Issoudun () is a commune in the

Indre Indre (; oc, Endre) is a landlocked department in central France named after the river Indre. The inhabitants of the department are known as the ''Indriens'' (masculine; ) and ''Indriennes'' (feminine; ). Indre is part of the current administ ...

department,

administrative region Administrative division, administrative unit,Article 3(1). country subdivision, administrative region, subnational entity, constituent state, as well as many similar terms, are generic names for geographical areas into which a particular, ind ...

Centre-Val de Loire Centre-Val de Loire (, , ,In isolation, ''Centre'' is pronounced . ) or Centre Region (french: région Centre, link=no, ), as it was known until 2015, is one of the eighteen administrative regions of France. It straddles the middle Loire Valle ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. It is also referred to as ''Issoundun'', which is the ancient name.

Geography

Location

Issoudun is a

sub-prefecture A subprefecture is an administrative division of a country that is below prefecture or province. Albania There are twelve Albanian counties or prefectures, each of which is divided into several districts, sometimes translated as subprefectures. ...

, located in the east of the

department. It is in the former region of

Berry A berry is a small, pulpy, and often edible fruit. Typically, berries are juicy, rounded, brightly colored, sweet, sour or tart, and do not have a stone or pit, although many pips or seeds may be present. Common examples are strawberries, rasp ...

. The surrounding communes are: * Les Bordes (4 km) * Saint-Aoustrille (5 km) * St. Lizaigne (7 km) * Chouday (7 km) * Lizeray (8 km) * Condé (8 km) * Thizay (8 km) * Saint-Georges-sur-Arnon (10 km) * Saint-Ambroix (10 km) * Saugy (10 km) * Saint-Aubin (11 km) * Châteauroux (27 km) * Châtre (41 km) * Le Blanc (79 km)

Terrain

The river of Théols passes through Issoudun. The commune of Issoudun takes up an area of 36.6 km².

Transport

The

national road The National Road (also known as the Cumberland Road) was the first major improved highway in the United States built by the federal government. Built between 1811 and 1837, the road connected the Potomac and Ohio Rivers and was a main tran ...

N151 passes through the area. The nearest airport is the Marcel Dassault Airport, 27 km away. The Issoudun station is located at 4 Pierre Favreau boulevard, 36100.

History

Middle Ages

During the 12th and 13th century, the history of the entire province of

, including the Lordship of Issoudun, was marked by the Capetian–Plantagenet rivalry. In 1195,

Richard I of England Richard I (8 September 1157 – 6 April 1199) was King of England from 1189 until his death in 1199. He also ruled as Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Aquitaine and Duchy of Gascony, Gascony, Lord of Cyprus, and Count of Poitiers, Co ...

defended the city from the advances of

Philip II of France Philip II (21 August 1165 – 14 July 1223), byname Philip Augustus (french: Philippe Auguste), was King of France from 1180 to 1223. His predecessors had been known as kings of the Franks, but from 1190 onward, Philip became the first French m ...

. Two kings met in December 1195 between Issoudun and

Chârost Chârost () is a commune in the Cher department in the Centre-Val de Loire region of France. Geography A farming village situated by the banks of the river Arnon, some southwest of Bourges at the junction of the N151 with the D16, D88, D18 and ...

, and reached an agreement, known as the ''Treaty of Issoudun''. Around this time the beak-shaped

keep A keep (from the Middle English ''kype'') is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word ''keep'', but usually consider it to refer to large towers in c ...

of the castle was built. By the Treaty of Le Goulet (1200), Lords of Issoudun (french: Seigneurs d'Issoudun) returned to the suzerainty of the French Crown. The most prominent Lords of Issoudun from that period were Odo III and his son Raoul III, who was married to Margaret of Courtenay. Since Raoul III of Issoudun died (c. 1213) without direct male heirs, the Lordship was passed to several secondary heirs, through the female line of succession. First of them was William I of Chauvigny (french: Guillaume I de Chauvigny) in 1217, but final settlement was reached in 1221, after the intervention of the French Crown. In 1499,

Cesare Borgia Cesare Borgia (; ca-valencia, Cèsar Borja ; es, link=no, César Borja ; 13 September 1475 – 12 March 1507) was an Italian ex-cardinal and ''condottiero'' (mercenary leader) of Aragonese (Spanish) origin, whose fight for power was a major i ...

