Montluçon

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title: "Montluçon" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["montluçon", "communes-of-allier", "subprefectures-in-france", "bourbonnais"] topic_path: "geography/france" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montluçon" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::data[format=table title="Infobox French commune"]

FieldValue
nameMontluçon
native nameoc
commune statusSubprefecture and commune
image flagFlag of Montlucon.svg
image coat of armsBlason ville fr Montluçon(03).svg
imageChâteau des ducs de Bourbon à Montluçon en juillet 2014 - 04.jpg
captionThe Château of the Dukes of Bourbon in Montluçon
arrondissementMontluçon
cantonMontluçon-1, 2, 3 and 4
INSEE03185
postal code03100
mayorFrédéric Laporte
term2020–2026
intercommunalityCA Montluçon Communauté
coordinates
elevation m207
elevation min m194
elevation max m364
area km220.67
population
population date
population footnotes
::

|name = Montluçon |native name = oc |commune status = Subprefecture and commune |image flag = Flag of Montlucon.svg |image coat of arms = Blason ville fr Montluçon(03).svg |image = Château des ducs de Bourbon à Montluçon en juillet 2014 - 04.jpg |caption = The Château of the Dukes of Bourbon in Montluçon |arrondissement = Montluçon |canton = Montluçon-1, 2, 3 and 4 |INSEE = 03185 |postal code = 03100 |mayor = Frédéric Laporte |term = 2020–2026 |intercommunality = CA Montluçon Communauté |coordinates = |elevation m = 207 |elevation min m = 194 |elevation max m = 364 |area km2 = 20.67 |population = |population date = |population footnotes =

Montluçon (; ) is a commune in central France on the river Cher. It is the largest commune in the Allier department, although the department's prefecture is located in the smaller town of Moulins. Its inhabitants are known as Montluçonnais. The town is in the traditional province of Bourbonnais and was part of the mediaeval duchy of Bourbon.

Geography

Montluçon is located in the northwest of the Allier department near the frontier of the Centre-Val de Loire and Nouvelle-Aquitaine regions.

Montluçon is linked with surrounding regions and towns via four main road axes, plus the highway A71 from Orléans to Clermont-Ferrand; through a railway linking in the North Vierzon then Paris (3-5h). Formerly the canal de Berry linked Montluçon towards the north.

Montluçon is 106 km south of Bourges, 340 km from Paris, 95 km from Clermont-Ferrand, 280 km (3h) from Lyon, 150 km (2h) from Limoges and 400 km from the Atlantic coast.

Montluçon is close to the Méridienne verte (an architectural project marking the Paris meridian) and to the Greenwich meridian.

Montluçon is also close to the geographic centre of Metropolitan France.

History

Early history

Montluçon was built in the Middle Ages. The first mention of a place called Monte Lucii (Mont de Lucius) dates from the eleventh century. Guillaume, son of Archambaud IV of Bourbon, built the castle in a defensible position on a small rocky hill on a bend in the river Cher.

The town, which formed part of the duchy of Bourbon, was taken by Henry II in 1171, and by Philip Augustus in 1181; the English were finally driven out in the 14th century.

In the 14th century, Louis II de Bourbon re-built the castle and walls. Montluçon and other Bourbon lands reverted to the French crown in 1529, and Henry IV further improved the defenses.

Montluçon became the administrative seat of the area in 1791, then entered the industrial era thanks to the presence of coalpits 12 km distant in Commentry, the Canal de Berry in 1830 and the railway in 1864. These transport links allowed the import of ore and export of coal, wood and manufactured goods. The population grew from 5000 inhabitants in 1830 to 50 000 in 1950.

During the repression of January and February 1894, the police conducted raids targeting the anarchists living there, without much success.

World War II

During the Second World War, the Germans occupied the Dunlop tyre plant (even though Montluçon was in the free zone) to exploit the research laboratory to synthesize rubber, since natural rubber could not be imported by Germany. The manufacturing of tyres for Luftwaffe aircraft was also of interest for the Germans.

For this reason, the Allies bombed the site on 12–16 September 1943, as well as part of the nearby town Saint-Victor, causing 36 deaths and injuring more than 250 civilians.

