Arpajon-sur-Cère (, literally ''Arpajon on Cère''; oc, Arpajon de Cera or just ) is a commune in the

Cantal Cantal (; oc, Cantal or ) is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of France, with its prefecture in Aurillac. Its other principal towns are Saint-Flour (the episcopal see) and Mauriac; its residents are known as Cantalians (fren ...

department in the

Auvergne Auvergne (; ; oc, label= Occitan, Auvèrnhe or ) is a former administrative region in central France, comprising the four departments of Allier, Puy-de-Dôme, Cantal and Haute-Loire. Since 1 January 2016, it has been part of the new region Au ...

region of south-central

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 ...

. The inhabitants of the commune are known as ''Arpajonnais'' or ''Arpajonnaises''

Geography

Arpajon-sur-Cère is located immediately to the south of

Aurillac Aurillac (; oc, Orlhac ) is the prefecture of the Cantal department, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of France. The inhabitants of the commune are known as ''Aurillacois'' or ''Aurillacoises''. Geography Aurillac is at above sea leve ...

some 70 km south-east of

Brive-la-Gaillarde Brive-la-Gaillarde (; Limousin dialect of oc, Briva la Galharda) is a commune of France. It is a sub-prefecture and the largest city of the Corrèze department. It has around 46,000 inhabitants, while the population of the agglomeration was 7 ...

. 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.Google Maps
/ref> 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 Dordogne ( , or ; ; oc, Dordonha ) is a large rural department in Southwestern France, with its prefecture in Périgueux. Located in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region roughly half-way between the Loire Valley and the Pyrenees, it is named ...

at Girac.

Neighbouring communes and villages

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''. In Carladézien dialect, ''Arpajon'' is pronounced ''Olpotsou'', according to a recording there in 2007.

History

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 A doll is a model typically of a human or humanoid character, often used as a toy for children. Dolls have also been used in traditional religious rituals throughout the world. Traditional dolls made of materials such as clay and wood are foun ...

collectors.

Heraldry

Administration

List of Successive Mayors

Twinning

Arpajon-sur-Cère has twinning associations with: * Blyth (

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

) since 1990. * Bougouni (

Mali Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Ma ...

Demography

In 2017 the commune had 6,217 inhabitants.

Sites and Monuments

Trémissis de Childebert Ier frappé à 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) *The old Pont-de-Mamou Mill on Rue Jean-Jaurès (1772) *The Château de Conros (15th century) *The Château de Conros Park *The Château de Carbonat Park *The Château de Limagne Garden ;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 French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are conside ...

. *The Arboretum d'Arpajon-sur-Cère *The Parish Church contains several items that are registered as historical objects: **2 Bronze Bells (1781) **A Painting: The Placing in the Tomb (16th century) **A framed Painting: The Baptism of Christ (17th century) **A

Sarcophagus A sarcophagus (plural sarcophagi or sarcophaguses) is a box-like funeral receptacle for a corpse, most commonly carved in stone, and usually displayed above ground, though it may also be buried. The word ''sarcophagus'' comes from the Gre ...

(

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

)Ministry of Culture, Palissy ;The Chateau de Carbonat Picture Gallery File:Château de Carbonat.jpg, The Chateau front File:Jardin château Carbonat.jpg, The Gardens File:Jardins Château Carbonat 3.jpg, The Gardens File:Vieux Château Carbonat.jpg, An old postcard of the chateau File:Carte Postale Château Carbonat.jpg, An old postcard of the chateau File:Château de Carbonat en ruines.jpg, The chateau in ruins File:Cheminé château de Carbonat.JPG, The fireplace in the chateau File:Détail cheminée Carbonat.jpg, A detail on the fireplace File:Meurtrière Carbonat.jpg, A filled-in embrasure in the chateau File:Armoiries Carbonat.jpg, Arms of Carbonat File:Porte Carbonat.jpg, A door in the chateau

Notable people linked to the commune

* Louis Laparra de Fieux (Arpajon 1651-1706), engineer of fortifications and strategist. *

Édouard Jean Baptiste Milhaud Édouard Jean-Baptiste, comte Milhaud (10 July 1766 – 10 December 1833) was a French politician and ''Général de Division''. He is considered one of the best generals of cavalry of Napoleon's army. French Revolutionary wars Born in Arpaj ...

(Arpajon 1766 - Aurillac 1833), member of the

National Convention The National Convention (french: link=no, Convention nationale) was the parliament of the Kingdom of France for one day and the French First Republic for the rest of its existence during the French Revolution, following the two-year Nation ...

, General,

Count of the Empire As Emperor of the French, Napoleon I created titles of nobility to institute a stable elite in the First French Empire, after the instability resulting from the French Revolution. Like many others, both before and since, Napoleon found that th ...

. * Eugene d'Humières, man of letters, translator of Kipling. * Louis Dauzier, politician and mayor of

under the

French Third Republic The French Third Republic (french: Troisième République, sometimes written as ) was the system of government adopted in France from 4 September 1870, when the Second French Empire collapsed during the Franco-Prussian War, until 10 July 1940 ...

. * Antoine Dusserre (Carbonnat 1865-1925), novelist. * Léo Pons, filmmaker.