Ainay-le-Château () is a commune in the

Allier Allier ( , , ; ) is a Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, region that borders Cher (department), Cher to the west, Nièvre to the north, Saône-et-Loire and Loire (department), Loire to the east, Pu ...

department in the

Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes (; AURA) or ; or ; . is a Regions of France, region in southeast-central France created by the 2014 territorial reform of French regions; it resulted from the merger of Auvergne and Rhône-Alpes. The new region came into e ...

region of central

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. The inhabitants of the commune are known as ''Castelainaisiens'' or ''Castelainaisiennes''.

Geography

Ainay-le-Château is located some south-east of

Bourges Bourges ( ; ; ''Borges'' in Berrichon) is a commune in central France on the river Yèvre (Cher), Yèvre. It is the capital of the Departments of France, department of Cher (department), Cher, and also was the capital city of the former provin ...

and south-west of

Nevers Nevers ( , ; , later ''Nevirnum'' and ''Nebirnum'') is a city and the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Nièvre Departments of France, department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Regions of France, region in central France. It was the pr ...

. The northern border of the commune is the departmental boundary with

Cher Cher ( ; born Cheryl Sarkisian, May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Goddess of Pop", she is known for her Androgyny, androgynous contralto voice, Music an ...

and the regional boundary with the

Centre-Val de Loire Centre-Val de Loire (; ,In isolation, ''Centre'' is pronounced . ) or Centre Region (, ), as it was known until 2015, is one of the eighteen Regions of France, administrative regions of France. It straddles the middle Loire Valley in the interior ...

region. Access to the commune is by D951 road from Thaumiers in the north which passes through the town and continues south to Cérilly. The D951 from

Charenton-du-Cher Charenton-du-Cher () is a commune in the Cher department in the Centre-Val de Loire region of France. Geography An area of farming, forestry and a little light industry comprising the village and several hamlets situated by the banks of both ...

in the north-west to Bessais-le-Fromental in the north-east passes through the north of the commune. The D28 comes from Braize in the south-west to the town then continues north to join the D951. The D64 goes east from the town to Valigny. There are several country roads in the commune linking the villages and hamlets inside. These include Le Castinerie, Salvert, La Bete, Saint-Benin, Charnoux, La Moullin de la Riviere, and L'Amour. The town is traversed by the ''Marmande'' river, a tributary of the

; and the

Sologne Sologne (; ) is a natural region in Centre-Val de Loire, France, extending over portions of the departements of Loiret, Loir-et-Cher and Cher. Its area is about . To its north is the river Loire, to its south the river Cher, while the district ...

river, which feeds into the Marmande. The village overlooks the right bank of the Sologne. There are a number of small lakes at the heads of the streams to the east of the town. On the left bank, the suburb of Mandais is covers both sides of the road from

and the border with the department of Cher passes within of the bridge. The commune is bordered by the

Forest of Tronçais The Forest of Tronçais (, ) is a national forest comprising in the Allier department of central France. It is managed by the National Forests Office (ONF). Its oaks, planted by Louis XIV's minister Jean-Baptiste Colbert to supply the Frenc ...

to the south with a small portion of the forest in the commune called ''Taillis de Pontcharaud''.

Neighboring Communes and Villages

History

Ainay-le-Chateau is a

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

town, one of the seventeen

Châtelain Châtelain was originally the French title for the keeper of a castle.Abraham Rees Ebers, "CASTELLAIN", in: The Cyclopædia, or Universal Dictionary of Arts, Sciences, and Literature' (London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme & Brown, 1819), vol. 6. H ...

ies of the

Dukes of Bourbon Duke of Bourbon () is a title in the peerage of France. It was created in the first half of the 14th century for the eldest son of Robert of France, Count of Clermont, and Beatrice of Burgundy, heiress of the lordship of Bourbon. In 1416, wit ...

. The city was enclosed by walls and a castle stood around the church of Saint-Stephen. During the French Revolution, the town took the name of ''Ainay-sur-Sologne''. The former parish and commune of ''Saint-Benin'' was reunited with ''Ainay-le-Château'' in 1842 and is today a village east of the town. Saint-Benin carried the ''Charnoux'' at the time of the French Revolution.

Home for people with psychiatric disorders

The town is home for a hospital which runs foster homes for the mentally ill. There are many of those foster homes in the commune and in the surrounding ones. Thus, these people are very well accepted, which allows them to live in optimal conditions. Because of this particular, the town has been featured on

TF1 TF1 (; standing for ''Télévision Française 1'') is a French commercial television network owned by TF1 Group, controlled by the Bouygues conglomerate. TF1's average market share of 24% makes it the most popular domestic network. TF1 is part ...

in the program ''Sept à huit'' (Seven to Eight) on 31 January 2010 (retransmitted on 21 April 2013), as well as in the program ''la Fabrique de l'Histoire'' (Fabric of History) on

France Culture France Culture () is a French public radio channel and part of Radio France Radio France () is the French national public radio broadcaster. Stations Radio France offers seven national networks: *France Inter — Radio France's "generalist ...

on 7 December 2010.

