Saint-Amand-Montrond () is a

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

in the

Cher Cher (; born Cherilyn Sarkisian; May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Often referred to by the media as the Honorific nicknames in popular music, "Goddess of Pop", she has been described as embodying female ...

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

Centre-Val de Loire Centre-Val de Loire (, , ,In isolation, ''Centre'' is pronounced . ) or Centre Region (french: région Centre, link=no, ), as it was known until 2015, is one of the eighteen administrative regions of France. It straddles the middle Loire Valley ...

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

and the historical province of

Bourbonnais Bourbonnais () was a historic province in the centre of France that corresponds to the modern ''département'' of Allier, along with part of the ''département'' of Cher. Its capital was Moulins. History The title of the ruler of Bourbonnais ...

. Saint-Amand-Montrond literally translates to Saint Amand round hill, despite not being on a round hill.

Geography

A small town of

farming Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...

and a little

light industry Light industry are industries that usually are less capital-intensive than heavy industry and are more consumer-oriented than business-oriented, as they typically produce smaller consumer goods. Most light industry products are produced for ...

situated some southeast of

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 ...

, at the junction of the D951 with the D300 and D2144 roads. The town was built in the basin of the eastern banks of the

which separates it from the commune of Orval, to which it is connected by two bridges. A small river, the

Marmande Marmande (; in Occitan, ''Marmanda'') is a commune in the Lot-et-Garonne ''département'' in south-western France. Geography Marmande is located 35 km north-west of Agen, on the southern railway from Bordeaux to Sète. The town is situa ...

, joins the Cher here, and the

canal de Berry The Canal de Berry is a disused canal in France which links the Canal latéral à la Loire at Marseilles-lès-Aubigny with the Cher (river), Cher at Noyers-sur-Cher, Noyers rejoining the Loire near Tours. With a branch from Montluçon it provided ...

crosses the commune from southeast to southwest. Some flooding is common because of the nearby marshes. The town is the capital of the small region of Boischaut, known for its woodland and cattle pastures.

Population

History

The settlement of Saint-Amand goes back to prehistoric times. Evidence of

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

occupation has also been discovered here. An abbey was founded here around the year 620 by a monk called Theodulph. The commune was created after the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

by the amalgamation of three separate small towns that had grown up during the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

: Saint Amand le Chastel, Montrond and Saint Amand sous Montrond.

Sights

* The church of Saint Amandus, dating from the eleventh century. * Several houses dating from the fifteenth century. * The church of a

Carmelite , image = , caption = Coat of arms of the Carmelites , abbreviation = OCarm , formation = Late 12th century , founder = Early hermits of Mount Carmel , founding_location = Mount Car ...

convent A convent is a community of monks, nuns, religious brothers or, sisters or priests. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The word is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican ...

dating from the fifteenth century. * A chapel from the convent, nowadays the

town hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...

(hôtel de ville). * Château de Montrond, a thirteenth-century castle, a historic site. * The chateau of La Férolle. * Vestiges of the twelfth-century castle of Saint-Amand-le-Chatel. * The

museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make these ...

of Saint-Vic.

Notable people

* Jean-Baptiste Lemire (1867–1945), composer. * Louis Lecoin (1888–1971), pacifist and libertarian, was born in Saint-Amand-Montrond. *

Maurice Papon Maurice Papon (; 3 September 1910 – 17 February 2007) was a French civil servant who led the police in major prefectures from the 1930s to the 1960s, before he became a Gaullist politician. When he was secretary general for the police in Bo ...

(1910–2007), mayor of Saint-Amand-Montrond (1971–1983) and collaborator during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. *

Serge Vinçon Serge Vinçon (17 June 1949 – 16 December 2007), was a French politician of the UMP party. Born in Bourges, Cher, he was a college professor before a politician. He was elected senator of Cher on 24 September 1989 and re-elected on 27 ...

