Guéret is a commune

Communes of France

The commune is the lowest level of administrative division in the French Republic. French communes are roughly equivalent to incorporated municipalities or villages in the United States or Gemeinden in Germany...

 and the prefecture

Prefecture

A prefecture is an administrative jurisdiction or subdivision in any of various countries and within some international church structures, and in antiquity a Roman district governed by an appointed prefect.-Antiquity:...

 of the Creuse

Creuse

Creuse is a department in central France named after the Creuse River.-History:Creuse is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790. It was created from the former province of La Marche....

 department in the Limousin

Limousin (région)

Limousin is one of the 27 regions of France. It is composed of three départements: Corrèze, Creuse and the Haute-Vienne.Situated largely in the Massif Central, as of January 1st 2008, the Limousin comprised 740,743 inhabitants on nearly 17 000 km2, making it the second least populated region of...

 region

Régions of France

France is divided into 27 administrative regions , 22 of which are in Metropolitan France, and five of which are overseas. Corsica is a territorial collectivity , but is considered a region in mainstream usage, and is even shown as such on the INSEE website...

 in central France.

Geography

A light industrial

Light industry

Light industry is usually less capital intensive than heavy industry, and is more consumer-oriented than business-oriented...

 town, the largest in the department, with a big woodland

Woodland

Ecologically, a woodland is a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade. Woodlands may support an understory of shrubs and herbaceous plants including grasses. Woodland may form a transition to shrubland under drier conditions or during early stages of...

 and a little farming not far from the town centre. It is approximately 45 miles (72.4 km) northeast of Limoges

Limoges

Limoges |Limousin]] dialect of Occitan) is a city and commune, the capital of the Haute-Vienne department and the administrative capital of the Limousin région in west-central France....

 at the junction of the D942, D940 and the N145 roads.

Population

Sights

• The church of St. Pierre and St. Paul, dating from the thirteenth century.
• The Hotel de Moneyroux (wrongly called "Castle of the Counts of Marche", as no count
  Count
  A count or countess is an aristocratic nobleman in European countries. The word count came into English from the French comte, itself from Latin comes—in its accusative comitem—meaning "companion", and later "companion of the emperor, delegate of the emperor". The adjective form of the word is...
  
   ever lived in Guéret). This building, of Gothic style, was constructed in the fifteenth century by Antoine Allard. It is now the headquarters of the General Council of the Creuse. It can be visited during public holidays.
• The Presidial, dating from the seventeenth century. This building houses the town hall.
• The Museum of the Sénatorerie. Partly built in eighteenth century, the building served as the residence of senators under Napoleon. Since 1832, the Society of Archaeological and Natural Sciences of the Creuse, one of the oldest learned societies of France has been housed here. It brings together natural history collections and works of art. In 1907, the Hotel de la Sénatorerie museum was surrounded by a park and trees.
• The war memorial.
• The seventeenth century chateau of Sainte Feyrer, built on the foundations of a castle from the Middle Ages
  Middle Ages
  The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
  
  , of which there are some remains. The building of the eighteenth century was constructed by the architect Brousseau. It has an elegant staircase and the oratory is classified as an historical monument.
• A vast permanent labyrinth
  Labyrinth
  In Greek mythology, the Labyrinth was an elaborate structure designed and built by the legendary artificer Daedalus for King Minos of Crete at Knossos...
  
   is located 3 miles (5 km) south of Guéret.
• Courtille lake, a recreation area south of Guéret, is an artificial lake along a shaded path. With a circumference of about 3 km, it is used for sports and leisure (running, sailing, walking) or picnicking on the grass
• Chabrières forest is large and stretches south of Guéret. It includes: A zoo, where one can see wolves in semi-liberty in large enclosures. Opened in 2001, it is a noted site in the field of protection of this species. There are some huge natural monolith
  Monolith
  A monolith is a geological feature such as a mountain, consisting of a single massive stone or rock, or a single piece of rock placed as, or within, a monument...
  
  s, linked to local myths and legends and some old granite quarries, once used mainly for cobblestones of the streets of Paris.

Personalities

• Antoine Varillas
  Antoine Varillas
  Antoine Varillas was a French historian, best known for his history of heresy.-Life:He was born in Guéret and made a troubled way as a man of letters in Paris. He worked as a historian for Gaston, Duke of Orléans. Then through an introductions from Pierre Dupuy he was able to have library access,...
  
  , an historian, was born here in 1624.
• Marcel Jouhandeau
  Marcel Jouhandeau
  Marcel Jouhandeau was a French writer.-Biography:Marcel Jouhandeau grew up in a world of women presided over by his grandmother. Under the influence of a young woman from the Carmel of Limoges, he embraced a mystical form of Catholicism and for a time thought to enter the orders...
  
   (1888–1979), writer, was born here.
• Madeleine Chapelle (1782–1849), the wife and model of painter Dominique Ingres.
• Pierre Michon
  Pierre Michon
  Pierre Michon is a French writer. His first novel, Small lives , is widely regarded as a masterpiece in contemporary French literature. He won several prizes for Small lives, The Origin of the World and his body of work...
  
   (1945), writer, spent his childhood here.

International relations

Guéret is twinned with:
 Germany Stein, Bavaria

Stein, Bavaria

Stein is a municipality in the district of Fürth, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated 7 km south of Fürth, and 7 km southwest of Nuremberg ....

, Germany since 1991

External links

• Official town website