BOURGES

'Bourges' is a town and commune in central France that is located on the Yèvre river. It is the ''préfecture'' (capital) of the ''département'' of Cher and also was the capital of the former province of Berry.

Contents

History

Main sights

Colleges and universities

Miscellaneous

Twin towns

See also

Notes

External links

History

The original inhabitants of the site were the Bituriges,^[1] whose Celtic name for the city, "the largest and best fortified town in the territories of the Bituriges,"^[2] was ''Avaricon'',^[3] which the Romans Latinized as Avaricum. During the Gallic Wars, the Gauls under Vercingetorix practised a scorched-earth policy, but the inhabitants of Avaricon begged not to have their city burned, and it was spared due to its good defenses provided by the surrounding marshes and a strong southern wall. In 52 BCE Caesar submitted the city to a month-long siege and finally overwhelmed the defenders, while he managed to repel the attempts of Vercingetorix to relieve the city. Of 40,000 men, women and children within the walls only 800 survived the massacre. The city was laid out anew as a Roman ''civitas'', according to the regular Roman pattern, with the name of ''Avaricum Biturigum'' or ''Civitas Biturigum,'' whence the modern French name of ''Bourges'' ^[4] Avaricum Biturigum lay in Aquitania.
The city's swampy environs, on which the Bituriges depended unsuccessfully for their security, did not meet Roman requirements for water that was flowing, not stagnant; no less than five aqueducts brought water to Avaricum Biturigum, the most notable being the aqueduc de Traslay, forty-two km in length, much of it underground^[5]
The third century Saint Ursinus, also known as Saint Ursin, is considered the first bishop of the city. Currently, Bourges is the seat of an archbishopric.
The Gothic Cathedral of Saint Etienne, begun at the end of the twelfth century, is listed as a World Heritage Site. It is considered the earliest example of the high gothic style of the thirteenth century.
During the Middle Ages, Bourges was the capital of a Viscounty until the fourteenth century. The future king, Charles VII, sought refuge there. His son, Louis XI, was born there in 1423. In 1438, Charles decreed the Pragmatic Sanction of Bourges. During this period, Bourges was also a major capital of alchemy.
The city has a long tradition of art and history, other sites of importance include the Palace of Jacques Cœur and a sixty-five-hectare district of timber houses and grand ''hôtels particuliers''.
It achieved brief notoriety in the late eighteenth century, when Scottish explorer Sir Fergus Woodward fought a duel with local aristocrat Eric Mouhica outside the impressive Bourges Cathedral. Allegedly Mouhica had orchestrated the violent murder of a close friend of Sir Fergus's, Andre Gillespeaux, but the local authorities had refused to act. Edward Norman, a priest at the Cathedral, reported in his journal that Sir Fergus killed the Frenchman with the words "While I today have brought your grave, 'tis death which you have bred yourself."
The Impressionist painter, Berthe Morisot, was born in Bourges on January 14, 1841.

Main sights

★ Its Gothic cathedral (built 1195–1255) was added to the list of the World Heritage Sites by UNESCO in 1992

★ Jacques Cœur's Palace

★ The Maurice Estève Museum

★ The marshes of the Yèvre and Voiselle Rivers, was listed in 2003 as a French Natural Monument or Site

★ The ruins of the Gallo-Roman walls

Colleges and universities

★ University of Bourges

★ École nationale supérieure d'art de Bourges

Miscellaneous

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

Twin towns

★ - Augsburg, Germany

★ - Aveiro, Portugal

★ - Forlì , Italy

★ - Koszalin, Poland

★ - Palencia, Spain

★ - Peterborough, United Kingdom

See also

★ Saint-Benoît-du-Sault

Notes

1. ''Summa imperii penes Bituriges'', "The sovereign power belongs to the Bituriges", is still the city's motto.
2. Julius Caesar, ''Commentaries on the Gallic War''vii.13
3. The same toponym can be recognized in the River Yèvre
4. Avaricum Biturigum; the Germanic ''Burg'' (French: ''Bourg''. Spanish: ''Borgos''. English, others: ''Burgh'', ''Berg'', or ''Borough''), for "hill/village" is another etymological possibility.
5. "Les aqueducs de Bourges"

External links

★ Official website of the City of Bourges

★ Pictures of the Cathedral of Bourges

★ Visiting Bourges (in English)

★ Bourges, the departement of Cher (French and English)

★ Encyclopédie de Bourges