Department in Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes, France
This article is about a department of France. For the cheese, see
Cantal cheese
.
Department of France in Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes
Cantal
(
French pronunciation:
[k??tal]
ⓘ
;
Occitan
:
Cantal
or
Cantau
) is a rural
department
in the
Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes
region
of France, with its
prefecture
in
Aurillac
. Its other principal towns are
Saint-Flour
(the
episcopal see
) and
Mauriac
; its residents are known as Cantalians (French:
Cantaliens / Cantaliennes
or
Cantalous / Cantaloues
). Cantal borders the departments of
Puy-de-Dome
,
Haute-Loire
,
Aveyron
,
Lot
,
Lozere
and
Correze
, in the
Massif Central
natural region.
Along with neighbouring Lozere and
Creuse
, Cantal is among the most sparsely populated and geographically isolated departments of France and Aurillac is the departmental capital farthest removed from a major motorway. It had a population of 144,692 in 2019,
[3]
making it the country's 98th most populated department. Of the 96 metropolitan departments, it is the fifth least populated.
Etymology
[
edit
]
The department is named for the
Plomb du Cantal
, the central peak of the bare and rugged
mounts of Cantal
(French:
Monts du Cantal
) mountain chain which traverses the area.
Geography
[
edit
]
Cantal lies in the middle of France's central plateau.
The Cantal range is a group of extinct and eroded volcanic peaks. Its highest point is the
Plomb du Cantal
, which reaches an elevation of 1,858 meters (6,096 ft).
[6]
Its neighbors are
Puy Mary
(elev. 1,787 meters or 5,863 feet) and
Puy Chavaroche
(elev. 5,722 feet or 1,744 meters). To their north lie the
Cezallier
and
Dore
ranges and the arid Artense Plateau. Immediately to their east is the fertile Planeze Plateau, bound on its east by the
Monts de la Margeride
.
The principal rivers are the
Alagnon
, which is a tributary to the
Allier
; the
Celle
and
Truyere
, tributary to the
Lot
; and the
Cere
and
Rhue
, tributary to the
Dordogne
.
At an elevation of 250 meters (820 ft) above sea level, the low point of the province lies in the
Lot valley
.
[
citation needed
]
The Truyere valley skirts the Planeze on the south and divides it from the
Monts d'Aubrac
, whose foothills include the thermal springs of
Chaudes-Aigues
. The western area of the department consists of grassy plateaus and river valleys.
At first, Cantal was divided into four
arrondissements
?
Aurillac
,
Mauriac
,
Saint-Flour
and Murat (later merged with Saint-Flour).
Climate
[
edit
]
The climate of the department varies considerably.
Prevailing winds and mountain ranges divide Cantal into four climatic zones:
- The west is subject to oceanic winds which bring rains.
- The mountains of the Cantal and the Cezallier create a rain shadow: it rains and snows quite often.
- The Planeze of Saint-Flour and the region of Massiac receive less precipitation, owing to winds coming from the north and south.
- The plateaux of the Margeride and the Aubrac have harsh winters and pleasant summers.
Generally, the weather is mild and dry in the
alluvial plain
between
Murat
and Saint-Flour and around Aurillac, while summer storms and winters can be long and severe in the northern and central areas.
The west?nearer precipitation coming in from the
Atlantic
?is well watered.
[
citation needed
]
There is abundant snowfall which can remain up to six months on the mountaintops. Winter temperatures can fall to below ?15 °C (5 °F), whereas in summer 25 °C (77 °F) is often reached. The southern part of the department, on its borders with
Aveyron
and
Lot
, is the hottest region. Aurillac averaged 2080 hours of sunlight per year over the period from 1991 to 2000. Fog is rare and disappears quickly. Wind is usually not very strong, but the lightning flashes in this department are among the most spectacular in France.
Televised French weather forecasts often note Aurillac as the coldest city in France in the mornings. This status should be understood in light of their derivation from temperature readings by
Meteo-France
. Of the 30 cities included on its maps, Aurillac is by far the one with the highest altitude, at 640 m (2,100 ft) above sea level.
Principal towns
[
edit
]
The most populous commune is
Aurillac
, the prefecture. As of 2019, there are 5 communes with more than 3,000 inhabitants:
[3]
History
[
edit
]
The area of Cantal was historically part of the
Haute-Auvergne
(
Haute-Auvergne
).
Cantal is one of the original 83 departments created during the
French Revolution
on 4 March 1790.
[
citation needed
]
Prior to the
First World War
, it comprised parts of the XIII. Army Corps military region and the
Clermont-Ferrand
educational division (
academie
).
