Auch

Auch (French pronunciation: [oʃ]; Gascon: Aush or Aux [awʃ]) is a commune in southwestern France. Located in the region of Occitanie, it is the capital of the Gers department. Auch is the historical capital of Gascony.

Auch
Prefecture and commune
Cathedral
Coat of arms
Location of Auch
Auch
Auch
Coordinates: 43°38′47″N 0°35′08″E
CountryFrance
RegionOccitanie
DepartmentGers
ArrondissementAuch
CantonAuch-1, Auch-2, Auch-3
IntercommunalityCA Grand Auch Cœur Gascogne
Government
  Mayor (2017-2020) Christian Laprébende
Area
1
72.48 km2 (27.98 sq mi)
Population
 (2017-01-01)[1]
21,935
  Density300/km2 (780/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
  Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code
32013 /32000
Elevation115–281 m (377–922 ft)
(avg. 166 m or 545 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Geography

Localization

Auch and its surrounding communes

Hydrography

The River Gers flows through the town.

Transportation

Auch is well connected to nearby cities and towns such as Agen, Toulouse and Tarbes by Routes Nationales.

Climate

Climate data for Auch (1985–2010 averages, extremes 1985–present)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 20.9
(69.6)
24.3
(75.7)
27.8
(82.0)
29.4
(84.9)
33.7
(92.7)
38.4
(101.1)
42.0
(107.6)
40.9
(105.6)
38.0
(100.4)
31.2
(88.2)
26.5
(79.7)
21.8
(71.2)
42.0
(107.6)
Average high °C (°F) 9.7
(49.5)
11.6
(52.9)
14.9
(58.8)
17.0
(62.6)
21.4
(70.5)
25.0
(77.0)
27.7
(81.9)
27.9
(82.2)
24.6
(76.3)
19.8
(67.6)
13.3
(55.9)
10.1
(50.2)
18.6
(65.5)
Daily mean °C (°F) 5.3
(41.5)
6.6
(43.9)
9.2
(48.6)
11.5
(52.7)
15.6
(60.1)
19.0
(66.2)
21.3
(70.3)
21.4
(70.5)
18.1
(64.6)
14.4
(57.9)
8.8
(47.8)
5.9
(42.6)
13.1
(55.6)
Average low °C (°F) 1.0
(33.8)
1.6
(34.9)
3.6
(38.5)
6.0
(42.8)
9.8
(49.6)
13.1
(55.6)
15.0
(59.0)
15.0
(59.0)
11.6
(52.9)
8.9
(48.0)
4.3
(39.7)
1.7
(35.1)
7.7
(45.9)
Record low °C (°F) −20.0
(−4.0)
−13.6
(7.5)
−10.5
(13.1)
−3.7
(25.3)
0.5
(32.9)
2.6
(36.7)
7.3
(45.1)
3.6
(38.5)
2.5
(36.5)
−3.5
(25.7)
−10.5
(13.1)
−12.4
(9.7)
−20.0
(−4.0)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 56.2
(2.21)
48.8
(1.92)
49.7
(1.96)
71.1
(2.80)
68.4
(2.69)
57.9
(2.28)
51.9
(2.04)
57.1
(2.25)
54.6
(2.15)
57.3
(2.26)
60.2
(2.37)
52.2
(2.06)
685.4
(26.98)
Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm) 9.6 7.6 8.4 11.1 9.5 7.7 6.0 6.5 7.5 9.1 9.4 8.7 101.2
Mean monthly sunshine hours 92.4 111.0 167.6 176.6 196.8 209.8 234.6 223.6 197.2 145.2 94.5 79.4 1,928.6
Source: Météo France[2]

History and population

Historical population
YearPop.±%
17938,444    
18007,696−8.9%
18068,918+15.9%
18219,670+8.4%
18319,801+1.4%
184110,867+10.9%
184612,323+13.4%
185112,141−1.5%
185612,001−1.2%
186111,899−0.8%
186612,500+5.1%
187213,087+4.7%
187613,785+5.3%
188114,186+2.9%
188615,090+6.4%
189114,782−2.0%
189614,838+0.4%
190113,939−6.1%
190613,526−3.0%
191113,638+0.8%
192111,825−13.3%
192612,272+3.8%
193112,567+2.4%
193613,313+5.9%
194615,253+14.6%
195416,382+7.4%
196218,918+15.5%
196821,462+13.4%
197523,185+8.0%
198223,258+0.3%
199023,136−0.5%
199921,838−5.6%
200821,744−0.4%
201221,960+1.0%
201521,943−0.1%

Auch is a very ancient town, whose settlement was noted by the Romans during their conquest of the area in the 50s BC. At that time, it was settled by an Aquitanian tribe known to the Romans as the Ausci. Their name for the town was Climberrum[3] or Elimberris.[4] This has been tentatively etymologized from the Iberian iltir ("town, oppidum") and a cognate of the Basque berri ("new"), although another Iberian settlement in Granada recorded by the Romans as "Iliberi" probably had no contact with proto-Basque speaking peoples. Following their conquest, the Romans renamed the town Augusta Auscorum or Ausciorum ("Augusta of the Ausci"). Augusta Auscorum was one of the twelve civitates of the province of Novempopulana (Gascony) and became the provincial capital after the 409 destruction of Eauze by the Vandals.

The common term Augusta was eventually dropped and the name evolved into the modern Gascon Aush and French Auch.

The town became the seat of a Catholic archdiocese which lasted until the French Revolution. Its archbishops claimed the title of Primate of Aquitaine, Novempopulana, and Navarre.

Sites of interest

Auch is known for its Renaissance Cathédrale Sainte-Marie with its magnificent organ, carved stalls and rose stained-glass windows, La Tour d'Armagnac – a 14th-century prison, as well as a statue of d'Artagnan who was based on the real life person, Charles de Batz, Comte d'Artagnan born nearby in the château de Castelmore, and written about by Alexandre Dumas.

Notable people

Auch was the birthplace of:

Literature

Auch is a location briefly mentioned in the M. R. James short ghost story "Canon Alberic's Scrap-Book" published in Ghost Stories of an Antiquary in 1904.

gollark: At last!
gollark: I think this new psi/botania annex actually looks decent. If I ever do Thaumcraft that'll go under here.
gollark: It's not enough (many electromagnets are needed) plus you need power to heat it.
gollark: The quarry draws lots, but on my SP world it could run at max speed fine on 10kRF/t. We don't actually need that, but I want fusion eventually, which needs much RF.
gollark: My design is 9x9x9, which means I'll need to set up autocrafting to make it conveniently.

See also

References

  1. "Populations légales 2017". INSEE. Retrieved January 6, 2020.
  2. "Auch (32)" (PDF). Fiche Climatologique: Statistiques 1981–2010 et records (in French). Meteo France. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 16, 2018. Retrieved April 16, 2018.
  3. " Baynes, T. S., ed. (1878). "Auch" . Encyclopædia Britannica. 3 (9th ed.). New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. p. 67.
  4. Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Auch" . Encyclopædia Britannica. 2 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 892–893.
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