Châteauroux (; ; oc, Chasteurós) is the capital city of the French department of

Indre Indre (; oc, Endre) is a landlocked department in central France named after the river Indre. The inhabitants of the department are known as the ''Indriens'' (masculine; ) and ''Indriennes'' (feminine; ). Indre is part of the current administ ...

, central France and the second-largest town in the

province of Berry The Duchy of Berry (; ; ) was a former province located in central France. It was a province of France until departments replaced the provinces on 4 March 1790, when Berry became divided between the ''départements'' of Cher (Upper Berry) and In ...

, after

Bourges Bourges () is a commune in central France on the river Yèvre. It is the capital of the department of Cher, and also was the capital city of the former province of Berry. History The name of the commune derives either from the Bituriges, ...

. Its residents are called ''Castelroussins'' () in French.

Climate

Châteauroux temperatures range from an average January low of to an average August high of .

History

The old town, close to the river, forms a nucleus around which a newer and more extensive quarter, bordered by boulevards, has grown up; the suburbs of St. Christophe and Déols lie on the right bank of the

. The castle from which the city takes its name was built in the latter part of the 10th century by Raoul, prince of Déols. From 920 to 1008, the Norman raids forced the monks of the abbey of Saint-Gildas-de-Rhuys, founded in

Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica during the period o ...

by Saint Gildas, to bring his

relic In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains of a saint or the personal effects of the saint or venerated person preserved for purposes of veneration as a tang ...

s to the abbey of Saint-Gildas of Châteauroux that they founded under the protection of the prince Ebbes of Déols, father of Raoul. During the Middle Ages it was the seat of a seigniory, which passed to the Chauvigny from 1207 to 1473 and was raised to the rank of countship in 1497 for Jean V d'Aumont. In 1616, when it was held by Henry II, Prince of Condé, it was raised to the rank of duchy. In 1736 it returned to the crown, and was given to Marie Anne de Mailly-Nesle, duchess of Châteauroux, by

Louis XV Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (french: le Bien-Aimé), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reached ...

in 1744. The present Château Raoul housing the ''préfecture'' offices dates from the 15th century.

Awards

Châteauroux is one of the

communes An intentional community is a voluntary residential community which is designed to have a high degree of social cohesion and teamwork from the start. The members of an intentional community typically hold a common social, political, religious, ...

awarded the grand prize by the Concours National des Villes et Villages Fleuris, a beautification initiative begun in 1959.

Monuments

* Château Raoul, 15th century * Church of St. André, 19th century * Church of St. Martial, 12th-16th century * Église Notre-Dame, 19th century * Convent of the Cordeliers, 13th century * Equinoxe * La Prairie St. Gildas * Le Parc de loisirs de Belle-Isle * Le Tarmac * Musée Bertrand * Musée des Arts et Traditions Populaires * Musée du Compagnonnage * Public Garden and the Jardins des Cordeliers * Quartier St. Christophe

Sports

La Berrichonne de Châteauroux is the town's football club based in Châteauroux, founded in 1883. The team currently plays in National, the third division of French football, and played only one season in

Ligue 1 Ligue 1, officially known as Ligue 1 Uber Eats for sponsorship reasons, is a French professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the French football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. ...

in 1997–98. Châteauroux reached the final of the

2003–04 Coupe de France The 2003–04 Coupe de France was the 87th edition of the annual French cup competition. It was won by Paris Saint-Germain. The cup finalist LB Châteauroux qualified for the UEFA Cup because PSG qualified to 2004–05 UEFA Champions League th ...

, where they were defeated 1–0 by Paris Saint-Germain, qualifying for the following season's

UEFA Cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, cla ...

. The team play their home fixtures at the 17,173-capacity

Stade Gaston Petit Stade Gaston-Petit is a multi-use stadium in Châteauroux, France. It is currently used mostly for football matches and is the home stadium of La Berrichonne de Châteauroux LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in ...

. As Chateauroux was an Air Force base from 1952 until 1967, American football was played in Chateauroux by a team called Sabres. "Sabres" was one of the best European military teams, playing against other French and German teams. Nowadays, French people created a football club, playing in the French American football championship. The name chosen is "Sabres", to celebrate the pioneers, to pay homage to the Americans who were the first....

Festivals

* Bals'arts * Festival Country Good Old Days Châteauroux * Festival de théâtre "les Nocthalies" * Festival Multirythmes * Festival Populaire du Folklore * Forum des associations * La Biennale de Céramique contemporaine * La Châteauroux Classic d'Indre Trophée Fenioux * Les Litztomanias * Rock à Belle-Isle * Salon du livre de Châteauroux * Stage festival de danse de Châteauroux (DARC) * Vendredi...Musique

Transport

There are direct services from Châteauroux railway station to Paris, Orléans, Limoges, Toulouse, and several other regional destinations. The A20 motorway connects Châteauroux with Vierzon, Brive-la-Gaillarde, and Toulouse. The city offers free

public transportation Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typical ...

since 2001. Total ridership is up 208% between 2001 and 2012. The city is served by

Châteauroux-Centre "Marcel Dassault" Airport Châteauroux-Centre "Marcel Dassault" Airport (french: link=no, Aéroport de Châteauroux-Centre "Marcel Dassault", ), formerly known as Châteauroux-Déols "Marcel Dassault" Airport, is an airport serving the French city of Châteauroux. The air ...

which is in the commune of Déols to the North. The airport is used mainly for cargo, maintenance, training and light aviation but also is served by seasonal charter services.

