Bourges

Bourges

French commune
nomcommune = Bourges

région = Centre
département = Cher
arrondissement = Bourges
canton = Chief town of 5 cantons
insee = 18033
cp = 18000
gentilé = Berruyers
maire =Serge Lepeltier
mandat =2001-2008
intercomm =Bourges
longitude=2.39638888889 |latitude=47.0844444444
alt moy =153 m
alt mini =120
alt maxi =169 m
hectares =6874
km² = 68.74
sans = 72,480
date-sans = 1999
dens = 1054
date-dens = 1999

Bourges 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.

History

The name of the city is either derived from, the Bituriges; the name of the original inhabitants; or from the Germanic "Burg" (French: "Bourg". Spanish: "Burgos". English, others: "Burgh", "Berg", or "Borough"), for "hill/village". Its Celtic name was "Avaricon". In the Gallic Wars, the Gauls practiced 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.

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 grande homes.

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 Yevre 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 des beaux-arts de Bourges

Twin towns

* - Augsburg, Germany
* - Aveiro, Portugal
* - Forlì , Italy
* - Koszalin, Poland
* - Palencia, Spain
* - Peterborough, United Kingdom

Trivia

Serge Lepeltier became mayor of the city in 1995 and again in 2001.The "Printemps de Bourges" music festival takes place in Bourges every year.

ee also

*Saint-Benoît-du-Sault

External links

* [http://www.ville-bourges.fr/ Official website of the City of Bourges]
* [http://berrichou.free.fr/ Bourges, the departement of Cher] (French and English)


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  • Bourges — Saltar a navegación, búsqueda Bourges Bandera …   Wikipedia Español

  • Bourges — • Coextensive with the departments of Cher and Indre Catholic Encyclopedia. Kevin Knight. 2006. Bourges     Bourges     † …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • Bourges — Bourges …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • BOURGES — Chef lieu du département du Cher, ancienne capitale du Berry, la ville de Bourges comptait 78 713 habitants en 1990 et son agglomération 94 731. Bourges doit à une antique croisée de routes, de Lyon vers l’Armorique et de la Bourgogne vers… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • BOURGES — BOURGES, capital of the department of Cher, central France. In 570 a Jew, Sigericus, was baptized in Bourges, while at about the same time a Jew practicing medicine there treated a cleric. sulpicius , bishop of Bourges, 624–647, attempted to… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • BOURGES (É.) — BOURGES ÉLÉMIR (1852 1925) On peut avancer qu’Élémir Bourges, ce solitaire, n’eut pas d’existence en dehors de la littérature. Né à Manosque, il monte à Paris en 1874 et collabore comme journaliste à diverses publications, dont La Revue des chefs …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Bourges —   [burʒ], Stadt im Département Cher, Frankreich, im Berry, 130 m über dem Meeresspiegel auf einem Hügel am Zusammenfluss von Yèvre und Auron, 75 600 Einwohner; Verwaltungssitz; Erzbischofssitz; technologisches Universitätsinstitut, Militärschulen …   Universal-Lexikon

  • bourges — BOURGES, Le pays alentour de Bourges, Bituriges. Bourges est une ville Archiepiscopale en Berry, vulgo Bituricensis Episcopatus, Elle est garnie de petites rivieres, Ausron et Aurette d une part, et de Ievre et Molon de l autre …   Thresor de la langue françoyse

  • Bourges — Avec un accent sur le E, ce serait l équivalent catalan ou occitan de Bourgeois. Mais l accent semble absent dans la plupart des cas rencontrés. Aussi, il s agit sans doute de personnes originaires de la ville de Bourges …   Noms de famille

  • Bourges — (spr. Bursch), 1) Arrondissement im französischen Departement Cher; 441/8 QM. u. 120,100 Ew.; 2) Canton u. 3) Hauptstadt desselben u. des Departements, am Zusammenfluß des Auron u. der Yèvre; hatte sonst starke, mit 80 hohen Thürmen versehene… …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • Bourges — (spr. būrsch ), Hauptstadt des franz. Depart. Cher, 156 m ü. M., an der Yèvre und am Berrykanal, um eine Anhöhe gruppiert, Knotenpunkt an der Orléansbahn, hat zahlreiche Prachtbauten aus dem Mittelalter, darunter: die gotische Kathedrale St.… …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

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