Montluçon

Sister cities

• Leszno
• Hagen
• Antsirabe
• Roman

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, Duke of 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 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. 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…

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 south of Bourges, from Paris, from Clermont-Ferrand, (3h) from Lyon, (2h) from Limoges and 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.

Most-observed species

• Eurasian Blackbird

  Turdus merula Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  540
• Great Tit

  Parus major Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  526
• House Sparrow

  Passer domesticus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  494
• Common Chaffinch

  Fringilla coelebs Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  453
• Common Wood-Pigeon

  Columba palumbus Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  427
• European Robin

  Erithacus rubecula (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  425
• Eurasian Blue Tit

  Cyanistes caeruleus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  399
• European Starling

  Sturnus vulgaris Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  344

Most recent

• M 4.2 — 2022-05-09
  5 km SW of Villebret, France
• M 2.6 — 2008-11-16
  4 km N of Saint-Georges-de-Mons, France
• M 2.6 — 2008-09-12
  5 km E of Mont-Dore, France
• M 2.5 — 2008-09-12
  9 km SSW of Saint-Sauves-d'Auvergne, France
• M 2.5 — 2008-09-11
  7 km SW of Aydat, France
• M 3 — 2008-09-10
  4 km E of Mont-Dore, France