(1949–2007), college professor and politician was born here. *

Jean Godin des Odonais Jean Godin des Odonais (5 July 1713 Saint-Amand-Montrond, France - 1 March 1792 Paris) was a French cartographer and naturalist. Biography Godin des Odonais had joined the world's first geodesy expedition to the equator, led by Charles Marie ...

cartographer Cartography (; from grc, χάρτης , "papyrus, sheet of paper, map"; and , "write") is the study and practice of making and using maps. Combining science, aesthetics and technique, cartography builds on the premise that reality (or an im ...

and explorer, lived here. *

Julian Alaphilippe Julian Alaphilippe (born 11 June 1992) is a French professional road cyclist, former cyclo-cross racer and two-fold UCI World Road Champion, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . He is the brother of racing cyclist Bryan Alaphilippe. Career E ...

and his younger brother Bryan Alaphilippe, both cyclists, are from here. * Érick Jacquin, French

chef A chef is a trained professional cook and tradesman who is proficient in all aspects of food preparation, often focusing on a particular cuisine. The word "chef" is derived from the term ''chef de cuisine'' (), the director or head of a kitche ...

naturalized

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

ian, was born here.

Economy

The town is noted for its

goldsmith A goldsmith is a Metalworking, metalworker who specializes in working with gold and other precious metals. Nowadays they mainly specialize in jewelry-making but historically, goldsmiths have also made cutlery, silverware, platter (dishware), pl ...

s and

jeweller A bench jeweler is an artisan who uses a combination of skills to make and repair jewelry. Some of the more common skills that a bench jeweler might employ include antique restoration, silversmith, Goldsmith, stone setting, engraving, fabrica ...

s. It has 9 companies specialising in gold work as well as a professional school dedicated to jewellery. Two large printing companies, Bussière and Clerc, produce large volumes of books and magazines.

Sport

Cycling: The

Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage bicycle race primarily held in France, while also occasionally passing through nearby countries. Like the other Grand Tours (the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España), it consists ...

has finished in the town three times. In

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...

, it was the finishing line of a 61 km individual time trial from

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 ...

. The stage was won by American

Lance Armstrong Lance Edward Armstrong (''né'' Gunderson; born September 18, 1971) is an American former professional road bicycle racing, road racing cyclist. Regarded as a sports icon for winning the Tour de France seven consecutive times from 1999 Tour de ...

of Discovery Channel Cycling Team. It featured again in the 2008 edition, again as a finish for an individual time trial. German

Stefan Schumacher Stefan Schumacher (born 21 July 1981) is a German former professional road racing cyclist. Schumacher won the bronze medal in the road race at the 2007 UCI Road World Championships, two stages in the 2006 Giro d'Italia and two stages in the 2 ...

won the 53 km long stage from Cérilly. In

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

stage 13 finished here from

Tours Tours ( , ) is one of the largest cities in the region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Indre-et-Loire. The Communes of France, commune of Tours had 136,463 ...

and was won by

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

sprinter

Mark Cavendish Mark Simon Cavendish (born 21 May 1985) is a Isle of Man, Manx professional Road bicycle racing, road racing cyclist who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . As a Track cycling, track cyclist he specialises in the Madison (cycling), madison, po ...

Twin towns

Nottuln Nottuln (; Low German: ''Notteln'') is a municipality in the district of Coesfeld in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Geography Nottuln is situated in the Baumberge, approx. 20 km west of Münster. Neighbouring municipalities ...

, in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

Otwock Otwock is a city in east-central Poland, some southeast of Warsaw, with 44,635 inhabitants (2019). Otwock is a part of the Warsaw Agglomeration. It is situated on the right bank of Vistula River below the mouth of Swider River. Otwock is hom ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

Riobamba Riobamba (, full name San Pedro de Riobamba; Quechua: ''Rispampa'') is the capital of Chimborazo Province in central Ecuador, and is located in the Chambo River Valley of the Andes. It is south of Ecuador's capital Quito and located at an eleva ...

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ''Eku ...

References

External links

Official website of the town

L'abbaye de Noirlac
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saintamandmontrond Communes of Cher (department) Subprefectures in France Bourbonnais