Guéret

Guéret () is a commune of France. It is the prefecture of the  Creuse department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region.

History
In 1514, Guéret became the capital of the County of Marche,  a medieval French county, approximately corresponding to the modern Creuse department.

In 1790, when the departments were created, Guéret was named as the capital of the Creuse department.

Geography
Guéret is in a plateau between the Creuse and the Gartempe rivers, at the foot of two hills: the Puy de Gaudy,  high, and the Maupuy,  high. The commune has an area of , and its average altitude is ; at the city hall, the altitude is .

The city of Guéret is at about  from Bordeaux, at  from Toulouse, at  from Paris and at  from Lyon.
+ Guéret and its neighboring communes 350px|Map of the commune of Guéret

The communes that are around Guéret are Saint-Fiel, Sainte-Feyre, Savennes, Saint-Christophe, La Chapelle-Taillefert, Saint-Léger-le-Guérétois and Saint-Sulpice-le-Guérétois.

 Climate 
Guéret has an oceanic climate with relatively hot summers, mild winters and abundant rainfall, Cfb in the Köppen climate classification.

Population
The inhabitants of Guéret are known, in French, as Guérétois (women: Guérétoises).

The commune of Guéret has a population, in 2014, of 13,342; its population density is of  inhabitants/km2.

Evolution of the population in Guéret

Guéret forms, together with Saint-Fiel, the urban area of Guéret with a population of 14,157 inhabitants (2013) and an area of . This urban area is the centre of the metropolitan area of Guéret, formed by 32 communes with a population of 31,499 inhabitants and an area of .

 Administration 
Guéret is the prefecture of the Creuse department, the capital of the arrondissement of Guéret and the administrative centre () of two cantons:
 Guéret-1, with 9,332 inhabitants (2014).
 Guéret-2, with 9,724 inhabitants (2014).

It is part of the intercommunality Le Grand Guéret ().

 Sister cities 
Guéret is twinned with:
  Stein, Germany since 1991

Sites of interest
 The Hotel de Moneyroux. This building, of Gothic style, was built in the fifteenth century. It is now the headquarters of the General Council of the Creuse.
 The Presidial, dating from the seventeenth century, now is the town hall.
 The Museum of the Sénatorerie. The building served as house for senators under Napoleon. Since 1832, the Society of Archaeological and Natural Sciences of the Creuse has been housed here.
 Courtille lake, a recreation area south of Guéret, is an artificial lake along a shaded path.
 Chabrières forest is a large forest to the south of Guéret. It has a zoo, where one can see wolves in semi-liberty in large espaces with walls. Here  there are some big dolmens.

Gallery

Related pages
 Arrondissement of Guéret
 Communes of the Creuse department

References

Other websites

 Ville de Guéret - official website 
 La Communauté d’Agglomération du Grand-Guéret 
 Conseil Départamental de la Creuse 
 Préfecture de la Creuse 

Category:Communes in Creuse
Category:Departmental capitals in France