Gannat (; Auvergnat: ''Gatnat'') is a commune in 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 central France. Gannat was a

sub-prefecture A subprefecture is an administrative division of a country that is below prefecture or province. Albania There are twelve Albanian counties or prefectures, each of which is divided into several districts, sometimes translated as subprefecture ...

until 1926, with a population of around 5,800 inhabitants. There is a

castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

(the

Château de Gannat The Château de Gannat is a castle in the town of Gannat in the Allier ''Departements of France, département'' of France. The castle now houses a museum known as Musée Yves Machelon. Description With origins in the 12th century, the Château de ...

), two churches of which one (Saint-Étienne) is partly Romanesque with a 9th-century Gospel Book. The ''Cultures du Monde'' Festival is held every July. The patron saint of Gannat is Saint Procule.

History

The most ancient discoveries in Gannat, ancestors of the rhinoceros from the end of the

Oligocene The Oligocene ( ) is a geologic epoch of the Paleogene Period and extends from about 33.9 million to 23 million years before the present ( to ). As with other older geologic periods, the rock beds that define the epoch are well identified but the ...

and start of the Miocene, date back 23 million years. Gannat seems to have been a veritable cemetery for these creatures, so many of their remains have been discovered. Also found are fossils of fish, reptiles, tortoises, crocodiles, galliform birds, mammals, marsupials, insectivores, rodents and carnivores. The site is particularly rich in rhinoceros. From 1854, Duvernoy has even described a specimen as ''Acerotherium gannatense'' (the official name is ''Diaceratherium lemanense''). The most complete rhinoceros skeleton was discovered in 1993 when significant fossils were uncovered at the Sichaux quarry by paleontologist François Escuillié (notable discoverer of a small proboscidian mammal, ancestor of the elephant from 50 million years ago). Escuillié was behind the establishment of the Rhinopolis Association in 1994 and founder of Eldonia, a society for those specialising in the renovation of fossils and whose activities are linked to Rhinopolis. The Rhinopolis Association is still active in the Gannat quarries and, since the 1990s, has discovered numerous rhinoceros bones. Gannat is a very important locality for paleontology. Studies on the fossilised fauna of the

and early Miocene of the region have been significant not just regionally but throughout France, Europe and internationally. From primitive occupation to the Gallo-Roman period Motorway building work around Gannat has allowed the discovery of quartz works which date back 800,000 years. Deposits at Clos de Montsala have revealed

biface A hand axe (or handaxe or Acheulean hand axe) is a Prehistory, prehistoric stone tool with two faces that is the longest-used tool in human history, yet there is no academic consensus on what they were used for. It is made from stone, usually f ...

s and bone fragments indicating the presence of hunters around 300,000 years ago. A structure composed of small limestone blocks containing numerous horse bones as well as an original stone works are the only remains of a small group of hunters who came from the north 17,000 years ago. The discovery of fossils, silos, wells, ceramics, bronze or blue glass bracelets, enclosures with entrances, ashes and wood charcoal show that the region was already widely occupied by from the final Bronze Age to the Second Iron Age. After the resistance of the Gauls at

Gergovie Gergovie (in auvergnat ''Gergòia'') is a French village in the commune of La Roche-Blanche in the Puy-de-Dôme ''département'', a few kilometres south of Clermont-Ferrand. It is situated at the foot of the Gergovie plateau, the official but d ...

and the defeat of

Vercingétorix Vercingetorix (; Greek: Οὐερκιγγετόριξ; – 46 BC) was a Gallic king and chieftain of the Arverni tribe who united the Gauls in a failed revolt against Roman forces during the last phase of Julius Caesar's Gallic Wars. Despite h ...

at Alésia in 52BC, Gannat was occupied by Romans interested in the riches of the

Limagne The Limagne () is large plain in the Auvergne region of France in the valley of the Allier river, on the edge of the Massif Central. It lies entirely within the ''département'' of Puy-de-Dôme. The term is sometimes used to include this, and t ...

. They developed cultivation by draining the soil. The Gauls were "Romanised" little by little and many Gallo-Roman structures can be found in surrounding communes. Artisans flourished to satisfy Roman demand. Discoveries from the first century AD include thirty moulds, vases, an oven and two pottery medicine jars. Construction materials were imported and exchanged for local craft or agricultural products. Urban centres developed, as well as roads, linking Clermont to Menat, Biozat, Vichy, Gannat, Bègues and Chantelle.

