Vierzon () 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, ...

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 ...

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 ...

Geography

A medium-sized town by the banks of the river

with some

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 ...

and an area of

forestry Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests, woodlands, and associated resources for human and environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands. Th ...

and

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 ...

to the north. It is situated some northwest 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 D2020, D2076 and the D918 roads. Motorways encircle the town on three sides: the A85 and A71 on the north and east and the A20 on the north and west. Railways reached Vierzon in 1847 and the central

SNCF The Société nationale des chemins de fer français (; abbreviated as SNCF ; French for "National society of French railroads") is France's national state-owned railway company. Founded in 1938, it operates the country's national rail traffi ...

hub

Vierzon-Ville station Gare de Vierzon-Ville is a railway station serving the town Vierzon, Cher department, central France. It is situated on the Orléans–Montauban railway, the Vierzon–Saincaize railway and the Vierzon–Saint-Pierre-des-Corps railway. Services ...

, serving local and nation rail traffic, has been developed here ever since.

History

Little evidence remains of any pre-

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, and the Romans themselves didn't leave much trace of their occupation. Not until 926, when a

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...

was built (on the site of the current Town Hall) are there any records. The monks came from the abbey of Deuvre, at

Saint-Georges-sur-la-Prée Saint-Georges-sur-la-Prée () is a commune in the Cher department in the Centre-Val de Loire region of France. Geography A farming area comprising the village and a hamlet situated in the Cher valley, about west of Vierzon at the junction of the ...

, after the abbey was sacked by the Normans in 903. They brought with them the relics of St. Perpetua. These relics were again transferred to the church of Notre-Dame de Vierzon in 1807, where they remain today. Also in the 10th century, 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 ...

s built a castle atop a

feudal Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was the combination of the legal, economic, military, cultural and political customs that flourished in Middle Ages, medieval Europe between the 9th and 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a wa ...

motte A motte-and-bailey castle is a European fortification with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised area of ground called a motte, accompanied by a walled courtyard, or bailey, surrounded by a protective ditch and palisade. Relatively easy to ...

. They became the

seigneurs ''Seigneur'' is an originally feudal title in France before the Revolution, in New France and British North America until 1854, and in the Channel Islands to this day. A seigneur refers to the person or collective who owned a ''seigneurie'' (o ...

of Vierzon and the city developed within the western ramparts of the castle. The Plantagenets, under

Richard I Lionheart Richard I (8 September 1157 – 6 April 1199) was King of England from 1189 until his death in 1199. He also ruled as Duke of Normandy, Aquitaine and Gascony, Lord of Cyprus, and Count of Poitiers, Anjou, Maine, and Nantes, and was ...

in 1196, and later

Edward, the Black Prince Edward of Woodstock, known to history as the Black Prince (15 June 1330 – 8 June 1376), was the eldest son of King Edward III of England, and the heir apparent to the English throne. He died before his father and so his son, Richard II, su ...

, burned the town and took the castle.

Bertrand du Guesclin Bertrand du Guesclin ( br, Beltram Gwesklin; 1320 – 13 July 1380), nicknamed "The Eagle of Brittany" or "The Black Dog of Brocéliande", was a Breton knight and an important military commander on the French side during the Hundred Years' W ...

drove the Plantagenets out in 1370 and restored Vierzon to the crown of France. It became a

logistics Logistics is generally the detailed organization and implementation of a complex operation. In a general business sense, logistics manages the flow of goods between the point of origin and the point of consumption to meet the requirements of ...

centre for the armies of Joan of Arc. Vierzon suffered during the

wars of religion A religious war or a war of religion, sometimes also known as a holy war ( la, sanctum bellum), is a war which is primarily caused or justified by differences in religion. In the modern period, there are frequent debates over the extent to wh ...

, but remained Catholic. 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 ...

of 1789 saw no major shocks except that the parish of Vierzon was divided into two communes: the urban part and the rural (Vierzon-Village), at the request of the rural inhabitants of the parish. In 1887, the part of town on the southern bank of the river was split into Vierzon-Bourgneuf. In 1937, following a public inquiry and a prefectoral decision, the four municipalities were united as one commune. Vierzon has not been too troubled by more recent wars. In 1870-1871, a vanguard of

Uhlan Uhlans (; ; ; ; ) were a type of light cavalry, primarily armed with a lance. While first appearing in the cavalry of Lithuania and then Poland, Uhlans were quickly adopted by the mounted forces of other countries, including France, Russia, Pr ...

soldiers marched through the city but withdrew quickly. If Vierzon was spared by the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, it was sorely tried 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 ...