A notable act of resistance occurred in the city on 6 January 1943 when a mob of citizens overran guards supervising a massive deportation of men to Germany in accordance with the Service de Travail Obligatoire (Obligatory Work Service) plan that sent able Frenchmen to fill vacancies in German factories during the war. All the men who were to be deported managed to escape into the countryside, evading the forced industrial service awaiting them in the Reich.

Post-World War II

Since 1945, traditional industry (blast furnaces and glassware) has declined. Today Montluçon has chemical industries, tyre manufacture (Dunlop), and electronics (Sagem), and more recently a technopole at La Loue was established for high-tech companies.

New Zealand-born SOE agent Nancy Wake, the most decorated woman of World War II, led her small army of resistance fighters in the countryside around Montluçon. Wake died on 7 August 2011 aged 98, and on 11 March 2013, her ashes were scattered in a small wood outside Montluçon. The ceremony was followed by a civic reception in the town.

Population

| align = none | cols = 2 | percentages = pagr | source = EHESS and INSEE (1968-2017) | graph-pos = bottom |1793 |5521 |1800 |5684 |1806 |5212 |1821 |4716 |1831 |4991 |1836 |5034 |1841 |5740 |1846 |7331 |1851 |8922 |1856 |15289 |1861 |16212 |1866 |18675 |1872 |21247 |1876 |23416 |1881 |26079 |1886 |27818 |1891 |27878 |1896 |31595 |1901 |35062 |1906 |34251 |1911 |33799 |1921 |36114 |1926 |37504 |1931 |41052 |1936 |42515 |1946 |46826 |1954 |48743 |1962 |55184 |1968 |57871 |1975 |56468 |1982 |49912 |1990 |44248 |1999 |41362 |2007 |39761 |2012 |38072 |2017 |35653

Transportation

Air

There is a small airport 30 km from Montluçon (Montluçon - Guéret Airport) with flights mainly for Paris, and a smaller aerodrome in Montluçon itself (Montluçon - Domérat Aerodrome). The nearest international airports are Clermont-Ferrand Airport and Limoges Airport.

Road

Montluçon is linked to French and European road networks, by three major routes:

Rail

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/71/Montluçon_gare_2.jpg" caption="Montluçon-Ville railway station"] ::

The Gare de Montluçon-Ville railway station is served by three main passenger rail lines.

City buses

Montluçon's local buses are run by Maelis.

Sights

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d2/Montluçon-FR-03-hôtel_de_ville-a3.jpg" caption="Hôtel de Ville"] ::

The upper town, on the right bank of the Cher, consists of steep, narrow, winding streets, and preserves several buildings of the 15th and 16th centuries. The lower town, traversed by the Cher, is the industrial zone.

The church of Notre-Dame dates from the fourteenth century, the church of St Pierre partly from the 12th. The Hôtel de Ville (town hall) occupies the site of an old Ursuline convent, and was completed in 1912.

Two other convents are used as a college and hospital. Overlooking the town is the castle rebuilt by Louis II, Duke of Bourbon, and taken by Henry IV during the French Wars of Religion; it serves as a barracks.

Monuments

  • The Dukes of the Bourbon castle in Montluçon, dating from the 13th and 14th centuries
  • Church of Notre-Dame, XVe
  • Church of Saint-Pierre, XIIe
  • Church of Saint-Paul, XIXe
  • Church of Sainte-Thérèse, XXe
  • Church of Saint-Martin, XXe
  • Church of Sainte-Jeanne d'Arc, built in 1966
  • Temple de l'Église Réformée de France, (1888)
  • Tour des forges (or 'tour fondue'), XIIe siècle
  • Crown, XIIe
  • Maison des Douze apôtres du XIIe
  • Museum of popular musiques
  • Town Hall, XIXe
  • Ancienne chapelle Saint-Louis
  • Passage du doyenné
  • Castle la Louvière
  • Castle de Bien-Assis
  • Canal de Berry: locks, canal bridge

Culture

International relations

Montluçon is twinned with:

Miscellaneous

Administration: Montluçon is a sub-prefecture and has courts, a board of trade arbitration, a chamber of commerce and several schools (general public, private, commercial).

