Rouergue (; ) is a former

province of France The Kingdom of France was organised into provinces until the National Constituent Assembly adopted a more uniform division into departments (''départements'') and districts in late 1789. The provinces continued to exist administratively until ...

, corresponding roughly with the modern department of

Aveyron Aveyron (; oc, Avairon; ) is a department in the region of Occitania, Southern France. It was named after the river Aveyron. Its inhabitants are known as ''Aveyronnais'' (masculine) or ''Aveyronnaises'' (feminine) in French. The inhabitan ...

. Its historical capital is

Rodez Rodez ( or ; oc, Rodés, ) is a small city and commune in the South of France, about 150 km northeast of Toulouse. It is the prefecture of the department of Aveyron, region of Occitania (formerly Midi-Pyrénées). Rodez is the seat of th ...

. It is bounded on the north by

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 ...

, on the south and southwest by

Languedoc The Province of Languedoc (; , ; oc, Lengadòc ) is a former province of France. Most of its territory is now contained in the modern-day region of Occitanie in Southern France. Its capital city was Toulouse. It had an area of approximately ...

, on the east by

Gévaudan Gévaudan (; oc, Gavaudan, Gevaudan) is a historical area of France in Lozère ''département''. It took its name from the Gabali, a Gallic tribe subordinate to the Arverni. History After the conquest of Gaul, the Romans preserved the c ...

and on the west by

Quercy Quercy (; oc, Carcin , locally ) is a former province of France located in the country's southwest, bounded on the north by Limousin, on the west by Périgord and Agenais, on the south by Gascony and Languedoc, and on the east by Rouergue and ...

. During the

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 ...

Rouergue changed hands a number of times; its rulers included England (due to the

Treaty of Brétigny The Treaty of Brétigny was a treaty, drafted on 8 May 1360 and ratified on 24 October 1360, between Kings Edward III of England and John II of France. In retrospect, it is seen as having marked the end of the first phase of the Hundred Years ...

in 1360),

Armagnac Armagnac (, ) is a distinctive kind of brandy produced in the Armagnac region in Gascony, southwest France. It is distilled from wine usually made from a blend of grapes including Baco 22A, Colombard, Folle blanche and Ugni blanc, traditionally ...

and Languedoc. Rouergue became a department in 1790, and was renamed

after the principal river flowing through it. Upon creation of the department of

Tarn-et-Garonne Tarn-et-Garonne (; oc, Tarn e Garona ) is a department in the Occitania region in Southern France. It is traversed by the rivers Tarn and Garonne, from which it takes its name. The area was originally part of the former provinces of Quercy and ...

in 1808, the

canton of Saint-Antonin-Noble-Val The canton of Saint-Antonin-Noble-Val is a former canton in the department of Tarn-et-Garonne in south-central France. It had 4,981 inhabitants (2012).

was detached from the western extremity of Aveyron and transferred to the new department. The province of Rouergue had a land area of . At the 1999 census there were 269,774 inhabitants on the territory of the province of Rouergue, for a density of only . The largest urban areas are Rodez, with 38,458 inhabitants in 1999;

Millau Millau (; oc, Milhau ) is a commune in the Aveyron department in the Occitanie region in Southern France. One of two subprefectures in Aveyron alongside Villefranche-de-Rouergue, it is located to the southeast of the prefecture, Rodez. W ...

, with 22,840 inhabitants in 1999; Decazeville, with 17,044 inhabitants in 1999; and

Villefranche-de-Rouergue Villefranche-de-Rouergue (; oc, Vilafranca de Roergue ) is a commune in the Aveyron department in southern France. Villefranche-de-Rouergue station has rail connections to Toulouse, Figeac and Aurillac. History At the end of the Albigens ...

, with 12,561 inhabitants in 1999.

References

{{Authority control Former provinces of France Guyenne Geography of Aveyron Geography of Lot (department) Geography of Tarn-et-Garonne History of Occitania (administrative region) History of Aveyron History of Lot (department) History of Tarn-et-Garonne

See also

References