Aubrac is a small village in the southern

Massif Central The (; oc, Massís Central, ; literally ''"Central Massif"'') is a highland region in south-central France, consisting of mountains and plateaus. It covers about 15% of mainland France. Subject to volcanism that has subsided in the last 10,0 ...

of France. The name is also applied to the surrounding countryside, which is properly called L'Aubrac in French. The Aubrac region has been a member of the Natura 2000 network since August 2006. It straddles three ''

département 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'' (

Cantal Cantal (; oc, Cantal or ) is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of France, with its prefecture in Aurillac. Its other principal towns are Saint-Flour (the episcopal see) and Mauriac; its residents are known as Cantalians (fren ...

, Aveyron and Lozère) and three '' régions'' ( Auvergne, Midi-Pyrénées and

Languedoc-Roussillon Languedoc-Roussillon (; oc, Lengadòc-Rosselhon ; ca, Llenguadoc-Rosselló) is a former administrative region of France. On 1 January 2016, it joined with the region of Midi-Pyrénées to become Occitania. It comprised five departments, and b ...

Geography, geology

Aubrac is a volcanic and granitic plateau that extends over an area of 1,500 km². The volcanic eruptions occurred between 6 and 9 million year ago and were of Hawaiian type with fluid lavas. There are therefore no individual volcanic cones. The volcanic zone occupies the west side while the other part of the plateau is formed of granite. The average altitude is about 1,200 meters with the highest point at 1,469 meters (Signal de Mailhebiau) in the south. All the region has been eroded by glaciers during three glacial periods. The Aubrac includes four glacial lakes: lac des Salhiens, lac de Saint-Andéol, lac de Souveyrols and lac de Born. In the south, the highest summits of the Aubrac dominate the Lot valley, which lies 1,000 m below.

Economy

Bovine breeding is the main activity on the plateau. Aubrac has its own bovine species called "Aubrac", which is well adapted to the environment. The cows are bred for their meat while, before the 1960s, they were bred for their dairy products. The milk was made into cheese in "burons" or " mazucs ", which are small structures in the middle of the pastures. Today, the majority of these structures are in ruin. The " Laguiole" (pronounced "Layole") cheese is now only made by a dairy in the village of Laguiole and resembles

Cantal cheese Cantal cheese is an uncooked firm cheese produced in the Auvergne region of central France: more particularly in the ''département'' of Cantal (named after the Cantal mountains) as well as in certain adjoining districts. Cantal cheese was gran ...

. The region is also known for its knife industry. It is here that the Laguiole knife is made by around thirty local craftsmen. The factory of Forge de Laguiole was designed by Phillippe Starck.

History

By 1000 BC, the Celts had occupied the region. In the period of

Roman Gaul Roman Gaul refers to GaulThe territory of Gaul roughly corresponds to modern-day France, Belgium and Luxembourg, and adjacient parts of the Netherlands, Switzerland and Germany. under provincial rule in the Roman Empire from the 1st century ...

, Gaulish tribes called Gabalians (Lozère) and Rutènians (Aveyron) occupied the area. Julius Caesar stated that the Gabalians were survivors of the Battle of Alesia. Their capital Anderitum became

Javols Javols ( oc, Jàvols) is a former commune in the Lozère department in southern France. On 1 January 2017, it was merged into the new commune Peyre-en-Aubrac.Danube delta and who gave their name to the Rouergue, became allied with

Vercingetorix 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 ha ...

. In the early

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 ...

, Grégory of Tours recorded an incident of a Pagan rite at the lake near Mount Hélanus. Later, a

pilgrim A pilgrim (from the Latin ''peregrinus'') is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) who is on a journey to a holy place. Typically, this is a physical journey (often on foot) to some place of special significance to the adherent of ...

of St. James, Adallard (a Flemish

viscount A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status. In many countries a viscount, and its historical equivalents, was a non-hereditary, administrative or judicia ...

), survived after a fight in the area; out of gratitude to

God In monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Oxford Companion to Philosophy'', Oxford University Press, 1995. God is typically ...

he built the Dômerie (hospital) at Aubrac. The village of Aubrac grew around the hospital. The Dômerie was home to monks and the knights of the

Order of Aubrac The Order of Aubrac was a military order and hospital (''hôtel-Dieu'') chartered in the twelfth century. It operated in the Rouergue to protect and care for pilgrims on the Way of Saint James and the '' Via Francigena''.Goyau 1912. The headq ...

until 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 coup of 18 Brumaire, November 1799. Many of its ...