Heraldry

Administration

List of Successive Mayors of Ainay-le-Château

Population

Economy

In February 2010, according to the commercial register, ''Ainay-le-Château'' had 76 companies registered in the commune. There are 61 Real estate and other companies with their headquarters in the town. Most of them engage in craft activities, shops and services nearby. Since 2005 there have been from 2 to 6 new company registrations per year. Three different bank branches are available in Town:

La Banque Postale La Banque postale (, ) is a French postal bank, created on 1 January 2006 as a subsidiary of La Poste, the national postal service. It has been designated as a Significant Institution since the entry into force of European Banking Supervision ...

, the

Banque Populaire Banque Populaire (, ) was a French group of cooperative banks, with origins in the European cooperative movement. In 2009, it merged with Groupe Caisse d'Épargne to form Groupe BPCE. History Groupe Banque Populaire started in 1878 with the f ...

, and

Crédit Agricole Crédit Agricole Group (), sometimes called La banque verte (, , due to its historical ties to farming), is a French international banking group and the world's largest cooperative financial institution. It is the second largest bank in France, ...

Centre France. A local specialty is goat cheese.

Culture and heritage

Civil heritage

The commune has two sites that are registered as historical monuments: *A Public Park *The Urban area Fortifications (15th century) The fortifications include the Clock Gate and the enclosure with towers and walls. Fortification - Ainay le Château 011.JPG Fortification - Ainay le Château 002.JPG Fortification - Ainay le Château 009.JPG Fortification - Ainay le Château 006.JPG Fortification - Ainay le Château 022.JPG

Religious heritage

*The Church of Saint Etienne (12th century). is registered as an historical monument. The Church has a Renaissance doorway and an old

porch A porch (; , ) is a room or gallery located in front of an entrance to a building. A porch is placed in front of the façade of a building it commands, and forms a low front. Alternatively, it may be a vestibule (architecture), vestibule (a s ...

from the 12th century. The Church contains many items that are registered as historical objects: **A Tombstone (1534) **A Tombstone (15th century) **A Cross: Christ on the Cross (17th century) **A

Tabernacle According to the Hebrew Bible, the tabernacle (), also known as the Tent of the Congregation (, also Tent of Meeting), was the portable earthly dwelling of God used by the Israelites from the Exodus until the conquest of Canaan. Moses was instru ...

with a canopy (17th century) **A Statue: Saint Francis (17th century) **A Statue: Virgin and Child (17th century) **A Group Sculpture: Virgin of Pity (16th century) **A Bas-relief: The House of Lorette (16th century) *The Chapel of Saint-Roch contains a Statue: Saint Fiacre (17th century) which is registered as an historical object.Ministry of Culture, Palissy Église Saint-Etienne - Ainay-le-Château 066.JPG, The Church Front Église Saint-Etienne - Ainay-le-Château 059.JPG, Church entrance Eglise d'Ainay le Chateau (2).jpg, The nave Église Saint-Etienne - Ainay-le-Château 056.JPG, Funerary Slab Église Saint-Etienne - Ainay-le-Château 042.JPG, Funerary Slab Église Saint-Etienne - Ainay-le-Château 053.JPG, The Tabernacle Église Saint-Etienne - Ainay-le-Château 046.JPG, Virgin and child Église Saint-Etienne - Ainay-le-Château 034.JPG, House of Lorette Eglise d'Ainay le Chateau (4).jpg, Pietà from the 16th century Église Saint-Etienne - Ainay-le-Château 028.JPG, Notre Dame de la Salette Chapelle Saint Rock 01.JPG Chapelle Saint Rock 03.JPG

Ainay-le-Château in culture

In autumn 2005 ''Ainay-le-Château'' was the location of many of the scenes in ''Michou d'Auber'', a film by Thomas Gilou released in 2007, with

Gérard Depardieu Gérard Xavier Marcel Depardieu (, , ; born 27 December 1948) is a French actor. An icon of French cinema, considered a world star in the same way as Alain Delon or Brigitte Bardot, he has completed over 250 films since 1967, most of which as ...

Nathalie Baye Nathalie Marie Andrée Baye (; born 6 July 1948) is a French film, television, and stage actress. She began her career in 1970 and has appeared in more than 80 films. A ten-time César Award nominee, her four wins were for ''Every Man for Himsel ...

, and

Mathieu Amalric Mathieu Amalric (; born 25 October 1965) is a French actor and filmmaker. He has won several César Awards and the Lumière Awards. He is best known internationally for his roles in the James Bond film '' Quantum of Solace'', in which he pla ...

acting.

Notable People linked to the commune

* Paul Guignard, racing cyclist, born on 10 May 1876 at Ainay-le-Château. *

André Lwoff André — sometimes transliterated as Andre — is the French and Portuguese form of the name Andrew and is now also used in the English-speaking world. It used in France, Quebec, Canada and other French-speaking countries, as well in Portugal ...

, won the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1965 together with

Jacques Monod Jacques Lucien Monod (; 9 February 1910 – 31 May 1976) was a French biochemist who won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1965, sharing it with François Jacob and André Lwoff "for their discoveries concerning genetic control of e ...

and

François Jacob François Jacob (; 17 June 1920 – 19 April 2013) was a French biologist who, together with Jacques Monod, originated the idea that control of enzyme levels in all cells occurs through regulation of transcription. He shared the 1965 Nobel ...

References

External links

Ainay-le-Château official website

Ainay-le-Château on Géoportail
National Geographic Institute (IGN) website
''Ainay-le-Château'' on the 1750 Cassini Map
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ainaylechateau Communes of Allier Bourbonnais