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

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

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

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

Related pages
 Arrondissement of Auch
 Communes of the Gers department

References

Other websites

 Ville d'Auch - Official website 
 Le Grand Auch 
 Office de Tourisme de Grand Auch 

Communes in Gers
Departmental capitals in France