Ayrens is a commune in the Cantal department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of south-central France.
Geography Ayrens is located some 15 km north-west of Aurillac and 5 km north of Saint-Paul-des-Landes. Access to the commune is by road D52 from Teissières-de-Cornet in the south-east which passes through the village and continues west then south to join the D120 north-east of Laroquebrou. The D53 comes from Saint-Paul-des-Landes in the south and also passes through the village before continuing north-east to join the D6 near the border of the commune. The D352 goes north from the village to join the D53 north of the commune. Apart from the village there are the hamlets of:
Les Baraques Le Bos Niac Boutonnet Cels Ciels Colin La Croix-Longue Jammes Le Mont Renac Selves Serieys Tannuies La Tronque
The commune is mainly farmland with extensive forests in the northern part.Google Maps
The Ruisseau du Meyrou flows from the south-east through the south of the commune forming a small part of the western border before continuing north to join the Eize. The Ruisseau d'Ayrens rises in the east of the commune and flows west through the village to the join the Ruisseau du Meyrou on the western border of the commune. The Ruisseau de Braulle flows from the west of the commune through the centre north of the village to join the Ruisseau du Meyrou on the western border. The Ruisseau de Praniac rises in the north of the commune and forms part of the northern border as it flows west to join the Eize.
Neighbouring communes and villages
History Ayrens commune lies on the Paris meridian and on the 45th parallel north (). It was therefore the fundamental point for the Bonne projection used in the Carte d'État-Major (General Staff Map) in the 19th century.
Administration List of Successive MayorsList of Mayors of France
From To Name 1790 1793 Louis Linthilac 1793 1793 François Maleprade 1793 1795 Louis Dejour 1795 1796 Guillaume Lafon 1796 1798 René Andrieu 1798 1799 Pierre Lallier 1799 1802 Jean Vabret 1802 1802 Louis Bonhomme 1802 1803 François Maleprade 1803 1804 Antoine Maisonobe 1805 1805 François Capelle 1805 1806 Antoine Maisonobe 1806 1808 Charles Devèze 1808 1816 Antoine Bonhomme 1816 1820 Salvenie de Montal 1820 1848 Antoine de Montal 1848 1852 Durand Lafon 1852 1857 Louis Rengade 1857 1863 Antoine Deconquand 1863 1876 Jean Rengade 1876 1888 Emile Gazard 1888 1896 Amédée Rebeyrols 1896 1904 Antoine Mallet 1904 1910 Jean Léon Reniac 1910 1920 Pierre Vidal 1920 1933 Louis Maisonobe 1933 1935 François Veschambres
Mayors from 1935
From To Name Party Position 1935 1945 Pierre Poux 1943 1947 François Veschambres 1947 1958 Adrien Prunet 1958 1971 Albert Moissinac 1971 2008 Jean Chanut 2008 2014 Robert Wallez 2014 2020 Philippe Granier
Demography The inhabitants of the commune are known as Ayrencois or Ayrencoises in French.Le nom des habitants du 15 - Cantal, habitants.fr
Sites and monuments
The Château de Clavières, built in the Troubadour style, was burnt down on 25 May 1936 and left in ruins. Château de Clavières The Parc de Clavières is registered as an historical monument.Ministry of Culture, Mérimée
The intersection of the Paris meridian and the 45th parallel north is in a field where four trees were planted on the occasion of the celebration of the Méridienne verte (Green Meridian) on 14 July 2000. The trees are arranged in a square whose vertices are directed toward the four cardinal points, which allows the determination of the exact intersection point.
Notable people linked to the commune Cardinal Guillaume de La Jugie, restored then lived in the Château of Angouste in the 14th century. Félix de la Salle de Rochemaure (1856–1915), French félibrige writer,Félibrée de Sceaux, Sunday 5 June 2011, intervention by Jacques Mouttet Duc de La Salle de Rochemaure, Gerbert, Silvestre II Paul Émile, Paris, 1914 Marcellin Boudet, Necrology of the Duke of La Salle de Rochemaure, 1915, in RHA, 60 p. lived in the Château of Clavières. Jean Léon Sanis (Ayrens 1804-?), geographer, professor at the Lycée Louis-le-Grand.
See also Occitania Félibrige Pope Sylvester II Auvergne (province), the historical independent county and later French province Communes of the Cantal department
References
External links Felibrige official website Ayrens on Géoportail, National Geographic Institute (IGN) website Aireins on the 1750 Cassini Map