Évaux-les-Bains (; ) is a commune in the

Creuse Creuse (; or ) is a department in central France named after the river Creuse. After Lozère, it is the second least populated department in France. It is bordered by Indre and Cher to the north, Allier and Puy-de-Dôme to the east, Cor ...

department in the

Nouvelle-Aquitaine Nouvelle-Aquitaine () is the largest Regions of France, administrative region in France by area, spanning the west and southwest of Metropolitan France. The region was created in 2014 by the merging of Aquitaine, Limousin, and Poitou-Charentes ...

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

in central

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

History

spa town A spa town is a resort town based on a mineral spa (a developed mineral spring). Patrons visit spas to "take the waters" for their purported health benefits. Thomas Guidott set up a medical practice in the English town of Bath, Somerset, Ba ...

founded by the Romans in the first century, who developed thermal baths and called the place “Ivaonum,” possibly after a

deity A deity or god is a supernatural being considered to be sacred and worthy of worship due to having authority over some aspect of the universe and/or life. The ''Oxford Dictionary of English'' defines ''deity'' as a God (male deity), god or god ...

, Ivaos. It became a place of

pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a travel, journey to a holy place, which can lead to a personal transformation, after which the pilgrim returns to their daily life. A pilgrim (from the Latin ''peregrinus'') is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) w ...

after the sixth century, because of the tomb of the Christian hermit Marien. A monastery was built here in the tenth century, but this was destroyed in the seventeenth century. It was the regional capital of the Combraille in the thirteenth century and was besieged during the Hundred Years War by the Routiers. The Roman baths, abandoned since the fifth century, became popular again at the beginning of the 17th century and again in the nineteenth century. The town had a population of 2,698 by 1841.

Geography

An area of lakes and streams,

forestry Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests and woodlands for associated resources for human and Natural environment, environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and ...

farming Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

and associated

light industry Light industry are Industry (economics), industries that usually are less Capital intensity, capital-intensive than heavy industry, heavy industries and are more consumer-oriented than business-oriented, as they typically produce smaller consum ...

, consisting of a small town and several hamlets situated between the valleys of the rivers

Cher Cher ( ; born Cheryl Sarkisian, May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Goddess of Pop", she is known for her Androgyny, androgynous contralto voice, Music an ...

and Tardes, some southwest of Montluçon, at the junction of the D19, D20, D996 and the D915 roads. The commune is on the border with the department of

Allier Allier ( , , ; ) is a Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, region that borders Cher (department), Cher to the west, Nièvre to the north, Saône-et-Loire and Loire (department), Loire to the east, Pu ...

and is served by a TER railway link to Montluçon. The river Tardes flows into the Cher in the commune, north of the town.

Population

Sights

* The church of St. Peter & Paul, dating from the eleventh century. * The seventeenth century

château A château (, ; plural: châteaux) is a manor house, or palace, or residence of the lord of the manor, or a fine country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally, and still most frequently, in French-speaking re ...

x of Relibert and Monterolle. * The church of Notre-Dame. * Remains of an old

convent A convent is an enclosed community of monks, nuns, friars or religious sisters. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The term is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican ...

. * The chapel of Saint Marien. * Vestiges of the town gates and walls. * Châteaux de Relibert, Monterolle. * Vestiges of the Roman baths. * The Tardes

viaduct A viaduct is a specific type of bridge that consists of a series of arches, piers or columns supporting a long elevated railway or road. Typically a viaduct connects two points of roughly equal elevation, allowing direct overpass across a wide ...

, by

Gustave Eiffel Alexandre Gustave Eiffel ( , ; Bonickhausen dit Eiffel; 15 December 1832 – 27 December 1923) was a French civil engineer. A graduate of École Centrale des Arts et Manufactures, he made his name with various bridges for the French railway net ...

. * The war memorial. * The eleventh-century chapel of Saint Radegonde. Image:Viaduc tardes.png, Viaduct over the Tardes Image:pont1_suspendu.png, A suspension bridge Image:Chapelle marien.png, Saint Marien's hermitage Image:EvauxLesBains1.jpg, Church steeple

References

External links