Saint-Gérand-le-Puy

French commune
nomcommune=Saint-Gérand-le-Puy
région=Auvergne
département=Allier
arrondissement=Vichy
canton=Varennes-sur-Allier
insee=03235
cp=03150
maire=Xavier Cadoret
mandat=2001-2008
intercomm=
longitude=3.51277777778
latitude=46.2586111111
alt moy=325 m
alt mini=268
alt maxi=359 m
hectares=1955
km²=19.55
sans=1029
date-sans=1999
dens=52
date-dens=1999

Saint-Gérand-le-Puy or Le Puy is a commune in the Allier department in Auvergne in central France.

Its inhabitants are known as the "Gérandais".

Geography

Much of the local rock is Indusial Limestone which is a form of fresh-water limestone common in the Auvergne, known as ‘indusial’, because of the cases, or indusiae, of the larvæ of Phryganea (resembling caddis-flies), which have been encrusted, as they lay, by hard travertine (a white or light-coloured concretionary limestone, usually hard and semi-crystalline, deposited from water holding lime in solution).

The area is rich in fossils, notably birds from the Miocene era. See, for example, Cheneval J (1984), "Les oiseaux aquatiques (Gaviiformes à Ansériformes) du gisement aquitanien de Saint-Gérand-le-Puy (Allier}" ("The acquatic birds (Galliformes to Anseriformes) of the aquitanian deposits of Saint-Gérand-le-Puy (Allier}".

History

A Roman road runs by the town. It was a fortified village in the Middle Ages, deriving strategic importance from its location on the route from Moulins to Lyon.

The town was a stop on the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela - a local cross marking the way is shown at [http://www.trekearth.com/gallery/Europe/France/photo89772.htm] .

It belonged to the seigneurie of Montluçon at the beginning of the 13th century but when the "le Bourbonnais" (part of the Massif Central essentially co-terminous with the modern Allier) became a Duchy in 1327 it passed into of the hands of the Bourbons.

During the French Revolution it was known as Puy-Redan. In 1832, Saint-Etienne-de-Ciernat and Saint-Etienne-du-Bas were joined to the commune and, in 1833, Saint-Allyre-de-Valence followed.

Administration

Demography

Places and monuments

* The 11th century Romanesque church of St Julien was the original chapel of the chateau.
** Its tower is shown at: [http://clochers.org/Fichiers_HTML/Accueil/Accueil_clochers/03/accueil_03235.htm] ;
* Château of Saint-Gérand: The manor is 15th century;
* Manor of Gondailly is 15th century with 19th century reconstruction;
* A dodecahedral washouse is under restoration;
* The James Joyce Museum is located in a room adjoining the town library.

The Joyce connection

In December 1939 James Joyce, his wife, Nora, and son, Giorgio, made an extended visit to the town to see Giorgio’s son, Stephen, a pupil at the bilingual school there.

In February 1940 they were visited by Samuel Beckett.

After Easter, they moved for a few months to Vichy, some 20 Km away, to see their friend Valéry Larbaud. Personal problems, and the imminent German occupation, persuaded them to move to their final port of call, neutral Switzerland, where they arrived on December 14 1940. A year later, Joyce died in Zurich. His obituary published in "Time" can be read online [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,932584,00.html] .

The memory of Joyce has been celebrated for many years in Saint-Gerand, in particular with "le Jour d'Ulysse [http://jamesjoyce.over-blog.com/] ."

Notable people with links to the commune

* James Joyce (b. Dublin, Ireland February 2, 1882) - (d. Zurich, Switzerland January 13 1941).
* Alphonse Milne-Edwards October 13 1836 - April 21 1900.

ee also

* Communes of the Allier department

External links (all sites in French, unless otherwise indicated)

* [http://www.saint-gerand-le-puy.com/ My hometown ("Monclocher") site (Partly in English)]
* [http://www.ign.fr/affiche_rubrique.asp?rbr_id=1087&CommuneId=11145 Saint-Gérand-le-Puy on the Institut Géographique National site]
* [http://www.recensement.insee.fr/RP99/rp99/co_navigation.co_page?nivgeo=C&codgeo=03235&theme=ALL&typeprod=ALL&lang=FR&quelcas=LISTE Census data for Saint-Gérand-le-Puy on the INSEE site]
* [http://www.lion1906.com/Pages/ResultatProximiteCoord.php?RadLat1=0.807365071331955&RadLong1=0.0613095381164102 Closest communes to Saint-Gérand-le-Puy]
* [http://www.meteo-consult.fr/ter/france/prevision/moteur.php?langue=fr&num_ville=37284&echeance=0 Weather for Saint-Gérand-le-Puy]
* [http://alize2.finances.gouv.fr/communes/eneuro/tableau.asp?icom=235&dep=003&type=BPS&param=0 Financial Data for Saint-Gérand-le-Puy from the Ministry of the Economy, Finances and Industry]
* [http://www.culture.gouv.fr/public/mistral/merimee_fr?ACTION=CHERCHER&FIELD_98=INSEE&VALUE_98=03235 Ministry of Culture site]

Map Links

* [http://perso.wanadoo.fr/sylvain.chardon/locom/loc_listcomd03.htm?code_insee=03235 Map and list of communes of the Allier]
* [http://www.viamichelin.co.uk/viamichelin/gbr/dyn/controller/mapPerformPage?strAddress=&strCP=&strLocation=Saint-G%E9rand-le-Puy+&strCountry=1424&image2.x=30&image2.y=16 Map of Saint-Gérand-le-Puy on Michelin (in English)]
* [http://www.ign.fr/affiche_rubrique.asp?rbr_id=863&mis_id=P02000102&com_id=11145 Map of Saint-Gérand-le-Puy on the Institut Géographique National site]
* [http://www.lion1906.com/Pages/ResultatLocalisation.php?InseeVille=030235 Location of Saint-Gérand-le-Puy on a map of France]
* [http://www.gencom.org:2325/cgi-bin/Communes/Cgi/cassini.cgi?CARTE=51&LOCAL=RK%20&INSEE3=03235&NOM=Saint-Gérand-le-Puy Saint-Gérand-le-Puy on the Cassini map]
* [http://www.lion1906.com/Pages/Departement3Allier.html Calculate straight-line distance from Saint-Gérand-le-Puy to other towns in Allier]

Links which require payment for detailed information

* [http://www.quid.fr/communes.html?mode=query&req=Saint-Gérand-le-Puy Saint-Gérand-le-Puy on the Quid site]