Moulins, Allier

**Moulins** is a *commune* in the Allier department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in central France.

It is the *préfecture* (capital) of the department and the historical capital of the old province of *Bourbonnais* (the Duchy of Bourbonnais).

## History
Moulins experienced its golden age in the 15th century, when the Dukes of Bourbon lived in the city on the Allier river. The region of the northern Massif Central where is Moulins is called the *Bourbonnais* after the House of Bourbon.

Moulins became the capital of Allier on 4 March 1790 with the creation of the departments in France.

During the German occupation in the Second World War, the border between occupied France and the pro-German France (Vichy France) went through the midst of Moulins.

## Geography
Moulins is along the Allier river, mainly on the right (eastern) side of the river. It has an area of , and its average altitude is ; at the city hall, the altitude is .

The distances from Moulins to other cities are:
* Paris, the national capital - ;
* Lyon, the regional capital - ;
* Reims - ;
* Bordeaux - ;
* Toulouse - ;
* Montpellier - ;
* Strasbourg - ;
* Nantes - ;
* Marseille - .

Moulins is surrounded by the *communes* Avermes, Yzeure, Toulon-sur-Allier, Bressolles and Neuvy.

### Climate
The climate of Moulins, in the Köppen climate classification, is **Cfb** - Oceanic climate with template summers.

## Population
The inhabitants of Moulins are known, in French, as *Moulinois* (women: *Moulinoises*).

With a population of 19,762, Moulins has a population density of  inhabitants/km2.

**Evolution of the population in Moulins**

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 bar:1968 from:0 till: 25979
 bar:1975 from:0 till: 26067
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 bar:1990 at: 22799 fontsize:S text: 22,799 shift:(-15,5)
 bar:1999 at: 21892 fontsize:S text: 21,892 shift:(-15,5)
 bar:2006 at: 20599 fontsize:S text: 20,599 shift:(-15,5)
 bar:2014 at: 19762 fontsize:S text: 19,762 shift:(-15,5)

## Administration
Moulins is the prefecture of the Allier department since 1800. It is also the capital of the *arrondissement* of Moulins and the administrative centre () of two cantons:
* Moulins-1, formed by 6 *communes* and part of Moulins, with 18,030 inhabitants (2014).
* Moulins-2, formed by 22 *communes* and part of Moulins, with 19,368 inhabitants (2014).

It is part of the intercommunality *Moulins Communauté* ().

### Sister cities 
Moulins is twinned with:
*  Bad Vilbel, Germany
*  Montepulciano, Italy

## Places of interest
Some interesting places in Moulins are:
* The **Moulins Cathedral Basilica** (''Cathédrale Notre-Dame-de-l'Annonciation de Moulins*) is a Roman Catholic cathedral.
* The **Anne de Beaujeu Museum** is an art museum.
* The **National Center of Costume and Scenography** (*Centre national du Costume de scène*) is a museum dedicated to stage costumes and sets.

## Gallery

File:Allier-moulins.jpg|Moulins and the Allier river.
File:Cathédrale Notre Dame et église du Sacré Coeur de Moulins 2006-07-24.jpg|*Notre Dame* cathedral and *Sacre Coeur* church, Moulins.
File:Moulins-eglise-du-sacre-coeur-b.JPG|*Sacre Coeur'' church, Moulins.
File:Moulins Tour Jacquemart 1.jpg|Jacquemart Tower.
File:MOULINS museeAnneDeBeaujeu.jpg|Anne de Beaujeu Museum.
File:Moulins (Allier, France) Eglise St Pierre (1).jpg|St. Peter church.

## People from or related to Moulins
* Coco Chanel, fashion designer, lived several years in Moulins.

## Related pages
* Arrondissements of the Allier department
* Communes of the Allier department

## References
## Other websites
* City council website 
* Local tourism website 
* Le Bourbonnais