Population

Access and transport

Gannat is situated on the D2009 (previously the

Route nationale 9 The Route nationale 9, or ''RN 9'', was a trunk road (Route Nationale (France), nationale) in France between Moulins, Allier, Moulins and the frontier with Spain. Reclassification Much of the route of the RN 9 has now been/or in the process of be ...

) between Moulins and Clermont-Ferrand), D2209 to Vichy and D998 to

Néris-les-Bains Néris-les-Bains (; oc, Nerís) is a commune in the Allier department in the Auvergne region in central France. Etymology The name Néris comes from the Gaul God Nérios, a deity personifying the local thermal spring (Latinized to "Nerius") ...

. It is 18 kilometres west of Vichy and 43 kilometres north of Clermont-Ferrand. Gannat is linked to the A71 autoroute by the 24 km-long A719 autoroute. Gannat is served by the

Montluçon Montluçon (; oc, Montleçon ) is a commune in central France on the river Cher. It is the largest commune in the Allier department, although the department's prefecture is located in the smaller town of Moulins. Its inhabitants are known as ...

- Lapeyrouse and Clermont-Ferrand to Lyon and Bordeaux railway lines (until 2008).

Sights

* Sainte-Croix

Gallican church Gallican may refer to: * Gallican Church (), a term referring to the Catholic Church in France * Église gallicane, a Catholic denomination founded in 1869 by Hyacinthe Loyson * Gallicanism, a doctrince that civil authority over the Catholic Chu ...

* Saint-Étienne Romanesque church *

(castle, used as prison during the Vichy regime, now a museum) * Le Mont Libre : site of numerous traces of prehistory, now exhibited in the Gannat museum La *Chapel at Butte de Gannat : site protected for its flora

Personalities

Pierre Roch Jurien de La Gravière Pierre Roch Jurien de La Gravière (5 November 1772 – 14 January 1849) was a French naval officer. Biography Born at Gannat in Allier, La Gravière entered the service under the name Jurien Desvarennes as a novice pilot on the corvet ...

, 1772–1849, naval officer * Jean Coulon: 1853–1923, sculpture * Sandrine Bonnaire : French actress *

Jean-Marc Lhermet Jean-Marc is a French masculine given name. It may refer to: * Jean-Marc Adjovi-Bocco (born 1963), Beninese former football player * Jean-Marc Ayrault (born 1950), French politician * Jean-Marc Barr (born 1960), French-American film actor and dir ...

: rugby player, former international and player for

ASM Clermont Auvergne Association Sportive Montferrandaise Clermont Auvergne () is a French rugby union club from Clermont-Ferrand in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes that currently competes in Top 14, the top level of the French league system. Clermont are two times French ...

and now manager of the club * Jean Roche : Founder of the "Festival Des Cultures Du Monde" * Pierre François Sauret de la Borie : général d'empire *

François Escuillié François () is a French masculine given name and surname, equivalent to the English name Francis. People with the given name * Francis I of France, King of France (), known as "the Father and Restorer of Letters" * Francis II of France, King o ...

: paleontologist, founder of Rhinopolis * Joseph Hennequin (1748–1837) : politician * Monseigneur

François de Fontanges François () is a French masculine given name and surname, equivalent to the English name Francis. People with the given name * Francis I of France, King of France (), known as "the Father and Restorer of Letters" * Francis II of France, King o ...

(1744–1806) :

Bishop of Nancy The Diocese of Nancy and Toul (Latin: ''Dioecesis Nanceiensis et Tullensis''; French: ''Diocèse de Nancy et de Toul'') is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in France. After a considerable political strugg ...

from 1783 to 1787, Archbishop of Bourges from 1787 to 1788,

Archbishop of Toulouse The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Toulouse (–Saint Bertrand de Comminges–Rieux) ( la, Archidioecesis Tolosana (–Convenarum–Rivensis); French: ''Archidiocèse de Toulouse (–Saint-Bertrand de Comminges–Rieux-Volvestre)''; Occitan: ''A ...

from 1788 to 1801,

Archbishop of Autun The Roman Catholic Diocese of Autun (–Chalon-sur-Saône–Mâcon–Cluny) (Latin: ''Dioecesis Augustodunensis (–Cabillonensis–Matisconensis–Cluniacensis)''; French: ''Diocèse d'Autun (–Chalon-sur-Saône–Mâcon–Cluny)''), more simpl ...

from 1802 to 1806. * Victor Fontoynont (1880–1958), Hellenist.

History

Population

Access and transport

Sights

Personalities

See also