Moulins, Allier

Moulins

Coat of arms
Moulins

Coordinates: 46°33′55″N 3°20′00″E / 46.5653°N 3.3333°E / 46.5653; 3.3333Coordinates: 46°33′55″N 3°20′00″E / 46.5653°N 3.3333°E / 46.5653; 3.3333
Country France
Region Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Department Allier
Arrondissement Moulins
Intercommunality Moulins
Government
 • Mayor (2014-2020) Pierre-André Périssol (UMP)
Area1 8.61 km2 (3.32 sq mi)
Population (2012)2 18,959
 • Density 2,200/km2 (5,700/sq mi)
INSEE/Postal code 03190 / 03000
Elevation 202–240 m (663–787 ft)
(avg. 220 m or 720 ft)

1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

2 Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once.

Moulins (French: [mu.lɛ̃]) is a commune in central France, capital of the Allier department. It is located on the Allier River.

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 Allier River.

History

Before the French Revolution, Moulins was the capital of the province of Bourbonnais and the seat of the dukes of Bourbon. It appears in documented records at least as far 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 Duke Pierre II 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 the 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 appanages held by French princes, abrogation of the levy of rights of tallage claimed by seigneurs over their dependents, and provisions for a system of concessions on rivers.

This was the birthplace of the great 19th-century operatic baritone and art collector Jean-Baptiste Faure. In the 20th century, Coco Chanel 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.

International relations

Twin towns — Sister cities

Moulins is twinned with:

Population

Historical population
YearPop.±%
179313,249—    
180013,509+2.0%
180614,101+4.4%
182113,697−2.9%
183114,672+7.1%
183615,231+3.8%
184115,377+1.0%
184617,110+11.3%
185117,318+1.2%
185618,069+4.3%
186117,581−2.7%
186619,890+13.1%
187220,385+2.5%
187621,774+6.8%
188121,156−2.8%
188621,721+2.7%
189122,665+4.3%
189622,215−2.0%
190122,340+0.6%
190621,888−2.0%
191121,990+0.5%
192122,968+4.4%
192623,306+1.5%
193122,225−4.6%
193622,369+0.6%
194623,254+4.0%
195424,441+5.1%
196223,909−2.2%
196825,979+8.7%
197526,067+0.3%
198225,159−3.5%
199022,799−9.4%
199921,892−4.0%
200819,760−9.7%
201218,959−4.1%

Transport

Moulins-sur-Allier station, in the centre of the town, has direct trains to Paris-Gare de Lyon, which take about 2 hours 25 minutes.

Montbeugny Airport is a small airport located near Moulins.

Museums

Personalities

See also

References

    External links

    Wikimedia Commons has media related to Moulins, Allier.
    Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article Moulins.


    This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Sunday, April 24, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.