of Saint Etienne, begun at the end of the twelfth century, ranks as a World Heritage Site. It is considered one of the earliest examples of the High Gothic style of the thirteenth century.[2]

Bourges has a long tradition of art and history. Apart from the cathedral, other sites of importance include the 15th-century Palace of Jacques Cœur and a sixty-five-hectare district of half-timbered houses and fine town-houses.

Geography

Bourges sits at the river junction where the Auron flows into the Yèvre. The disused Canal de Berry follows alongside the course of the Auron through Bourges.

Climate

Bourges, located in the center of France, away from the Atlantic ocean, features a typical degraded oceanic climate (Köppen : Cfb), characterized by colder, drier winters and warmer, wetter summers than the oceanic climate.

Climate data for Bourges (Bourges Airport), elevation: 166 m or 545 ft, 1981-2010 normals
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 17.6
(63.7)		 22.6
(72.7)		 29.4
(84.9)		 29.4
(84.9)		 32.0
(89.6)		 38.0
(100.4)		 39.6
(103.3)		 39.9
(103.8)		 35.1
(95.2)		 31.7
(89.1)		 23.4
(74.1)		 20.0
(68.0)		 39.9
(103.8)
Average high °C (°F) 6.9
(44.4)		 8.5
(47.3)		 12.5
(54.5)		 15.5
(59.9)		 19.6
(67.3)		 23.1
(73.6)		 26.0
(78.8)		 25.6
(78.1)		 21.8
(71.2)		 17.0
(62.6)		 10.7
(51.3)		 7.4
(45.3)		 16.3
(61.3)
Average low °C (°F) 1.1
(34.0)		 1.1
(34.0)		 3.4
(38.1)		 5.3
(41.5)		 9.2
(48.6)		 12.4
(54.3)		 14.4
(57.9)		 14.1
(57.4)		 11.1
(52.0)		 8.3
(46.9)		 4.0
(39.2)		 1.8
(35.2)		 7.2
(45.0)
Record low °C (°F) −20.4
(−4.7)		 −16.4
(2.5)		 −11.3
(11.7)		 −3.7
(25.3)		 −2.6
(27.3)		 3.4
(38.1)		 4.6
(40.3)		 4.6
(40.3)		 1.8
(35.2)		 −5.0
(23.0)		 −9.1
(15.6)		 −14.0
(6.8)		 −20.4
(−4.7)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 55.2
(2.17)		 52.0
(2.05)		 53.2
(2.09)		 62.4
(2.46)		 78.6
(3.09)		 60.5
(2.38)		 66.1
(2.60)		 55.0
(2.17)		 59.7
(2.35)		 71.7
(2.82)		 65.7
(2.59)		 67.8
(2.67)		 747.9
(29.44)
Average precipitation days 11.6 9.3 10.2 10.6 11.6 8.6 7.9 7.7 8.2 10.4 10.9 11.3 118.2
Mean monthly sunshine hours 67.9 88.6 151.0 175.7 210.0 224.9 239.0 232.7 185.8 124.5 72.2 55.3 1,827.5
Source: Météo France[3][4]

Sights
Half-timbered houses in Place Gordaine
Jacques Cœur's palace

Transport

The railway station Gare de Bourges offers direct connections to Paris (2 hours), Orléans, Tours, Lyon and several regional destinations. The A71 motorway connects Bourges with Orléans and Clermont-Ferrand. Bourges Airport is a small regional airport.

Sport and recreation

Bourges' principal football team are Bourges Football 18. It is also home to the women's basketball club CJM Bourges Basket, which has won multiple titles in domestic and European basketball. Bourges XV is the premier rugby team in the region, currently playing in French National Division, Federal 3.

Colleges and universities

Twin towns – sister cities
See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in France

Bourges is twinned with:[12]

Events

The Printemps de Bourges music festival takes place in Bourges every year.

Every summer, and since 2002, Les mille univers hosts a writing workshop in collaboration with Oulipo.[13]

Personalities
gollark: I want it to do more than just calculate arithmetic expressions.
gollark: To clarify, it is a software implementation.
gollark: I *have* a parser.
gollark: No.
gollark: How should it work? I have a basic parser but I don't know what an actually good way to make the calculator language work would be.

See also

References
  1. "Populations légales 2017". INSEE. Retrieved 6 January 2020.
  2. Destination 360 (Accessed 7 October 2016) Cathedral one of the earliest examples of High Gothic.
  3. "Données climatiques de la station de Bourges" (in French). Meteo France. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
  4. "Climat Centre-Val de Loire" (in French). Meteo France. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
  5. "Bourges (07255) - WMO Weather Station". NOAA. Retrieved 3 April 2019.
  6. "Normes et records 1961-1990: Bourges (18) - altitude 161m" (in French). Infoclimat. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
  7. Jacques Cœur's palace, visitor centre Archived 21 April 2013 at the Wayback Machine
  8. Lallemant's hotel, visitor centre Archived 4 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine
  9. Berry museum, visitor center Archived 7 May 2016 at the Wayback Machine
  10. Estève museum, visitor centre Archived 5 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine
  11. Bourges' marshes, visitor centre
  12. "Villes jumelles". ville-bourges.fr (in French). Bourges. Retrieved 12 November 2019.
  13. Les récréations à Bourges.

Bibliography
See also: Bibliography of the history of Bourges
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