Aveyron (French: [avɛʁɔ̃] ; Occitan: Avairon [aβajˈɾu]) 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 settlers in the area, the Ruteni. With an area of 8,735 square kilometres (3,373 sq mi) and a population of 279,609 (2023), Aveyron is a largely rural department with a population density of 32 people/km2 (83 people/mi2).
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History
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).
Geography
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 (8,735 km2 (3,373 sq mi)). 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 the 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.
Demography
After a long decline, the population has been increasing again since 1999.
Principal towns
The most populous commune is Rodez, the prefecture. Of the department's population, 25% live in the four largest communes: Rodez, Millau, Onet-le-Château, and Villefranche-de-Rouergue. As of 2023, there are 7 communes with more than 5,000 inhabitants:
Second homes
As of 2020, 17.3% of available housing in the department were second homes.
Politics
Departmental council
The Departmental Council of Aveyron has 46 seats (two per canton). The President of the Departmental Council has been Arnaud Viala since 2021. Formerly a member of The Republicans (LR), Viala joined Horizons (HOR) in 2024.
Culture
Regional sub-dialect
The regional sub-dialect spoken in Aveyron is a form of Languedoc Occitan called Rouergat. Faced with the risk of disappearance of the language several associations asked the State and political communities for an ambitious language policy.
In Rouergat, Aveyron is written:
Avairon (traditional Occitan spelling) – e.g. "Roergue forma lo despartament de l'Avairon"
Oboyróu (spelling of Father Vayssier) – e.g. "Rouergue fouórmo lou desportomén de l'Oboyróu"
Tourism
Aveyron contains 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.
Les Plus Beaux Villages de France
Ten towns in Aveyron fall within the classification of a 1901 association Les Plus Beaux Villages de France:
Belcastel
Brousse-le-Château
La Couvertoirade
Conques
Estaing
Najac
Peyre
Saint-Côme-d'Olt
Sainte-Eulalie-d'Olt
Sauveterre-de-Rouergue.
Other tourist spots
Roquecézière
Saint-Geniez-d'Olt
Loc-Dieu Abbey
Bonneval Abbey
Coupiac
Aubrac Mountains
Causse du Larzac
Château de Sévérac
Bournazel
Baraqueville
Château de Calmont d'Olt
Rodez
Millau
Pons
Medieval villages in the Muse Valley:
Castelnau-Pégayrols
Saint-Beauzély
Montjaux
Villefranche-de-Rouergue
Villeneuve
The Trou de Bozouls
The Tindoul de la Vayssière
Vale of Marcillac, Vineyards and towns:
Marcillac-Vallon
Salles-la-Source
Clairvaux-d'Aveyron
Muret-le-Château
The Lakes of Lévézou
Societies
Central Agricultural Society of Aveyron, founded in 1798
Society of letters, sciences and arts of Aveyron, founded in 1836
Notable people linked to the department
Denis Auguste Affre, Archbishop of Paris (1793–1848)
Georges d'Armagnac, Bishop of Avignon, cardinal and Bishop of Rodez (died in 1585)
Louis Gabriel Ambroise de Bonald, philosopher (1754–1840)
Louis-Jacques Maurice de Bonald, bishop (1787–1870)
Émile Borel, mathematician (1871–1956)
Jean Boudou, Occitan writer born in Crespin (home of Joan Bodon)
José Bové, anti-globalisationist, former MEP, presidential candidate, farmer, activist and former spokesman of French farmers' union Confédération paysanne, peasant in the cause of Larzac (1953–)
Michel Bras (1946–), chef
Jean Carrier, clergyman of the 15th century, the last supporter and successor of the Antipope Benedict XIII under the name of Benedict XIV
Edouard de Castelnau, general (1851–1944)
Bertrand Delanoe, French politician and mayor of Paris (1950–)
Auguste Denayrouze, scientist, inventor, writer (1837–1883)
Jean-Henri Fabre, French entomologist and writer (1823–1915)
Robert Fabre, founder of the Movement of Radicals of the left, ombudsman (1915–2006)
Maurice Fenaille, patron (1855–1937)