Bourges

 

(būrzh) , city (1990 pop. 78,773), capital of Cher dept., central France. It is a transportation center with foundries, arsenals, breweries, printing plants, and aeronautical and food industries. Known as Avaricum, Bourges was the Roman capital of Aquitania N of the Garonne River (see Gaul). It early became an archiepiscopal see and the capital of Berry. Charles VII resided there while most of France was in English hands. In 1438 he promulgated the pragmatic sanction of bourges, which was revoked in 1461 by his son Louis XI, who was born in Bourges. Louis XI founded (1463) the Univ. of Bourges, where Jacques Cujas later taught; it was abolished in the French Revolution. The Cathedral of St. Etienne (13th cent.), one of the glories of French Gothic, is remarkable in that it has no transept. Jacques Cœur, whose splendid house still stands, and Louis Bourdaloue were born in Bourges.

Coordinates: 47°05′04″N, 02°23′47″E

Commune of Bourges Cathédrale Saint-Étienne de Bourges
Location
Coordinates	47°05′04″N, 02°23′47″E
Administration
Country	France
Region	Centre
Department	Cher (préfecture)
Arrondissement	Bourges
Canton	Chief town of 5 cantons
Intercommunality	Communauté d'agglomération de Bourges
Mayor	Serge Lepeltier (2001-2008)
Statistics
Altitude	120 m–169 m (avg. 153 m)
Land area¹	68.74 km²
Population² (1999)	72,480
- Density	1,054/km² (1999)
Miscellaneous
INSEE/Postal code	18033/ 18000
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.
2 Population sans doubles comptes: single count of residents of multiple communes (e.g. students and military personnel).

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.

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: Borgos. 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
  

  

  Floorplan of the cathedral of Bourges
• 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

Miscellaneous

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.

Twin towns

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

Internal links

• Saint-Benoît-du-Sault

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)

Préfectures of Départements of France

Bourg-en-Bresse (Ain) • Laon (Aisne) • Moulins (Allier) • Digne-les-Bains (Alpes-de-Haute-Provence) • Gap (Hautes-Alpes) • Nice (Alpes-Maritimes) • Privas (Ardèche) • Charleville-Mézières (Ardennes) • Foix (Ariège) • Troyes (Aube) • Carcassonne (Aude) • Rodez (Aveyron) • Marseille (Bouches-du-Rhône) • Caen (Calvados) • Aurillac (Cantal) • Angoulême (Charente) • La Rochelle (Charente-Maritime) • Bourges (Cher) • Tulle (Corrèze) • Ajaccio (Corse-du-Sud) • Bastia (Haute-Corse) • Dijon (Côte-d'Or) • Saint-Brieuc (Côtes-d'Armor) • Guéret (Creuse) • Périgueux (Dordogne) • Besançon (Doubs) • Valence (Drôme) • Évreux (Eure) • Chartres (Eure-et-Loir) • Quimper (Finistère) • Nîmes (Gard) • Toulouse (Haute-Garonne) • Auch (Gers) • Bordeaux (Gironde) • Montpellier (Hérault) • Rennes (Ille-et-Vilaine) • Châteauroux (Indre) • Tours (Indre-et-Loire) • Grenoble (Isère) • Lons-le-Saunier (Jura) • Mont-de-Marsan (Landes) • Blois (Loir-et-Cher) • Saint-Étienne (Loire) • Le Puy-en-Velay (Haute-Loire) • Nantes (Loire-Atlantique) - Orléans (Loiret) • Cahors (Lot) • Agen (Lot-et-Garonne) • Mende (Lozère) • Angers (Maine-et-Loire) • Saint-Lô (Manche) • Châlons-en-Champagne (Marne) • Chaumont (Haute-Marne) - Laval (Mayenne) • Nancy (Meurthe-et-Moselle) • Bar-le-Duc (Meuse) • Vannes (Morbihan) • Metz (Moselle) • Nevers (Nièvre) • Lille (Nord) • Beauvais (Oise) • Alençon (Orne) • Calais (Pas-de-Calais) • Clermont-Ferrand (Puy-de-Dôme) • Pau (Pyrénées-Atlantiques) • Tarbes (Hautes-Pyrénées) • Perpignan (Pyrénées-Orientales) • Strasbourg (Bas-Rhin) • Colmar (Haut-Rhin) • Lyon (Rhône) • Vesoul (Haute-Saône) • Mâcon (Saône-et-Loire) • Le Mans (Sarthe) • Chambéry (Savoie) • Annecy (Haute-Savoie) • Paris (Paris) • Rouen (Seine-Maritime) • Melun (Seine-et-Marne) • Versailles (Yvelines) • Niort (Deux-Sèvres) • Amiens (Somme) • Albi (Tarn) • Montauban (Tarn-et-Garonne) • Toulon (Var) • Avignon (Vaucluse) • La Roche-sur-Yon (Vendée) • Poitiers (Vienne) • Limoges (Haute-Vienne) • Épinal (Vosges) • Auxerre (Yonne) • Belfort (Territoire de Belfort) - Évry (Essonne) - Nanterre (Hauts-de-Seine) • Bobigny (Seine-Saint-Denis) • Créteil (Val-de-Marne) • Cergy (Val-d'Oise) Overseas departments Cayenne (French Guiana) • Basse-Terre (Guadeloupe) • Fort-de-France (Martinique) • Saint-Denis (Réunion)

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