. The Cher river was the border that divided the city into two, the south of the city being in the "Free" French zone whilst the north was in the German-occupied area. In July 1944, a massive

Allied An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

bombardment destroyed a large portion of the city. From the late 18th century until the middle of the twentieth century, the town became industrialised. Iron and steel farming tools were produced here, then glasswork and ceramics and later, agricultural machinery, notably tractors. With the demise of many factories in the town during the 1970s and 1980s, the unemployment rate was very high. This has since been reduced to the national average.

Population

The population data in the table and graph below refer to the commune of Vierzon proper, in its geography at the given years. The commune of Vierzon absorbed the former communes of Vierzon-Village, Vierzon-Bourgneuf and Vierzon-Forges in 1937.

Sights

* The church dating from the twelfth century. * The 18th-century château of La Noue. * The 15th-century château of Chaillot. * The

manorhouse A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were held the lord's manorial courts, communal meals wi ...

of La Gaillardière.

Notable people

Félix Pyat Félix Pyat (4 October 1810 – 3 August 1889) was a French socialist journalist, playwright, politician and a leading figure of the Paris Commune. Biography He was born in Vierzon ( Cher), the son of a Legitimist lawyer. Called to the bar in Pari ...

(1810–1889), politician and journalist *

Édouard Vaillant Marie Édouard Vaillant (26 January 1840 – 18 December 1915) was a French politician. Born in Vierzon, Cher, son of a lawyer, Édouard Vaillant studied engineering at the École Centrale des Arts et Manufactures, graduating in 1862, and then law ...

(1840–1915), politician *

Eugène Baudin Eugène Baudin (29 August 1853 – 11 April 1918) was a French porcelain worker and left-wing politician. He became an activist at an early age, and was forced into exile for his activities during the Paris Commune. After returning to France he was ...

(1853–1918), porcelain worker and left-wing politician *

Jacques Brel Jacques Romain Georges Brel (, ; 8 April 1929 – 9 October 1978) was a Belgian singer and actor who composed and performed literate, thoughtful, and theatrical songs that generated a large, devoted following—initially in Belgium and France, l ...

(1929–1978), a Belgian singer, mentions Vierzon in his song "Vesoul" (1968) *

Damien Robin Damien Robin (born 5 June 1989) is a French professional Association football, footballer who plays for Bourges 18. He made his professional debut for Clermont Foot on 23 October 2009 in a Ligue 2 match against Vannes OC. References

1989 ...

(born 1989), professional footballer

Twin towns – sister cities

Vierzon is twinned with: * Barcelos, Portugal *

Bitterfeld-Wolfen Bitterfeld-Wolfen () is a town in the district Anhalt-Bitterfeld, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is situated in south-eastern Saxony-Anhalt, west of the river Mulde, in an area that is dominated by heavy industry and lignite mining. The town was forme ...

, Germany *

Develi Develi, formerly known as Averak, is a town and district in Kayseri Province in Central Anatolia Region, Turkey. History The historical name of the town is Everek and it is called ''Averak'' (oren, ruin) in Armenian. The historian, geographer, ...

, Turkey * Dongxihu (Wuhan), China *

Hereford Hereford () is a cathedral city, civil parish and the county town of Herefordshire, England. It lies on the River Wye, approximately east of the border with Wales, south-west of Worcester and north-west of Gloucester. With a population ...

, England, United Kingdom *

El Jadida El Jadida (, ; originally known in Berber as Maziɣen or Mazighen; known in Portuguese as Mazagão) is a major port city on the Atlantic coast of Morocco, located 96 km south of the city of Casablanca, in the province of El Jadida and the re ...

, Morocco *

Kahale Kahale ( ar, الكحالة), is a mountain village in the district of Aley (Caza Aley), Lebanon, 13 km from Beirut. Population estimated at 11,000 residents, most of whom are Maronite Catholic. Etymology Kahale is derived from Syriac and Ar ...

, Lebanon *

Kamienna Góra Kamienna Góra (german: Landeshut, cs, Lanžhot or Kamenná Hora, szl, Kamiynnŏ Gōra) is a town in south-western Poland with 19,010 inhabitants (2019). It is the seat of Kamienna Góra County, and also of the rural district called Gmina Kami ...

, Poland *

Miranda de Ebro Miranda de Ebro (Spanish: iˈɾan̪da ðe ˈeβɾo is a city on the Ebro river in the Burgos (province), province of Burgos in the autonomous community of Castile and León, Spain. It is located in the north-eastern part of the province, on th ...

, Spain *

Rendsburg Rendsburg ( da, Rendsborg, also ''Rensborg'', nds, Rendsborg, also ''Rensborg'') is a town on the River Eider and the Kiel Canal in the central part of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is the capital of the ''Kreis'' (district) of Rendsburg-Ecke ...