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

French department In the administrative divisions of France, the department (french: département, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level ("territorial collectivities"), between the administrative regions and the communes. Ninety-s ...

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, 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, t ...

. 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 Déols () is a commune in the department of Indre, region of Centre-Val de Loire, central France. Déols is an ancient town with a famous Benedictine abbey, Abbaye Notre-Dame-du-Bourg-Dieu. Today it is somewhat overshadowed by the nearby city o ...

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 Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

raids forced the monks of the abbey of

Saint-Gildas-de-Rhuys Saint-Gildas-de-Rhuys () is a Communes of France, commune in the Morbihan Departments of France, department of Brittany (administrative region), Brittany in north-western France. Inhabitants of Saint-Gildas-de-Rhuys are called in French ''Gildasie ...

, founded in

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

Saint Gildas Gildas ( Breton: ''Gweltaz''; c. 450/500 – c. 570) — also known as Gildas the Wise or ''Gildas Sapiens'' — was a 6th-century British monk best known for his scathing religious polemic ''De Excidio et Conquestu Britanniae'', which recounts ...

, 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 tangi ...

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 Chauvigny (; Poitevin dialect, Poitevin: ''Chôvigni'') is a Communes of France, commune in the Vienne Departments of France, department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine Regions of France, region in western France. Chauvigny is located east of Poitiers ...

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 Henry may refer to: People *Henry (given name) *Henry (surname) * Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry Royalty * Portuguese royalty ** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal ** Henry, Count of Portugal, ...

, it was raised to the rank of duchy. In 1736 it returned to the crown, and was given to

Marie Anne de Mailly-Nesle Marie Anne de Mailly-Nesle, duchesse de Châteauroux (; 5 October 1717 – 8 December 1744) was the youngest of the five famous ''de Nesle'' sisters, four of whom would become the mistress of King Louis XV of France. She was his mistress from ...

, 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 reache ...

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, relig ...

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 LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note * "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figure ...

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. A ...

in 1997–98. Châteauroux reached the final of the 2003–04 Coupe de France, where they were defeated 1–0 by

Paris Saint-Germain Paris Saint-Germain Football Club (), commonly referred to as Paris Saint-Germain, Paris, Paris SG or simply PSG is a professional football club based in Paris, France. They compete in Ligue 1, the top division of French football. As Fr ...

, 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 Solid, solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, porcela ...

. The team play their home fixtures at the 17,173-capacity Stade Gaston Petit. 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 which is in the commune of

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 (1773–1844), general of Napoleon's army *

Albert Aurier Gabriel-Albert Aurier (5 May 1865 – 5 October 1892) was a French poet, art critic and painter, associated with the Symbolist movement. Career The son of a notary born in Châteauroux, Indre, Aurier went to Paris in 1883 to study law, but hi ...

(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 (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 alm ...

(born 1948), actor and businessman *

Dean Brown Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean Titles * ...

(born 1955), jazz guitarist * Mardi Jacquet (born 1960), playmate * Tom Darby (born 1960), American journalist, Nevada Broadcast Hall of Fame inductee, author and blogger * Gilles Sunu (born 1991), footballer

Others associated with the area

* (1560–1620), poet *

Pierre Leroux Pierre Henri Leroux (7 April 1797 – 12 April 1871), was a French philosopher and political economist. He was born at Bercy, now a part of Paris, the son of an artisan. Life His education was interrupted by the death of his father, which co ...

(1797–1871), philosopher and politician * (1807–1865), publisher * (1859–1939), writer * Fernand Maillaud (1862–1948), painter * Bernard Naudin (1876–1946), painter and designer * Ernest Nivet (1871–1948), sculptor *

Émile Goué Émile Goué (13 June 1904 – 10 October 1946) was a French composer. Life Born in Châteauroux (Indre), with a father inspector of primary education, a mother head teacher of a teacher-training school for young girls in Guéret (Creuse) and ...

(1904–1946) * Édouard Ramonet (1909–1980), politician * Jean Fourton (1934-), writer, humanist, painter and psychoanalyst. Former town councillor of Châteauroux (1957 to 1967).

International relations

Châteauroux is twinned 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, 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 rights. ...

, 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 east, ...

, 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