Aveyron (French:[avɛʁɔ̃]ⓘ; Occitan: Avairon[aβajˈɾu]) is a department in the region of Occitania, Southern France. It was named after the river Aveyron. Its inhabitants are known as Aveyronnais (masculine) or Aveyronnaises (feminine) in French.[3] The inhabitants of Aveyron's prefecture, Rodez, are called Ruthénois, based upon the first Celtic settlers in the area, the Ruteni. With an area of 8,735 square kilometres (3,373 sq mi) and a population of 279,595, Aveyron is a largely rural department with a population density of 32 people/km2 (83 people/sq mi).[4]
Aveyron is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790. The earliest known inhabitants of the region were the Rutenii tribe, though the area was inhabited prior to their tenure. The department has many prehistoric monuments, including over a thousand dolmens, the most of any department in France.
Victor of Aveyron in 1800
During the medieval and early modern periods, and until the 1790s, the territory included within Aveyron was a province known as Rouergue. In 1797, Victor of Aveyron (a feral child) was found wandering the woods in the area. The story of Victor is told in the film The Wild Child.
In 1817, a local prosecutor, Antoine Bernardin Fualdès, was assassinated. The sordid circumstances of his death, following which his body was found floating in the river Aveyron, led to the matter becoming publicised as a cause célèbre. Recent studies have indicated that he met his end at the initiative of a right-wing royalist organisation known as the Chevaliers de la Foi (Knights of Faith).[5]
Heraldry
Geography
Aveyron is the centre of a triangle formed by the cities of Toulouse, Clermont-Ferrand, and Montpellier. The department approximately follows the outline of the former province of Rouergue. It is the 5th largest department in metropolitan France in terms of area (8,735 km2 (3,373 sq mi)). Its prefecture is Rodez.
The department comes under the jurisdiction of the Academy of Toulouse and the Montpellier Court of Appeal. The INSEE and Post Code is 12. Aveyron is located in the south of the Massif Central. The highest point in the department is the summit of the Signal de Mailhebiau at 1469m on the Plateau of Aubrac. The Aveyron department is divided into several natural regions such as the Grand Causses and Rougiers.
Aveyron department consists of an ancient high rocky plateau of great geological diversity. The Truyère, Lot, Aveyron, and Tarn rivers have carved a number of deep gorges. The department is surrounded by those of Tarn, Tarn-et-Garonne, Lot, Hérault, Gard, Lozère and Cantal. The Lac de Villefranche-de-Panat is used as a reservoir to provide drinking water supplies for the region.
Climate
Demography
In 2017, the department had 279,206 inhabitants. The evolution of the number of inhabitants is known through the population censuses conducted in the department since 1793.
Principal towns
The most populous commune is Rodez, the prefecture. Of the department's population, 25% live in the four largest communes: Rodez, Millau, Onet-le-Château, and Villefranche-de-Rouergue. As of 2019, there are 7 communes with more than 5,000 inhabitants:[10]
Second homes
As of 2020, 17.3% of available housing in the department were second homes.[11]
Politics
Departmental Council
The Department Council of Aveyron has 46 seats. The President of the Departmental Council has been Jean-François Galliard of the Union of Democrats and Independents (UDI) from 2017 to 2021. The President has been Arnaud Viala since 2021.
The regional sub-dialect spoken in Aveyron is a form of LanguedocOccitan called Rouergat. Faced with the risk of disappearance of the language several associations asked the State and political communities for an ambitious language policy.[14]
In Rouergat, Aveyron is written:
Avairon (traditional Occitan spelling) – e.g. "Roergue forma lo despartament de l'Avairon"
Oboyróu (spelling of Father Vayssier) – e.g. "Rouergue fouórmo lou desportomén de l'Oboyróu"
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.
José Bové, anti-globalizationist, MEP since 2009, farmer, activist and former spokesman of French farmers union Confédération paysanne, peasant in the cause of Larzac (1953 -)
Encyclopedia Bonneton, Aveyron, Christine Bonneton, 2005 (in French)
Jean-Michel Cosson, Dictionary of Aveyron, Loubatières, ISBN 2-86266-471-5(in French)
Daniel Crozes, The Guide to Aveyron, Éditions du Rouergue, ISBN 2-84156-541-6(in French)
Aue/Miche, Aveyron (Discovered), MSM, ISBN 2-911515-44-7(in French)
Dominique Auzias, Jean-Paul Labourdette, The small clever Aveyron, Collectif, Nouvelles Éditions Université, ISBN 2-7469-1664-9(in French)
Paul Astruc, Major Criminal cases of Aveyron, Éditions De Borée, ISBN 2-84494-180-X(in French)
Christian Bernard, Aveyron in flowers: Illustrated inventory of vascular plants of Aveyron department, Éditions du Rouergue, ISBN 2-84156-658-7(in French)
Francine Claustres, Aveyron Cuisine, Sud Ouest, ISBN 2-87901-257-0(in French)
Aveyron: Farming Yields, Du Curieux, ISBN 2-914225-07-5(in French)
French Hiking Federation, Aveyron on foot, Guide FFRP, ISBN 2-85699-893-3(in French)
French Hiking Federation, The most beautiful villages in Aveyron… on foot: 20 walks and hikes, FFRP, ISBN 2-7514-0113-9(in French)
Hubert Calmette, The paths of Émilie in Aveyron, French Hiking Federation, ISBN 2-84182-156-0(in French)
Richard André, Romain Pages Éditions, Le Parc naturel régional des Grands Causses, ISBN 2-84350-194-6(in French)
Rémi Soulié, The old Rouergue: Land of Aveyron, Paris, ISBN 2-84621-069-1(in French)
Alain Marc, Aveyron, Logbooks, Éditions du Rouergue, ISBN 2-84156-610-2(in French)
Laurent Millet, Family names of Aveyron, Archives Cult, ISBN 2-35077-013-3(in French)
Laurent Barthe, Of Rouergue in Aveyron, Empreinte, ISBN 2-913319-34-3(in French)
Aveyron 1900–1920 Édition De Boree, ISBN 2-84494-322-5(in French)
Jean-Michel Cosson, Stéphane Monnet, Aveyron in the 1939–1945 war, Éditions De Boré, ISBN 2-84494-464-7(in French)
Jill Dawson, Béatrice Dunner, The wild child of Aveyron, Du Rocher, ISBN 2-268-05377-6(in French)
Jean Itard, Victor de l'Aveyron, Allia, ISBN 2-904235-78-7(in French)
Dagonet/Christian, Regards to Aveyron, De Borée, ISBN 2-84494-536-8(in French)
Nicole de Bertier, Meeting in Aveyron, Equinoxe, ISBN 2-84135-471-7(in French)
^"Répertoire national des élus: les conseillers départementaux". data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises (in French). 4 May 2022.