Diocese of Cantal
[
edit
]
After the 1790
Constitution Civile du Clerge
, the
Diocese of Saint-Flour
in Cantal (whose bishop refused to swear the republican oath of allegiance, constituting a schism from Rome) was among the almost half of the French sees being abolished to realign the new bishoprics to coincide with the new departments, such as Cantal, where outsider parish priest Anne-Alexandre-Marie Thibault was elected Bishop. It was formally abolished in turn after the Napoleonic
Concordat of 1801
(Thibault refusing to resign), in favor of the reinstated bishopric of Saint Poul, but actually retained the departemental borders.
Economy
[
edit
]
The climate being generally too cool and damp for grain, much of Cantal is given over to
pasture
for
Aubrac
and
Salers
cattle, sheep, and, formerly, horses. This in turn supports a dairy industry responsible for butter and Roquefort cheese
and the
appellation-controlled
cheeses
Cantal
,
Salers
, and
Bleu d'Auvergne
. Cantal is the French department with the greatest number of appellation-controlled cheeses,
[7]
although proper Roquefort is now restricted to cheese produced in the
Aveyron
department. The region's mineral products include coal, copper, lead, iron,
antimony
,
granite
,
slate
and
lime
,
but the department's isolation and poor infrastructure long precluded their exploitation.
Before the
First World War
, the primary exports were livestock, cheese, butter, and coal and the main imports were coal, wine, grain, flour, and pottery. By then, it had been connected to both the
Orleans
and
Midi
railways
.
Traditionally, many Cantalians roamed France during the year plying humble trades
but now the area's relative lack of industry and development permits tourism. An area has been set aside as the Auvergne Volcanos Regional Park (
Parc Regional des Volcans d’Auvergne
).
Demographics
[
edit
]
The
Occitan language
was historically spoken in Cantal.
The official population count for 2019 was 144,692.
[3]
It peaked at 262,117 in 1836, and has been below 200,000 since the First World War. Like many of the country's rural departments, Cantal experienced a marked decrease in population throughout the twentieth century as agricultural wages failed to keep pace with those available in the industrialising regions. The department falls within the band of low-density population known as the
empty diagonal
.
Population development since 1791:
Historical population
Year
| Pop.
| ±% p.a.
|
---|
1791
| 239,972
| ?
|
---|
1801
| 220,304
| ?0.85%
|
---|
1806
| 251,436
| +2.68%
|
---|
1821
| 252,100
| +0.02%
|
---|
1831
| 258,594
| +0.25%
|
---|
1841
| 257,423
| ?0.05%
|
---|
1851
| 253,329
| ?0.16%
|
---|
1861
| 240,523
| ?0.52%
|
---|
1872
| 231,867
| ?0.33%
|
---|
1881
| 236,190
| +0.21%
|
---|
1891
| 239,601
| +0.14%
|
---|
1901
| 230,511
| ?0.39%
|
---|
1911
| 223,361
| ?0.31%
|
---|
1921
| 199,402
| ?1.13%
|
---|
| Year
| Pop.
| ±% p.a.
|
---|
1931
| 193,505
| ?0.30%
|
---|
1936
| 190,888
| ?0.27%
|
---|
1946
| 186,843
| ?0.21%
|
---|
1954
| 177,065
| ?0.67%
|
---|
1962
| 172,977
| ?0.29%
|
---|
1968
| 169,330
| ?0.35%
|
---|
1975
| 166,549
| ?0.24%
|
---|
1982
| 162,838
| ?0.32%
|
---|
1990
| 158,723
| ?0.32%
|
---|
1999
| 150,778
| ?0.57%
|
---|
2010
| 148,162
| ?0.16%
|
---|
2016
| 145,969
| ?0.25%
|
---|
2019
| 144,692
| ?0.29%
|
---|
|
|
source:
[8]
[9]
|
Tourism
[
edit
]
Architecture
[
edit
]
The department counts several remarkable buildings. Among them, the Romanesque religious buildings like the churches of
Cheylade
(eleventh century), Dieno or Massiac.
[
citation needed
]
The area's
Catholic
cathedral?dependent on the
archdiocese of Bourges
?is the 15th-century St Pierre de St-Flour,
erected in the
Gothic style
.
Festivals
[
edit
]
- International Festival of Street Theatre,
Aurillac
.
- World Music Festival, Murat
- 36 hours : Various little scenes with dances
- Festival International de Boogie Woogie, Laroquebrou
The characteristic folk dance in Cantal is
La Bourree
. In the countryside it would be danced in folk costumes with accompaniment by accordion. The dance form was long ago adapted for use in courtly music and features prominently in the
Baroque
dance suites
of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.
