Arpajon-sur-Cère

Arpajon-sur-Cère (French pronunciation: [aʁpaʒɔ̃ syʁ sɛʁ], literally Arpajon on Cère; Occitan: Arpajon de Cera or just Arpajon) is a commune in the Cantal department in the Auvergne region of south-central France.

Arpajon-sur-Cère
Commune
Gardens at the Chateau of Carbonat
Coat of arms
Location of Arpajon-sur-Cère
Arpajon-sur-Cère Show map of France Arpajon-sur-Cère Show map of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Coordinates: 44°54′17″N 2°27′27″E
Country	France
Region	Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Department	Cantal
Arrondissement	Aurillac
Canton	Arpajon-sur-Cère
Intercommunality	CA Bassin Aurillac
Government
• Mayor (2020–2026)	Isabelle Lantuejoul[1]
Area 1	47.67 km2 (18.41 sq mi)
Population  (2022)[2]	6,363
• Density	130/km2 (350/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	15012 /15130
Elevation	566–844 m (1,857–2,769 ft) (avg. 600 m or 2,000 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Geography

Arpajon-sur-Cère is located immediately to the south of Aurillac some 70 km south-east of Brive-la-Gaillarde. The town is an extension of the urban area of Aurillac. Access to the commune is by the D920 from Aurillac which continues south to Lafeuillade-en-Vézie. The D990 also goes from south of the town to Vézac in the east. The D58 comes from Giou-de-Mamou in the north-east then goes south-west from the town to the Château de Conros and joins the D617 at the south-western border of the commune. Much of the runway of Aurillac – Tronquières Airport is in the commune. A railway passes through the north of the commune but the nearest station is in Aurillac. Apart from the town there are the villages and hamlets of:

• Carbonnat
• Esmoles
• Le Pont
• Roquetorte
• Douarat
• Le Bousquet
• Crespiat
• Le Cambon
• Le Sal
• Les Granges
• Lapeyrusse
• Carsac
• Combelles
• Senilhes
• Les Quatre Routes
• Toules

Outside the residential areas there are extensive forests in the south and south-west with the rest of the commune farmland.^[3]

The Jordanne river flows from Aurillac to join the Cère just south-west of the town with the Cère continuing west to eventually join the Dordogne at Girac.^[3]

Neighbouring communes and villages

^[3]

Toponymy

The name Arpjon originates from the Gallic word Arpaionem which is composed of the word arepo meaning "plough". It was attested in 923 in the form: vicaria arpajonensis.^[4] In Carladézien dialect, Arpajon is pronounced Olpotsou, according to a recording there in 2007.

History

The Dejou factory

"Jouets Dejou" poster

The Dejou Féniès & son and Lartigue companies were established in the commune in the 20th century manufacturing wood especially Jouets Dejou (Dejou Toys) which are highly sought after by Doll collectors.

Heraldry

Arms of Arpajon-sur-Cère

Blazon: Azure, a bend of Or, between 6 escallops set in orle.

Administration

List of Successive Mayors^[5]

From	To	Name	Party
1977	2014	Roger Destannes	PS
2014	2020	Michel Roussy
2020	2026	Isabelle Lantuejoul

Twinning

Arpajon-sur-Cère has twinning associations with:^[6]

• Blyth (United Kingdom) since 1990.
• Bougouni (Mali).

Demography

The inhabitants of the commune are known as Arpajonnais or Arpajonnaises in French.^[7]

Historical population

Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1793 1,836 —     1800 1,728 −0.86% 1806 2,064 +3.01% 1821 2,043 −0.07% 1831 2,234 +0.90% 1836 2,292 +0.51% 1841 2,331 +0.34% 1846 2,350 +0.16% 1851 2,271 −0.68% 1856 2,272 +0.01% 1861 2,278 +0.05% 1866 2,225 −0.47% 1872 2,106 −0.91% 1876 2,228 +1.42% 1881 2,268 +0.36% 1886 2,242 −0.23% 1891 2,268 +0.23% 1896 2,354 +0.75%	Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1901 2,457 +0.86% 1906 2,450 −0.06% 1911 2,579 +1.03% 1921 2,332 −1.00% 1926 2,412 +0.68% 1931 2,467 +0.45% 1936 2,576 +0.87% 1946 2,824 +0.92% 1954 2,891 +0.29% 1962 3,071 +0.76% 1968 3,277 +1.09% 1975 4,260 +3.82% 1982 4,866 +1.92% 1990 5,296 +1.06% 1999 5,545 +0.51% 2007 5,924 +0.83% 2012 6,192 +0.89% 2017 6,217 +0.08%
Source: EHESS[8] and INSEE[9]