, son of

Pope Alexander VI Pope Alexander VI ( it, Alessandro VI, va, Alexandre VI, es, Alejandro VI; born Rodrigo de Borja; ca-valencia, Roderic Llançol i de Borja ; es, Rodrigo Lanzol y de Borja, lang ; 1431 – 18 August 1503) was head of the Catholic Churc ...

, married Charlotte d'Albret, and as a dowry, was given, amongst other titles, the Lordship of Issoudun.

World War I

In 1917, the U.S. Air Service established its largest European training centre, the 3rd Aviation Instruction Center, about nine miles northwest of the town. At the time of the Armistice, 11 November 1918, thirteen fields were in operation and well over 10,000 ground personnel, student pilots and instructors were located there. It was at that time the largest air base in the world. A single monument on Department Route 960 remains to mark Issoudun's part in the

Great War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. The United States Air Service formally left Issoudun on 28 June 1919, almost eight months after the war ended. The sites of the former airfields have returned to their previous status as agricultural fields. On 28 June 2009, the people of Issoudun had a commemoration ceremony in honour of the American aviators who had trained, and in many cases, died while training there.

Recent Events

On 14 July 2009,

Bastille Day Bastille Day is the common name given in English-speaking countries to the national day of France, which is celebrated on 14 July each year. In French, it is formally called the (; "French National Celebration"); legally it is known as (; "t ...

, Issoudun hosted the arrival of the 10th stage of the Tour De France.

Politics and administration

Territorial division

Issoudun is a member of: * The

Communauté de communes du Pays d'Issoudun The communauté de communes du Pays d'Issoudun is located in the Cher and Indre ''départements'' of the Centre-Val de Loire region of France. It came into force on 1 January 1994.Canton of Issoudun The canton of Issoudun is an administrative division of the Indre department, central France. It was created at the French canton reorganisation which came into effect in March 2015. Its seat is in Issoudun. It consists of the following communes: ...

. * The

Arrondissement of Issoudun The arrondissement of Issoudun is an arrondissement of France in the Indre department in the Centre-Val de Loire region. It has 49 communes. Its population is 34,252 (2016), and its area is . Composition The communes of the arrondissement of Isso ...

. * Indre's 2nd constitueny. Between 1973 and 2015 the commune was also attached to and divided by the two cantons of Issoudun-Nord and Issoudun-Sud.

Population

Landmarks

File:05issoudun_alliss_Volga.JPG, Volga ALLISS Module File:06issoudun alliss Gange.JPG, Ganges ALLISS Module File:02issoudun_feeders+rideaux.JPG, Former RFI Issoudun Relay station feeders and curtain arrays File:01issoudun_rideaux_E.JPG, Former RFI Issoudun Relay curtain arrays (1990s) The International broadcasting center of TDF (Télédiffusion de France) is at Issoudun/Ste Aoustrille. Issoudun is currently used by TDF for

shortwave Shortwave radio is radio transmission using shortwave (SW) radio frequencies. There is no official definition of the band, but the range always includes all of the high frequency band (HF), which extends from 3 to 30 MHz (100 to 10 me ...

transmissions. The site uses 12 rotary ALLISS antennas fed by 12 transmitters of 500 kW each to transmit shortwave broadcasts by

Radio France International Radio France Internationale, usually referred to as RFI, is the state-owned international radio broadcaster of France. With 37.2 million listeners in 2014, it is one of the most-listened-to international radio stations in the world, along with ...

(RFI), along with other broadcast services.

In popular culture

Issoudun figures prominently in Balzac's novel A Bachelor's Establishment (also known as The Black Sheep) which the Guardian has ranked as the 12th greatest novel of all time.

Culture

Issoudun is home to the Musée de l'Hospice Saint Roch, that consistently hosts contemporary art exhibitions.

References

Sources

* *

External links

Town council website

Notre-Dame du Sacré-Coeur

Picture of Issoudun Basilica

American Aviation during World War I

ALLISS module installation 1992
{{Authority control Communes of Indre Subprefectures in France Berry, France