Sport:

Personalities

Montluçon was the birthplace of:

Climate

|metric first=y |single line=y |collapsed = Y |location = Montluçon (2002–2020 normals, extremes 2002–present) |Jan record high C = 21.8 |Feb record high C = 23.2 |Mar record high C = 25.5 |Apr record high C = 30.0 |May record high C = 33.9 |Jun record high C = 40.8 |Jul record high C = 41.1 |Aug record high C = 41.3 |Sep record high C = 36.0 |Oct record high C = 34.6 |Nov record high C = 27.7 |Dec record high C = 20.8 |Jan record low C = -13.9 |Feb record low C = -15.6 |Mar record low C = -12.9 |Apr record low C = -7.5 |May record low C = 3.3 |Jun record low C = 2.1 |Jul record low C = 4.7 |Aug record low C = 4.1 |Sep record low C = -0.8 |Oct record low C = -6.1 |Nov record low C = -9.6 |Dec record low C = -13.6 |Jan high C = 8.1 |Feb high C = 9.4 |Mar high C = 13.6 |Apr high C = 17.5 |May high C = 20.5 |Jun high C = 25.2 |Jul high C = 27.4 |Aug high C = 27.0 |Sep high C = 23.3 |Oct high C = 18.4 |Nov high C = 12.9 |Dec high C = 9.1 | year high C = 17.7 |Jan mean C = 4.4 |Feb mean C = 4.7 |Mar mean C = 7.8 |Apr mean C = 11.1 |May mean C = 14.3 |Jun mean C = 18.7 |Jul mean C = 20.6 |Aug mean C = 20.2 |Sep mean C = 16.4 |Oct mean C = 12.8 |Nov mean C = 8.2 |Dec mean C = 5.2 | year mean C = 12.0 |Jan low C = 0.6 |Feb low C = 0.1 |Mar low C = 2.0 |Apr low C = 4.7 |May low C = 8.1 |Jun low C = 12.3 |Jul low C = 13.8 |Aug low C = 13.3 |Sep low C = 9.5 |Oct low C = 7.2 |Nov low C = 3.6 |Dec low C = 1.3 | year low C = 6.4 |precipitation colour = green |Jan precipitation mm = 46.4 |Feb precipitation mm = 34.1 |Mar precipitation mm = 44.5 |Apr precipitation mm = 60.5 |May precipitation mm = 73.2 |Jun precipitation mm = 57.8 |Jul precipitation mm = 54.6 |Aug precipitation mm = 59.0 |Sep precipitation mm = 50.4 |Oct precipitation mm = 58.7 |Nov precipitation mm = 52.2 |Dec precipitation mm = 45.7 |year precipitation mm = 637.1 |unit precipitation days = 1.0 mm | Jan precipitation days = 9.5 | Feb precipitation days = 8.0 | Mar precipitation days = 9.2 | Apr precipitation days = 9.3 | May precipitation days = 10.2 | Jun precipitation days = 7.9 | Jul precipitation days = 7.0 | Aug precipitation days = 7.1 | Sep precipitation days = 6.5 | Oct precipitation days = 9.3 | Nov precipitation days = 10.0 | Dec precipitation days = 9.7 | year precipitation days =103.7 |source 1 = Meteociel{{cite web |url=https://www.meteociel.fr/obs/clim/normales_records.php?code=3185007 |title=Normales et records pour Montluçon (03) |publisher=Meteociel |access-date=14 December 2024}}}}

References

References

  1. (4 May 2022). "Répertoire national des élus: les maires". data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises.
  2. (3 January 1894). "Les anarchistes". La Dépêche.
  3. (2 January 1894). "Deux mille perquisitions". L'Estafette.
  4. (3 January 1894). "Une série générale de perquisitions : résultat négatif des recherches". L'Éclair.
  5. John F. Sweets, Choices in Vichy France, (Oxford: Oxford University Press: 1994): 25.
  6. {{Cassini-Ehess. 23649. Montluçon
  7. [https://www.insee.fr/fr/statistiques/4515315?geo=COM-03185#ancre-POP_T1 Population en historique depuis 1968], INSEE
  8. "Fresque de l'hôtel de Ville de Montluçon". Fondation du Patrimoine.
  9. "Jumelage". Montluçon Pratique 2019.

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montluçoncommunes-of-alliersubprefectures-in-francebourbonnais