Аверон: Департамент в регионе Окситания (Франция)

Department in Occitania, France
the French department

Aveyron (avɛʁɔ̃; ; ) is a department in the region of Occitania, Southern France. It was named after the river Aveyron. Its inhabitants are known as Aveyronnais (masculine) or Aveyronnaises (feminine) in French. The inhabitants of Aveyron's prefecture, Rodez, are called Ruthénois, based upon the first Celtic settlers in the area, the Ruteni. With an area of and a population of 279,595, Aveyron is a largely rural department with a population density of 32 per square kilometer (83/sq mi).

Aveyron is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790. The earliest known inhabitants of the region were the Rutenii tribe, though the area was inhabited prior to their tenure. The department has many prehistoric monuments, including over a thousand dolmens, the most of any department in France. During the medieval and early modern periods, and until the 1790s, the territory included within Aveyron was a province known as Rouergue. In 1797, Victor of Aveyron (a feral child) was found wandering the woods in the area. The story of Victor is told in the film The Wild Child. In 1817, a local prosecutor, Antoine Bernardin Fualdès, was assassinated. The sordid circumstances of his death, following which his body was found floating in the river Aveyron, led to the matter becoming publicised as a cause célèbre. Recent studies have indicated that he met his end at the initiative of a right wing royalist organisation known as the Chevaliers de la Foi (Knights of Faith).

Aveyron is the centre of a triangle formed by the cities of Toulouse, Clermont Ferrand, and Montpellier. The department approximately follows the outline of the former province of Rouergue. It is the 5th largest department in metropolitan France in terms of area Its prefecture is Rodez. The department comes under the jurisdiction of the Academy of Toulouse and the Montpellier Court of Appeal. The INSEE and Post Code is 12. Aveyron is located in the south of the Massif Central. The highest point in the department is the summit of Le Signal de Mailhebiau at 1469m on the Plateau of Aubrac. The Aveyron department is divided into several natural regions such as the Grand Causses and Rougiers. Aveyron department consists of an ancient high rocky plateau of great geological diversity. The Truyère, Lot, Aveyron, and Tarn rivers have carved a number of deep gorges. The department is surrounded by those of Tarn, Tarn et Garonne, Lot, Hérault, Gard, Lozère and Cantal. The Lac de Villefranche de Panat is used as a reservoir to provide drinking water supplies for the region.

In 2017, the department had 279,206 inhabitants. The evolution of the number of inhabitants is known through the population censuses conducted in the department since 1793.

As of 2020, 17.3% of available housing in the department were second homes. +Communes with population over 2,000 and more than 10% of second homes in 2019 Town Municipal population Percentage ofsecond homes Saint Geniez d'Olt et d'Aubrac 30.3% Espalion 19.9% Salles la Source 18.5% Sévérac d'Aveyron 18.4% Saint Affrique 15.4% Bozouls 10.1% Naucelle 10.0%

Aveyron contains a part of the Cévennes National Park. Tourist attractions include the castle of Najac, a medieval ruin perched high on a hill, and other castles and monasteries such as Conques Abbey, Sylvanès Abbey, Bonneval Abbey and Loc Dieu Abbey, located near Martiel in a region with many dolmens. The small city of Millau is the site of the world's tallest bridge, the Millau viaduct, opened by President Chirac in December 2004. Activities include horseriding, fishing, swimming in the Lacs du Lévézou and hiking/camping. The inhabitants are also very good craftsmen, and Aveyron is full of various craft objects, handmade, that can be found locally. Examples include the couteau de Laguiole, the world famous Roquefort cheese, from the village of the same name and other local produce. Markets take place every Saturday on market places around the region. Saint Sernin sur Rance is the commune where the feral child Victor of Aveyron was found in the late 18th century.