Moulins (, ''Molins'' in
Bourbonnais oïl dialect); is a
commune in central France, capital of 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. It is located on the river
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 ...
.
Among its many tourist attractions are the
Maison Mantin, the
Anne de Beaujeu Museum, and
The National Center of Costume and Scenography.
Geography
Moulins is located on the banks of the river Allier.
Moulins-sur-Allier station, in the centre of the town, has direct trains to Paris (
Gare de Bercy), which take about 2 hours 25 minutes. The
A79 motorway passes south of the town.
Montbeugny Airport is a small airport located near Moulins.
History
Before the
French Revolution, Moulins was the capital of the
province
A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...
of
Bourbonnais
The Bourbonnais (; Occitan language, Occitan: ''Borbonés'') was a Provinces of France, historic province in the centre of France that corresponds to the modern ''département in France, département'' of Allier, along with part of the ''dépar ...
and the seat of the
Dukes of Bourbon. It appears in documented records at least as far back as the year 990. In 1232,
Archambaud VIII, Sire de Bourbon granted a franchise to the village's inhabitants.
The town achieved greater prominence in 1327, when
Charles IV elevated
Louis I de Clermont to Duke of Bourbon. Either Louis or the later
Peter II, Duke of Bourbon and
of Auvergne moved the capital of the province from
Bourbon-l'Archambault to Moulins.
:''Note: This
article in French suggests Pierre II moved the capital, while th
local tourism website(also in French) suggests it was Louis I.''
In February 1566 it became eponymous to the Edict of Moulins, an important royal ordinance dealing with many aspects of the administration of justice and feudal and
ecclesiastical privilege, including limitations on the
appanage
An appanage, or apanage (; ), is the grant of an estate, title, office or other thing of value to a younger child of a monarch, who would otherwise have no inheritance under the system of primogeniture (where only the eldest inherits). It was ...
s held by French princes, abrogation of the levy of rights of
tallage claimed by seigneurs over their dependants, and provisions for a system of concessions on rivers.
This was the birthplace of the great 19th-century operatic
baritone
A baritone is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the bass (voice type), bass and the tenor voice type, voice-types. It is the most common male voice. The term originates from the ...
and art collector
Jean-Baptiste Faure. In the 20th century,
Coco Chanel
Gabrielle Bonheur "Coco" Chanel ( , ; 19 August 1883 – 10 January 1971) was a French fashion designer and Businessperson, businesswoman. The founder and namesake of the Chanel brand, she was credited in the post-World War I era with populari ...
went to school in Moulins as an orphan, before moving to Paris, where she became a fashion designer and major innovator in women's clothing.
Politics and administration
Territorial division
Moulins is the
prefecture
A prefecture (from the Latin word, "''praefectura"'') is an administrative jurisdiction traditionally governed by an appointed prefect. This can be a regional or local government subdivision in various countries, or a subdivision in certain inter ...
of
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 ...
, even though it is not the most populated commune of the department.
Elections to municipal and intercommunal councils
Mayors of Moulins
The position of mayor has existed in Moulins since 1518.
The current mayor is
Pierre-André Périssol, in office since 1995 and last re-elected at the
2020 elections.
[
]
Other elections
International relations
Moulins is twinned with:
* Bad Vilbel, Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
since 26 October 1990
* Montepulciano, Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
Population
Museums
* Centre National du Costume de Scene (museum)
Notable people
* Antoine Gilbert Griffet de Labaume (1756–1805), translator and man of letters
* Théodore de Banville (1823–1891), poet and playwright
* Jean Pastelot (1820–1870), painter and caricaturist
* Coco Chanel
Gabrielle Bonheur "Coco" Chanel ( , ; 19 August 1883 – 10 January 1971) was a French fashion designer and Businessperson, businesswoman. The founder and namesake of the Chanel brand, she was credited in the post-World War I era with populari ...
, fashion designer, started as a cabaret singer
* Philippe N'Dioro, footballer
* Jean-Luc Perrot (born 1959), pipe organ player and composer
* Stéphane Risacher, basketball player for the French national team
* Jean-Baptiste Faure, opera singer
* Samuel Paty, slain teacher
* Claude Louis Hector de Villars (1653–1734), Marshal General of France
* Gilbert Mercier (1957), author of "The Orwellian Empire" and journalist
* Louis Jacques Brunet (1811), ancient professor of natural history
* James FitzJames, 1st Duke of Berwick (1670–1734)
* Rahel Shtainshnaider, footballer
* Antoine Dauvergne (1713-1797), composer
Notable companies
* Decauville factory
* Manitowoc Company
Climate
See also
* Moulins Cathedral
* Diocese of Moulins
* AS Moulins
*Communes of the Allier department
The following is a list of the 317 Communes of France, communes of the Allier Departments of France, department of France.
Intercommunalities
The communes cooperate in the following Communes of France#Intercommunality, intercommunalities (a ...
* Moulins Ball
References
External links
City council website
(in French)
Local tourism website
(in French)
Picture of Moulins Cathedral
{{Authority control
Communes of Allier
Prefectures in France
Bourbonnais
Allier communes articles needing translation from French Wikipedia