Notable people

Born in Châteauroux

Henri Gratien, Comte Bertrand Henri-Gatien Bertrand (28 March 1773 – 31 January 1844) was a French general who served during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. Under the Empire he was the third and last Grand marshal of the palace, the head of the Mi ...

(1773–1844), general of Napoleon's army * Albert Aurier (1865–1892), symbolist poet, writer and art critic *

Marcel Boussac Marcel Boussac (17 April 1889 – 21 March 1980) was a French entrepreneur best known for his ownership of the Maison Dior and one of the most successful thoroughbred race horse breeding farms in European history. Born in Châteauroux, Indre ...

(1889–1980), entrepreneur and horse breeder *

Robert Falcucci Robert Falcucci (10 April 1900 – 13 May 1989) was a French illustrator. He was born in Châteauroux, France of Joseph, from the village of Verdesis in Castagniccia (Corsica) and Solange Fabulet, from Berry. He died at his home in Saint-Aubin. ...

(1900-1989), illustrator * (born 1943), author, City Councilor of Lésigny (France), initiator of Lésigny-Leingarten twinning, founder and first President of ''Rencontres Franco Allemandes'', Annecy (Annecy-Bayreuth twinning) *

Gérard Depardieu Gérard Xavier Marcel Depardieu, CQ (, , ; born 27 December 1948) is a French actor, filmmaker, businessman and vineyard owner since 1989 who is one of the most prolific thespians in film history having completed over 250 films since 1967 al ...

(born 1948), actor and businessman * Dean Brown (born 1955), jazz guitarist *

Mardi Jacquet ''Mardi: and a Voyage Thither'' is the third book by American writer Herman Melville, first published in London in 1849. Beginning as a travelogue in the vein of the author's two previous efforts, the adventure story gives way to a romance story, ...

(born 1960), playmate * Tom Darby (born 1960), American journalist, Nevada Broadcast Hall of Fame inductee, author and blogger *

Gilles Sunu Gilles Christ Sunu (born 30 March 1991) is a professional footballer who plays as a winger for Championnat National club Châteauroux. He has featured for clubs such as Arsenal, Derby County, Lorient, Évian, and Angers. Born in France, Sunu r ...

(born 1991), footballer

Others associated with the area

* (1560–1620), poet * Pierre Leroux (1797–1871), philosopher and politician * (1807–1865), publisher * (1859–1939), writer *

Fernand Maillaud Fernand Maillaud (1862-1948) was a French painter, illustrator, ébéniste and tapestry designer. Biography His father was a carpenter, and his mother was a teacher. They moved frequently as his mother was reassigned. In 1878, when his father ...

(1862–1948), painter *

Bernard Naudin Bernard Étienne Hubert Naudin (11 November 1876, Châteauroux - 7 March 1946, Paris) was a French painter, designer, caricaturist, and engraver. Biography He was born into a family of watchmakers and antique dealers. His father, who died in ...

(1876–1946), painter and designer *

Ernest Nivet Ernest Nivet (7 October 1871, Levroux 5 February 1948, Châteauroux) was a French sculptor, known for his war monuments and memorials. Biography His father was a hired day laborer. Ernest and his four siblings often helped out in the field ...

(1871–1948), sculptor * Émile Goué (1904–1946) *

Édouard Ramonet Édouard Ramonet (14 June 1909, Cerbère - 4 August 1980) was a French politician. He represented the Radical Party in the Constituent Assembly elected in 1945, in the Constituent Assembly elected in 1946 and in the National Assembly In p ...

(1909–1980), politician *

Jean Fourton Jean Fourton (born 1934 in Puy-en-Velay, France) is a writer, humanism, humanist, painter and psychoanalyst. Career Born 1934 in Puy-en-Velay, France, Fourton lived in North America after World War II. Upon returning to France, he worked as ...

(1934-), writer, humanist, painter and psychoanalyst. Former town councillor of Châteauroux (1957 to 1967).

International relations

Châteauroux is

twinned Twinning (making a twin of) may refer to: * In biology and agriculture, producing two offspring (i.e., twins) at a time, or having a tendency to do so; * Twin towns and sister cities, towns and cities involved in town twinning * Twinning inst ...

with: *

Gütersloh Gütersloh () is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, in the area of Westphalia and the administrative region of Detmold. Gütersloh is the administrative centre for a district of the same name and has a population of 100,194 peo ...

, Germany, since 1977 *

Bittou Bittou is a town and seat of the Bittou Department of Boulgou Province in south-eastern Burkina Faso. The town is a stop on the caravan trading route. Today the town is located along the N16 Road which links Burkina Faso with Northern Togo and Gh ...

, Burkina Faso, since 1985 *

Olsztyn Olsztyn ( , ; german: Allenstein ; Old Prussian: ''Alnāsteini'' * Latin: ''Allenstenium'', ''Holstin'') is a city on the Łyna River in northern Poland. It is the capital of the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, and is a city with county right ...

, Poland, since 1991 *

Fresno Fresno () is a major city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley region. It covers about and had a population of 542,107 in 2020, maki ...

, United States, since 2016 *

Jinhua , alternately romanized as Kinhwa, is a prefecture-level city in central Zhejiang province in eastern China. It borders the provincial capital of Hangzhou to the northwest, Quzhou to the southwest, Lishui to the south, Taizhou to the eas ...

, China, since 2019

Population

References

* https://web.archive.org/web/20080327174957/http://www.villes-et-villages-fleuris.com/chateaur.htm *

External links

City of Châteauroux Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chateauroux Communes of Indre Prefectures in France Berry, France