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| Aveyron | |
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| Coat of arms of the Aveyron department | |
| Location | |
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| Administration | |
| Department number: | 12 |
| Region: | Midi-Pyrénées |
| Prefecture: | Rodez |
| Subprefectures: | Millau Villefranche-de-Rouergue |
| Arrondissements: | 3 |
| Cantons: | 46 |
| Communes: | 304 |
| President of the General Council: | Jean-Claude Luche UMP |
| Statistics | |
| Population | Ranked 78th |
| -1999 | 263,808 |
| Population density: | 30/km² |
| Land area¹: | 8735 km² |
| ¹ French Land Register data, which exclude estuaries, and lakes, ponds, and glaciers larger than 1 km². | |
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Aveyron (Occitan: Avairon) is a department in southern France named after the Aveyron River.
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History
Aveyron is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790.
The first known historical inhabitants of the region were the Rutenii tribe, but the area was inhabited previously to this, boasting many prehistoric ruins.
Geography
The department is part of the current Midi-Pyrénées region. It is surrounded by the départements of Tarn, Tarn-et-Garonne, Lot, Hérault, Gard, Lozère, and Cantal. Three main plateau compose the department: Aubrac, Lévézou and Larzac.
The highest point in the department is the summit of Mailhebuau at 1469 m (Plateau of Aubrac).
Demographics
The inhabitants of the department are called Aveyronnais, inhabitants of Rodez are called Ruthénois, based on the first Roman settlers, the rutenii.
Tourism
Aveyron contains a part of the Cévennes National Park. Two well known tourist attractions are the castle of Najac, a medieval ruin perched high on a hill, and the abbey of Loc-Dieu, located near Martiel in a region with many dolmens. The small city of Millau is the site of the world's tallest bridge, the Millau viaduct, opened by President Chirac in December 2004.
Activities include horseriding, fishing, swimming in the Lacs du Lévézou and hiking/camping. The inhabitants are also very good craftsmen, and Aveyron is full of various craft objects, handmade, that can be found locally. Examples include the couteau de Laguiole, the world famous Roquefort cheese, from the village of the same name and other local produce. Markets take place every Saturday on market places around the region.
Saint-Sernin-sur-Rance is the commune where Victor of Aveyron was found in the late 18th century.
Band
Aveyron is also the name of a small band that started recording and producing songs around August 2007.
See also
- Cantons of the Aveyron department
- Communes of the Aveyron department
- Arrondissements of the Aveyron department
External links
- (French) Prefecture website
- (French) General council of Aveyron's website
- (English) Aveyron Tourism Guide
- (French) Aveyron's bulletin board