. The monks fed and sheltered passing pilgrims, and rang a "Bell of the Lost" during times of snow. The rules of life at the Dômerie in

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

dating from the

are available in an online version. In the 11th century, a certain Gilbert, who married Tiburge, countess of Provence, appointed himself count of Gévaudan. This Gilbert had a daughter,

Douce I, Countess of Provence Douce I (also Dulcia or Dolça, called "of Rouergue" or "of Gévaudan") ( – 1127) was the daughter of Gilbert I of Gévaudan and Gerberga of Provence and wife of Ramon Berenguer III, Count of Barcelona. In 1112, she inherited the Counts of Prove ...

, who was married to Ramon Berenguer, Count of Barcelona, and brought him all the rights to Gévaudan, Aubrac, and Carladès. The rule of the counts of Barcelona in Gévaudan gave rise to a serious argument with the bishop of Mende, who considered himself lord and count of the country. After many local conflicts and the war between the lords of

Armagnac Armagnac (, ) is a distinctive kind of brandy produced in the Armagnac region in Gascony, southwest France. It is distilled from wine usually made from a blend of grapes including Baco 22A, Colombard, Folle blanche and Ugni blanc, traditionally ...

's French kings Charles VII and

Louis XI Louis XI (3 July 1423 – 30 August 1483), called "Louis the Prudent" (french: le Prudent), was King of France from 1461 to 1483. He succeeded his father, Charles VII. Louis entered into open rebellion against his father in a short-lived revol ...

this country lost its true identity. However, the pilgrim route to

Santiago de Compostela Santiago de Compostela is the capital of the autonomous community of Galicia, in northwestern Spain. The city has its origin in the shrine of Saint James the Great, now the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, as the destination of the Way of S ...

has always brought many visitors.

Culture

Every last weekend of August, a literary festival takes place in Aubrac: Rencontres aubrac

Photo gallery

Image:Aubrac1.JPG, Aubrac landscape Image:Aubrac2.JPG, Aubrac landscape Image:Aubrac3.JPG, Aubrac town & country Image:Aubrac4.JPG, Aubrac landscape

References

Medieval latin text

Settlements in the Aubrac Region

* Albaret-le-Comtal *

Alpuech Alpuech (Languedocien dialect, Languedocien: ''Alpuèg'') is a former Communes of France, commune in the Aveyron Departments of France, department in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie region of southern France. On 1 January 2016, i ...

Anterrieux Anterrieux (; oc, Antarrius) is a commune in the Cantal department in the Auvergne region of southern central France. Geography Anterrieux is located some 30 km south by south-west of Saint-Flour and 20 km west by north-west of Sa ...

Arzenc-d'Apcher Arzenc-d'Apcher is a commune in the Lozère department in southern France. Population See also *Communes of the Lozère department The following is a list of the 152 communes of the Lozère department Department may refer to: * Departm ...

* Aurelle-Verlac * Bonnefon * Brameloup * Brion * Cassuéjouls *

Chauchailles Chauchailles (; oc, Chauchalhas) is a commune in the Lozère department in southern France. See also *Communes of the Lozère department The following is a list of the 152 communes of the Lozère department Department may refer to: * Depa ...

Chaudes-Aigues Chaudes-Aigues (; oc, Chaudas Aigas, ) is a commune in the Cantal department in south-central France. It is a spa town, famous for its hot spring waters. Geography The commune is situated in the Massif Central in Aubrac. Its inhabitants are ...

* La Chaze-de-Peyre * Condom-d'Aubrac * Curières * Deux-Verges * Espinasse * Fau-de-Peyre * Fournels * Fridefont * Grandvals * Jabrun * La Fage-Montivernoux * La Trinitat * Lacalm * Laguiole * Les Hermaux * Les Salces * Lieutadès * Lunet * Maurines *

Montézic Montézic (; oc, Montasic) is a commune in the Aveyron department in southern France. Near the commune is the Montézic Power Station. Charles de Louvrié, inventor of the jet engine, was born in the commune. Population See also *Commu ...

* Montpeyroux * Noalhac * Prades-d'Aubrac * Prinsuéjols * Recoules-d'Aubrac * Saint-Juéry * Saint-Chély-d'Aubrac * Saint-Laurent-de-Muret * Saint-Laurent-de-Veyrès * Saint-Martial * Sainte-Colombe-de-Peyre * Saint-Rémy * Saint-Urcize * Salgues * Soulages-Bonneval * Termes * Trélans

References

External links

Campsite La RomiguiereAligot-Saucisse : Aveyron, that's good!Official site of AubracBulletin board of AveyronOfficial Site of Saint-Chély d'AubracPhotographs of Aubrac cowsLes Rencontres d'Aubrac, a literary festival about mythologyAubrac
{{Authority control Massif Central Volcanoes of Metropolitan France Miocene volcanoes Extinct volcanoes Landforms of Aveyron Landforms of Cantal Landforms of Lozère Plateaus of Metropolitan France