Title: Montluçon Content: Montluçon is a commune in central France, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, on the Cher river. It is the commune in the department with largest population, although the department's préfecture is in the smaller city of Moulins. The town is the historical capital of the old province of Bourbonnais and was part of the mediaeval Duchy of Bourbon. ==History== Montluçon was built in the Middle Ages. The first mention of a place called Monte Lucii is from the eleventh century. Guillaume, son of Archambaud IV of Bourbon, built a castle on a small rocky hill on the Cher river. The town, which formed part of the duchy of Bourbon, was taken by the English in 1171, and by Philip II of France in 1181; finally, in the 14th century, the English had to leave the town. In the 14th century, Louis II de Bourbon re-built the castle and walls of the town. Montluçon and other Burgundian lands went back to the French crown in 1529, and Henry IV further improved the defenses. == Geography == The commune of Montluçon is on the northwestern part of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, on the northern part of the Massif Central. The city is on the Cher river. The commune has an area of , and its average altitude is ; at the city hall, the altitude is . The city is from Moulins, from Clermont-Ferrand and from Paris.  Montluçon is surrounded by the communes Saint- Victor, Désertines, Saint-Angel, Néris-les-Bains, Lavault-Sainte-Anne, Prémilhat and Domérat. === Climate === The Köppen climate classification type for the climate at Montluçon is an "Oceanic climate" (also known as Maritime Temperate climate) and of the subtype "Cfb". ==Population== The inhabitants of Montluçon are known, in French, as Montluçonnais (women: Montluçonnaises). With a population of 37,289, Montluçon is the largest city of the Allier department. It has a population density of inhabitants/km2. Evolution of the population in Montluçon Colors= id:lightgrey value:gray(0.9) id:darkgrey value:gray(0.7) id:sfondo value:rgb(1,1,1) id:barra value:rgb(0.6,0.7,0.8) ImageSize = width:500 height:373 PlotArea = left:50 bottom:30 top:30 right:30 DateFormat = x.y Period = from:0 till:60000 TimeAxis = orientation:vertical AlignBars = justify ScaleMajor = gridcolor:darkgrey increment:10000 start:0 ScaleMinor = gridcolor:lightgrey increment:5000 start:0 BackgroundColors = canvas:sfondo BarData= bar:1968 text:1968 bar:1975 text:1975 bar:1982 text:1982 bar:1990 text:1990 bar:1999 text:1999 bar:2006 text:2006 bar:2014 text:2014 PlotData= color:barra width:30 align:left bar:1968 from:0 till: 57871 bar:1975 from:0 till: 56468 bar:1982 from:0 till: 49912 bar:1990 from:0 till: 44248 bar:1999 from:0 till: 41362 bar:2006 from:0 till: 39889 bar:2014 from:0 till: 37289 PlotData= bar:1968 at: 57871 fontsize:S text: 57,871 shift:(-12,5) bar:1975 at: 56468 fontsize:S text: 56,468 shift:(-15,5) bar:1982 at: 49912 fontsize:S text: 49,912 shift:(-15,5) bar:1990 at: 44248 fontsize:S text: 44,248 shift:(-15,5) bar:1999 at: 41362 fontsize:S text: 41,362 shift:(-15,5) bar:2006 at: 39889 fontsize:S text: 39,889 shift:(-15,5) bar:2014 at: 37289 fontsize:S text: 37,289 shift:(-15,5) Montluçon forms, with other 6 communes, the urban area of Montluçon with a population of 56,928 inhabitants (2014) and an area of . This urban area is the centre of the metropolitan area of Montluçon, formed by 38 communes, with a population of 78,702 inhabitants (2014) and an area of . == Administration == Montluçon is a subprefecture of the Allier department since 1800. It is also the capital of the arrondissement of Montluçon and the administrative centre  of four cantons: * Montluçon-1 formed by 1 commune and part of Montluçon, with 16,633 inhabitants (2014). * Montluçon-2 formed by 18 communes and part of Montluçon, with 25,837 inhabitants (2014). * Montluçon-3 formed by 14 communes and part of Montluçon, with 19,289 inhabitants (2014). * Montluçon-4 formed by 6 communes and part of Montluçon, with 16,556 inhabitants (2014). It is part of the intercommunality Montluçon Communauté. === Sister cities === Montluçon is twinned with: * Antsirabe, Madagascar * Hagen, Germany * Leszno, Poland ==Places of interest== Some interesting places in Montluçon are: * The Church of Saint-Pierre (Église Saint-Pierre de Montluçon) is a Roman Catholic church built in the 12th century, with a Romanesque architecture. * The Church of Notre-Dame (Église Notre-Dame de Montluçon), another Roman Catholic church built in the 15th century, with a Gothic architecture. * The Dukes of Bourbon castle (Château des ducs de Bourbon) is a castle. It was built beginning in 1070. ==Gallery== File:Montluçon château 2.jpg|Château des ducs de Bourbon. File:Château des Ducs de Bourbon - Montluçon.jpg|Château des ducs de Bourbon. File:Montlucon-NotreDame.jpg|Notre-Dame de Montluçon church. File:60. Église Saint-Paul Montluçon.JPG|Saint-Paul church. File:Montluçon Hôtel de Ville 1.jpg|City hall of Montluçon. ==People from or related to Montluçon== * Marx Dormoy (1888-1941), politician. * André Messager (1853–1929), composer. * Audrey Tautou (1976-), actress, was raised in Montluçon. ==Related pages== * Arrondissement of Montluçon * Communes of the Allier department