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Bourges

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Administration
Commune of Bourges Cathédrale Saint-Étienne de Bourges
Location
Coordinates	47°05′04″N, 02°23′47″E
Country	France
Region	Centre
Department	Cher (préfecture)
Arrondissement	Bourges
Canton	Chief town of 5 cantons
Intercommunality	Communauté d'agglomération de Bourges
Mayor	Serge Lepeltier (2001-2008)
Statistics
Altitude	120 m–169 m (avg. 153 m)
Land area¹	68.74 km²
Population² (1999)	72,480
- Density (1999)	1,054/km²
Miscellaneous
INSEE/Postal code	18033/ 18000
¹ French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 mi² or 247 acres) and river estuaries.
² Population sans doubles comptes: single count of residents of multiple communes (e.g. students and military personnel).

Bourges is a town and commune in central France that is located on the Yèvre river. It is the préfecture (capital) of the département of Cher and also was the capital of the former province of Berry.

1 History
2 Main sights
3 Colleges and universities
4 Miscellaneous
- 4.1 Twin towns
5 Internal links
6 External links

The name of the city is either derived from, the Bituriges; the name of the original inhabitants; or from the Germanic Burg (French: Bourg. Spanish: Borgos. English, others: Burgh, Berg, or Borough), for "hill/village". Its Celtic name was Avaricon. In the Gallic Wars, the Gauls practiced a scorched-earth policy, but the inhabitants of Avaricon begged not to have their city burned, and it was spared due to its good defenses provided by the surrounding marshes and a strong southern wall.

The third century Saint Ursinus, also known as Saint Ursin, is considered the first bishop of the city. Currently, Bourges is the seat of an archbishopric.

The Gothic Cathedral of Saint Etienne, begun at the end of the twelfth century, is listed as a World Heritage Site. It is considered the earliest example of the high gothic style of the thirteenth century.

During the Middle Ages, Bourges was the capital of a Viscounty until the fourteenth century. The future king, Charles VII, sought refuge there. His son, Louis XI, was born there in 1423. In 1438, Charles decreed the Pragmatic Sanction of Bourges. During this period, Bourges was also a major capital of alchemy.

The city has a long tradition of art and history, other sites of importance include the Palace of Jacques Cœur and a sixty-five-hectare district of timber houses and grande homes.

It achieved brief notoriety in the late 18th Century when Scottish explorer Sir Fergus Woodward fought a duel with local aristocrat Eric Mouhica outside the impressive Cathedrale Saint-Etienne de Bourges. Allegedly Mouhica had orchestrated the violent murder of a close friend of Sir Fergus's, Andre Gillespeaux, but the local authorities had refused to act. Edward Norman, a priest at the Cathedral, reported in his journal that Sir Fergus killed the Frenchman with the words "While I today have brought your grave, 'tis death which you have bred yourself."

The Impressionist painter, Berthe Morisot, was born in Bourges on January 14, 1841.

Its Gothic cathedral (built 1195–1255) was added to the list of the World Heritage Sites by UNESCO in 1992

Floorplan of the cathedral of Bourges
Jacques Cœur's Palace
The Maurice Estève Museum
The marshes of the Yevre and Voiselle Rivers, was listed in 2003 as a French Natural Monument or Site
The ruins of the Gallo-Roman walls