Sites and Monuments

The Chateau de Conros

A Tremissis coin from Childebert I struck at Arpajon-sur-Cère

The commune has several sites and buildings that are registered as historical monuments:

• The Birthplace of Général Milhaud at 1 Avenue du Général-Milhaud (1753)^[10]
• The old Pont-de-Mamou Mill on Rue Jean-Jaurès (1772)^[11]
• The Château de Conros (15th century)^[12]
• The Château de Conros Park^[13]
• The Château de Carbonat Park^[14]
• The Château de Limagne Garden^[15]

Other sites of interest

• Barrière hamlet where Louis Laparra de Fieux was born.
• The Cabrières bridge, a hamlet and a bridge which once had a toll.
• The Chateau de Ganhac currently a mansion house, a former fief awarded in 1676 to Charles de Broquin who was married to Jeanne de Cambefort.
• The Château de Montal, a former fief whose family was originally the Lords of Laroquebrou and Conros, with a castrale chapel under the invocation of Saint Michael. It then became the property of the La Roque-Montal family.
• The Chateau de La Prade, purchased in 1756 by Marie-Françoise de Broglie, the widow of Charles Robert de Lignerac who did considerable work on the building. Ruined in the French Revolution.
• The Arboretum d'Arpajon-sur-Cère
• The Parish Church contains several items that are registered as historical objects:
  • 2 Bronze Bells (1781)^[16]
  • A Painting: The Placing in the Tomb (16th century)^[17]
  • A framed Painting: The Baptism of Christ (17th century)^[18]
  • A Sarcophagus (Middle Ages)^[19]

The Chateau de Carbonat Picture Gallery

• 
  The Chateau front
• 
  The Gardens
• 
  The Gardens
• 
  An old postcard of the chateau
• 
  An old postcard of the chateau
• 
  The chateau in ruins
• 
  The fireplace in the chateau
• 
  A detail on the fireplace
• 
  A filled-in embrasure in the chateau
• 
  Arms of Carbonat
• 
  A door in the chateau

Notable people linked to the commune

• Jacques de Milly, Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller
• Louis Laparra de Fieux (Arpajon 1651-1706), engineer of fortifications and strategist.
• Édouard Jean Baptiste Milhaud (Arpajon 1766 - Aurillac 1833), member of the National Convention, General, Count of the Empire.
• Eugene d'Humières, man of letters, translator of Kipling.
• Louis Dauzier, politician and mayor of Aurillac under the French Third Republic.
• Antoine Dusserre (Carbonnat 1865-1925), novelist.
• Léo Pons, filmmaker.

See also

• Communes of the Cantal department

References

1. "Répertoire national des élus: les maires". data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises (in French). 2 December 2020.
2. "Populations de référence 2022" (in French). The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 19 December 2024.
3. Google Maps
4. Albert Dauzat
5. List of Mayors of France (in French)
6. National Commission for Decentralised cooperation (in French)
7. Le nom des habitants du 15 - Cantal, habitants.fr
8. Des villages de Cassini aux communes d'aujourd'hui: Commune data sheet Arpajon-sur-Cère, EHESS (in French).
9. Population en historique depuis 1968, INSEE
10. Ministry of Culture, Mérimée PA00093445 Birthplace of Général Milhaud (in French)
11. Ministry of Culture, Mérimée PA00093446 Pont-de-Mamou Mill (in French)
12. Ministry of Culture, Mérimée PA00093444 Château de Conros (in French)
13. Ministry of Culture, Mérimée IA15000309 Château de Conros Park (in French)
14. Ministry of Culture, Mérimée IA15000367 Château de Carbonat Park (in French)
15. Ministry of Culture, Mérimée IA15000297 Château de Limagne Park (in French)
16. Ministry of Culture, Palissy PM15000060 Bronze BellPM15000059 Bronze Bell (in French)
17. Ministry of Culture, Palissy PM15000058 Painting: The Placing in the Tomb (in French)
18. Ministry of Culture, Palissy PM15000770 Painting: Framed Painting: The Baptism of Christ (in French)
19. Ministry of Culture, Palissy PM15000552 Sarcophagus (in French)

External links

• Discovery of an early Christian sarcophagus and medieval sepulchres in sarcophagi at Arpajon-sur-Cère (in French)
• Arpajon-sur-Cère on the National Geographic Institute website (in French)
• Arpajon on the 1750 Cassini Map