Title: Auch Content: Auch (Gascon: Aush or Aux) is a commune in southwestern France, in the region of Occitanie. It is the prefecture (capital) of the Gers department. It is also the capital of 3 cantons: Auch-1, Auch-2 and Auch-3. Auch is the historical capital of Gascony and the people of this city are known, in French, as auscitain (women: auscitaines). ==History== thumb|left|Auch in 1883 Auch is an ancient town. The name of Auch comes from the people that inhabited the area at the time of the Roman conquest. The name of this tribe was Ausci, singular Auscus. The Romans named the town where that tribe lived as Augusta Auscorum (or Augusta Ausciorum), which means "Augusta of the Ausci". Eventually, Augusta was dropped, and the name changed into modern Gascon Aush, and modern French Auch. ==Geography== thumb|left|The old city Auch is in the southwest of France, in Armagnac (Gascony), in the valley of the Gers river. It extends along the sides of the river that gives its name to the department. The river splits the city in two parts: * The Upper Town , on a small hill on the right side of the river. It is a medieval city with narrow streets with stairs and where most of the old monuments are found. * The Lower Town , on a plain on the left side of the river. The commune is, in straight line, at from the Pyrenees, from the Bay of Biscay, from Bordeaux, from Toulouse and from Pau. It has an area of and its average altitude is .  Auch is surrounded by the following communes, all of them part of the arrondissement of Auch: Roquelaure to the north, Preignan and Montaut-les- Créneaux to the northeast, Leboulin and Montégut to the east, Pessan to the southeast, Pavie to the south, Lasséran and Barran to the southwest, Ordan- Larroque and Duran to the west and Castin and Castillon-Massas to the northwest. ===Climate=== The climate of the department is an oceanic climate with template summers, Cfb (Marine West Coast Climate) in the Köppen climate classification. The average temperature for the year in Auch is . The warmest month, on average, is July with an average temperature of . The coolest month on average is January, with an average temperature of . The highest recorded temperature in Auch is , which was recorded in August. The lowest recorded temperature in Auch is , which was recorded in January. The average amount of precipitation for the year in Auch is . The month with the most precipitation on average is May with of precipitation. The month with the least precipitation on average is February with an average of . ==Population== The city of Auch has a population, in 2014, of 21,807; its population density is of inhabitants/km2. Evolution of the population in Auch 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:25000 TimeAxis = orientation:vertical AlignBars = justify ScaleMajor = gridcolor:darkgrey increment:5000 start:0 ScaleMinor = gridcolor:lightgrey increment:2500 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:2011 text:2011 bar:2014 text:2014 PlotData= color:barra width:30 align:left bar:1968 from:0 till: 21462 bar:1975 from:0 till: 23185 bar:1982 from:0 till: 23258 bar:1990 from:0 till: 23136 bar:1999 from:0 till: 21838 bar:2006 from:0 till: 21545 bar:2011 from:0 till: 21871 bar:2014 from:0 till: 21807 PlotData= bar:1968 at: 21462 fontsize:S text: 21,462 shift:(-12,5) bar:1975 at: 23185 fontsize:S text: 23,185 shift:(-18,5) bar:1982 at: 23258 fontsize:S text: 23,258 shift:(-18,5) bar:1990 at: 23136 fontsize:S text: 23,136 shift:(-18,5) bar:1999 at: 21838 fontsize:S text: 21,838 shift:(-18,5) bar:2006 at: 21545 fontsize:S text: 21,545 shift:(-18,5) bar:2011 at: 21871 fontsize:S text: 21,871 shift:(-18,5) bar:2014 at: 21807 fontsize:S text: 21,807 shift:(-18,5) == Administration == Auch is the prefecture of the Cantal department, the capital of the arrondissement of Auch and the administrative centre  of three cantons: # Auch-1 : 5 communes + part of Auch with 11,098 inhabitants (2014) # Auch-2 : 13 communes + part of Auch with 10,298 inhabitants (2014) # Auch-3 : 9 communes + part of Auch with 11,390 inhabitants (2014) It is part of the intercommunality Le Grand Auch . === Sister cities === Auch is twinned with: * Memmingen, Germany * Calatayud, Spain ==Places of interest== A city founded by the Romans, Auch had its period of power during the Middle Ages, when it was the capital of the old province of Gascony. The high quality of the limestone is an important component of its monuments and buildings, such as its cathedral. Some of these places of interest are: * Cathédrale Sainte-Marie d'Auch (St Mary's Cathedral). This cathedral took 200 years to build; from the 15th – 17th centuries. * Hôtel de ville (City hall). * Tour d'Armagnac (Tower of Armagnac). An ancient prison from the 14th century * Escalier monumental (Monumental Staircase). 370 steps built in 1863 * Musée des Jacobins * Pont de la Treille ==Gallery== thumb|center|upright=1.9|The Basse-Ville from the monumental staircase File:Cathédrale d'Auch 01.jpg|Auch Cathedral, west front File:Hôtel de Ville d'Auch (Gers, France).JPG|Hôtel de ville (City hall) File:Tower of Armagnac, Auch, Gers, France.JPG|Tour d'Armagnac File:Escalier monumental en partie rénové.jpg|Escalier monumental File:Auch - Pont de la Treille.jpg|Pont de la Treille ==Related pages== * Arrondissement of Auch * Communes of the Gers department