Avrilly () is a commune of the

Allier Allier ( , , ; oc, Alèir) is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region that borders Cher to the west, Nièvre to the north, Saône-et-Loire and Loire to the east, Puy-de-Dôme to the south, and Creuse to the south-west. Named afte ...

department Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

in the

Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes (ARA; ; frp, Ôvèrgne-Rôno-Ârpes; oc, Auvèrnhe Ròse Aups; it, Alvernia-Rodano-Alpi) is a region in southeast-central France created by the 2014 territorial reform of French regions; it resulted from the merger of Au ...

region of central France. The inhabitants of the commune are known as ''Avrillois'' or ''Avrilloises''.

Geography

Avrilly is located north-east of Vichy and north-west of

Marcigny Marcigny () is a commune in the Saône-et-Loire department in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in eastern France. History Marcigny was the site of the first Cluniac nunnery, founded in 1056. St Anselm was unsuccessful in attempting to e ...

. The eastern border of the commune is also the departmental border between

and

Saône-et-Loire Saône-et-Loire (; Arpitan: ''Sona-et-Lêre'') is a department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in France. It is named after the rivers Saône and Loire, between which it lies, in the country's central-eastern part. Saône-et-Loire is Bo ...

. Access to the commune is by road D989 from

Neuilly-en-Donjon Neuilly-en-Donjon () is a commune in the Allier department in Auvergne in central France. Population See also *Communes of the Allier department The following is a list of the 317 communes of the Allier department of France. Interc ...

in the west which passes through the south of the commune and continues to

Bourg-le-Comte Bourg-le-Comte is a commune in the Saône-et-Loire department in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in eastern France. See also *Communes of the Saône-et-Loire department The following is a list of the 565 communes of the Saône-et-Loi ...

. The D210 branches from the D169 in the north and passes down the eastern side of the commune through the village and continues south, changing to the D229 at the border, to join the D989 north-west of Bourg-le-Comte. The D265 connects the village to the D989 in the west of the commune. The D212 branches from the D989 in the west of the commune and goes north to Luneau. Apart from the village there are the hamlets of Les Raflots and Les Simonins in the west. There are some small scattered forests in the commune but it is mostly farmland.Google Maps
/ref> The Loire river flows along the eastern border of the commune approximately forming the border as it flows north to join the Atlantic Ocean at

Saint-Nazaire Saint-Nazaire (; ; Gallo: ''Saint-Nazère/Saint-Nazaer'') is a commune in the Loire-Atlantique department in western France, in traditional Brittany. The town has a major harbour on the right bank of the Loire estuary, near the Atlantic Ocean ...

. The ''Canal de Roanne à Digoin'' also flows inside the eastern border parallel to the Loire. A number of streams rise in the commune and flow east to join the Loire forming many ponds.

Neighbouring communes and villages

History

In a papal bull dated April 1164

Pope Alexander III Pope Alexander III (c. 1100/1105 – 30 August 1181), born Roland ( it, Rolando), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 7 September 1159 until his death in 1181. A native of Siena, Alexander became pope after a con ...

, from his refugee in France, confirmed the Abbey of Saint-Martin of Autun as patron of the Church of Avrilly. The Church was burned down on 15 August 1592. The monks also owned ''Rejus'', a hamlet in Saint-Martin du Lac between the church and ''Champceau'' in the parish of

Anzy-le-Duc Anzy-le-Duc () is a commune in the Saône-et-Loire department in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in eastern France. Geography The commune lies in the southwest of the department in the valley of the Loire. The village lies in the middle ...

Administration

List of Successive Mayors

Demography

In 2017 the commune had 135 inhabitants.

Sites and Monuments

The Church contains a Tabernacle (17th century) which is registered as an historical object.Ministry of Culture, Palissy

Avrilly Picture Gallery

Avrilly, Allier, Canal.JPG, The Canal de Roanne à Digoin at Avrilly Avrilly, Allier, Landscape.JPG, Avrilly Landscape