Ayrens is a

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

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-Rhône-Alpes

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics ( physical geography), human impact characteristics ( human geography), and the interaction of humanity an ...

of south-central

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

. The inhabitants of the commune are known as ''Ayrencois'' or ''Ayrencoises''.

Geography

Ayrens is located some 15 km north-west of Aurillac and 5 km north of

Saint-Paul-des-Landes Saint-Paul-des-Landes (; oc, Sant Pau de las Landas) is a commune in the Cantal department in south-central France. Population See also *Communes of the Cantal department The following is a list of the 246 communes of the Cantal depar ...

. Access to the commune is by road D52 from

Teissières-de-Cornet Teissières-de-Cornet (; oc, Teissièras de Cornet) is a commune in the Cantal department in south-central France. Population See also *Communes of the Cantal department The following is a list of the 246 communes of the Cantal departme ...

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
/ref> 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 The Bonne projection is a pseudoconical equal-area map projection, sometimes called a dépôt de la guerre, modified Flamsteed, or a Sylvanus projection. Although named after Rigobert Bonne (1727–1795), the projection was in use prior to his ...

used in the ''Carte d'État-Major'' (General Staff Map) in the 19th century.

Administration

List of Successive Mayors ;Mayors from 1935

Demography

In 2017 the commune had 652 inhabitants.

Sites and monuments

*The Château de Clavières, built in the Troubadour style, was burnt down on 25 May 1936 and left in ruins. *The Parc de Clavières is registered as an historical monument. File:Vitraux 007 Clavières-Ayrens.JPG, Stained glass in the Chateau of Clavières File:Vitraux 012- Château de Clavières-Ayrens (Cantal).JPG, Stained glass in the Chateau of Clavières File:Chateau Clavières-Ayrens statue troubadour 300x523.jpg, Statue of a Troubadour at the Chateau *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 The ''Félibrige'' (; in classical Occitan, in Mistralian spelling, ) is a literary and cultural association founded in 1854 by Frédéric Mistral and other Provençal writers to defend and promote the Occitan language (also called the ) and ...

writer,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 The Lycée Louis-le-Grand (), also referred to simply as Louis-le-Grand or by its acronym LLG, is a public Lycée (French secondary school, also known as sixth form college) located on rue Saint-Jacques in central Paris. It was founded in the ...