Prominent museums in Cantal include:
- Museum of Art and Arqueologia,
Aurillac
(34,100 visitors/year)
- The House of Fauna,
Murat
(23,500 visitors/year)
- Museum of the Geothermia,
Chaudes-Aigues
(20,600 visitors/year)
- Museum of the Volcanos,
Aurillac
(20,100 visitors/year)
- Museum of the ray,
Marcenat
(11,500 visitors/year)
- Museum of the "Haute Auvergne",
Saint-Flour
(11,100 visitors/year)
- The House of the Chestnut
Mourjou
(5,200 visitors/year)
- Museum of Georges Pompidou, Montboudif (3,500 visitors/year)
- Museum of the Accordion in
Siran
- Museum of Agriculture in Auvernia,
Coltines
Cuisine
[
edit
]
The traditional articles of Cantalian cuisine were rye, buckwheat, and chestnuts,
as well as ham, cheese, and vegetables. The area's simple recipes were designed to satisfy hill farmers and herders. Notable dishes include:
[
citation needed
]
- Aligot
(also in
Aveyron
): Creamed potatoes, cheese (fresh
tomme
), butter, fresh cream and a little garlic.
- Truffade
: Potatoes in slices with cheese (fresh tomme) and a little garlic.
- Pounti
: A cake made with dough of wheat black flour, herbs, lard, prunes and Swiss chard.
- The typical cheese
Cantal
, which can be chosen young, old or "entre-deux".
Outdoor activities
[
edit
]
In the 19th century, the hills and valleys abounded with game and the streams with fish, the countryside producing a "vast variety" of aromatic and medicinal plants.
At present, the most visited places are
Puy Mary
, the Plomb du Cantal, the village of
Salers
, and the gorges of the Truyere (with the
Garabit viaduct
, the castle of
Alleuze
, and the towns of
Boisset
,
Pierrefort
). The
Parc Naturel des Volcans d’Auvergne
features several inactive volcanoes. Cantal also has numerous castles. Puy Mary can be accessed by car easily. and is accessible to hikers. It is also possible to hike to the nearby
Puy de Peyre-Arse
(1806 m).
Le Lioran
or Super-Lioran are the best places to start the hike.
Le Lioran
is accessible by rail or bus and Super-Lioran is just a kilometre away from
Le Lioran
. From Super-Lioran it is also possible to hike to Plomb du Cantal. There is also an option of taking the cable car to Plomb du Cantal from Super-Lioran. Super-Lioran tourist office has various hike routes in the region.
[10]
There are also various adventure courses, dirt bikes, summer luges etc. that run in Super-Lioran.
Among the various activities offered in this department, the "Massif Cantalien" can be discovered through walking, horseback riding or mountain biking excursions (tracks are especially designed for this). Aquatic sports are also common, due to numerous lakes. The department also offers activities such as mountaineering, canoeing and fishing. The landscape also allows the practice of free flight:
base jumpers
frequent the sector around the Puy Mary and the Brezon valley.
[
citation needed
]
Thanks to its terrain, Cantal can count on a good snow level, which allows winter sports. The station of
Le Lioran
, largest ski-resort of the Massif Central offers alpine skiing (with specific adaptations for snowboard) and ice-skating. Excursions in snow shoes are also possible. The department has several hundred kilometres of cross-country skiing tracks.
Politics
[
edit
]
This staunchly
Catholic
department is an old stronghold of the French Right and was the electoral base of the late
Georges Pompidou
. Only the area around
Aurillac
, historically
anti-clerical
and
Radical
, has some left-wing support.
The current president of the
departmental council
is Bruno Faure (
The Republicans
).
Paul Doumer
, French president from May 1931 to May 1932, was born in
Aurillac
in this department.
Current National Assembly Representatives
[
edit
]
Notes
[
edit
]
- ^
"Repertoire national des elus: les conseillers departementaux"
.
data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des donnees publiques francaises
(in French). 4 May 2022.
- ^
"Telechargement du fichier d'ensemble des populations legales en 2021"
.
The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies
. 28 December 2023.
- ^
a
b
c
Populations legales 2019: 15 Cantal
, INSEE
- ^
"Auvergne | History, Culture, Geography, & Map"
.
Encyclopedia Britannica
.
- ^
"Specialities"
,
Cantal Tourisme
(in French), archived from
the original
on 21 January 2014
, retrieved
17 July
2011
- ^
"Historique du Cantal"
.
Le SPLAF
.
- ^
"Evolution et structure de la population en 2016"
. INSEE.
- ^
"Accueil ETE, Le Lioran station chaine des volcans d'Auvergne, ete hiver, randonnees sejours en Auvergne"
.
www.lelioran.com
.
- ^
Vos deputes (search 'Cantal')
www.assemblee-nationale.fr
Accessed 22 January 2022
See also
[
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]
References
[
edit
]
Attribution:
External links
[
edit
]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to
Cantal
.
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