Rodez
Encyclopedia
Rodez is a town and 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...

 in southern France, in the Aveyron
Aveyron
Aveyron is a département in southern France named after the Aveyron River.- History :Aveyron is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790....

 department, of which it is the capital. Its inhabitants are called Ruthénois.

History

Existing from at least the 5th century BC, Rodez was founded by the Celts. After the Roman
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....

 occupation, the oppidum
Oppidum
Oppidum is a Latin word meaning the main settlement in any administrative area of ancient Rome. The word is derived from the earlier Latin ob-pedum, "enclosed space," possibly from the Proto-Indo-European *pedóm-, "occupied space" or "footprint."Julius Caesar described the larger Celtic Iron Age...

(fortified place) was renamed Segodunum, while in late Imperial times it was known as Civitas Rutenorum, whence the modern name. After the fall of the Western Roman Empire
Western Roman Empire
The Western Roman Empire was the western half of the Roman Empire after its division by Diocletian in 285; the other half of the Roman Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire, commonly referred to today as the Byzantine Empire....

, it was captured by the Visigoths and then by the Franks
Franks
The Franks were a confederation of Germanic tribes first attested in the third century AD as living north and east of the Lower Rhine River. From the third to fifth centuries some Franks raided Roman territory while other Franks joined the Roman troops in Gaul. Only the Salian Franks formed a...

, being also ravaged by the Arabs in 725. Later it was occupied by the armies of the Dukes of Aquitaine and of the Counts of Toulouse
Counts of Toulouse
The first Counts of Toulouse were the administrators of the city and its environs under the Merovingians. No succession of such royal appointees is known, though a few names survive to the present...

. English troops occupied Rodez during the Hundred Years War.

However, in medieval times the city's history was marked by strong rivalry between the Counts and the Bishops of Rodez, who exerted their authorities in different sectors of the city, divided by a wall. The counts were able to defy the royal French authority until the submission of count John IV by the future King Louis XI
Louis XI of France
Louis XI , called the Prudent , was the King of France from 1461 to 1483. He was the son of Charles VII of France and Mary of Anjou, a member of the House of Valois....

 in the 15th century. In the following century bishop François d'Estaing built the Rodez Cathedral.

The last count of Rodez, Henry VI of Rodez, who became Henry IV of France
Henry IV of France
Henry IV , Henri-Quatre, was King of France from 1589 to 1610 and King of Navarre from 1572 to 1610. He was the first monarch of the Bourbon branch of the Capetian dynasty in France....

, sold his title to Royal Crown in 1589. The city remained a flourishing merchant centre up to the 18th century, but it lost much of its importance when Villefranche-de-Rouergue
Villefranche-de-Rouergue
Villefranche-de-Rouergue is a commune in the Aveyron department in southern France.-History:At the end of the Albigensian Crusade from the northern "barons" against the southern Occitania on a religious pretext , the Count of Toulouse was defeated and concluded the treaty of Paris in 1229...

 was made prefecture capital in the wake of the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...

.

Population

Main sights

Rodez is a great village town for pedestrians. The town center is almost exclusively pedestrian and is filled with history, as well as shops and local artisans.
  • The Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Rodez. One of its features is a completely closed western wall, which was part of the city defenses.
  • The Chapelle Saint-Martin.
  • The Musée Fenaille: a historical and archaeological museum
  • Church of Saint-Amans (12th century, rebuilt in 1758–1761). The interior is in Baroque style. In the choir stalls are 6th-century tapestries representing the miracles of Saint Amans. The interior also houses a 15th-century Pietà and a statue of the Trinity (16th century).
  • The Bishop's Palace.
  • The Musée Denys-Puech
    Musée Denys-Puech
    The Musée Denys-Puech is an art gallery in Rodez, France. It was founded in 1903 by the sculptor Denys Puech , winner of the prix de Rome in 1884 and one of the official sculptors of the French Third Republic. The building was completed in 1910 by the architect A...

    .
  • The "Musée Pierre Soulages" (under construction, opening 2012).
  • The Sacré Cœur church.


The agglomeration 'Grand Rodez' comprises eight towns : Rodez, Onet-le-Chateau, Druelle, Luc-la-Primaube, Le Monestère, Olemps, Sainte-Radegonde, and Sebezac Concourès.

Gastronomy

There are three weekly farmers' market
Farmers' market
A farmers' market consists of individual vendors—mostly farmers—who set up booths, tables or stands, outdoors or indoors, to sell produce, meat products, fruits and sometimes prepared foods and beverages...

s. On Wednesday mornings the market is located in Place du Bourg. On Saturday mornings, the market expands into Place de la Cité and Place Emma Calvé (behind the Cathedral). On Friday evenings there is a small farmers' market on the Parking du Sacré Cœur.

Several restaurants serve local specialities, notably aligot
Aligot
Aligot is a dish traditionally made in L'Aubrac region in southern Massif Central of France made from melted cheese blended into mashed potatoes, often with some garlic...

, farçous, tripoux
Tripoux
Tripoux is a dish made with small bundles of sheep tripe, usually stuffed with sheep's feet, sweetbreads and various herbs and garden vegetables. There are a number of variations on this dish, but they generally all involve savoury ingredients held together with sheep tripe and braised over low...

, and Roquefort, Laguiole
Laguiole (cheese)
Laguiole , sometimes called Tome de Laguiole, is a French cheese from the plateau of Aubrac, situated at between 800 - 1500m, in the region of Aveyron in the southern part of France. It takes its name from the little village Laguiole and has been protected under the French Appellation d'Origine...

, and Cantal
Cantal (cheese)
Cantal cheese is a firm cheese from the Cantal region of France. It is named after the Cantal mountains in the Auvergne region.One of the oldest cheeses in France, Cantal dates back to the times of the Gauls. It came to prominence when marshal Henri de La Ferté-Senneterre served it at the table of...

 cheeses, as well as red wine from the nearby village of Marcillac
Marcillac AOC
Marcillac is an Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée for wine in South West France and is located 20 km to the north-west of Rodez in the Aveyron department...

. Fouace is a breakfast item, a sweet bread that can be found in many local bakeries.

Economy

  • Rodez is traditionally an agricultural trade center.
  • The German industrial group Bosch
    Bosch
    Bosch is a popular surname in Catalan and Dutch; it means forest. It may refer to:Buildings:*Huis ten Bosch, an official palace of the Dutch Royal Family in The Hague, Netherlands*Bosch Palace, the official residence of the U.S...

     has a factory that employs over 2,000 people.
  • Rodez has one of the lowest unemployment ratings in France (under 5%).

Transport

Rodez is served by the nearby Rodez Marcillac Airport
Rodez Marcillac Airport
-Links:** ....

, located within the commune of Salles-la-Source
Salles-la-Source
Salles-la-Source is a commune in the Aveyron department in southern France.The Rodez-Marcillac Airport is located in Salles-la-Source.-References:*...

. There are daily trains to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

 and Toulouse
Toulouse
Toulouse is a city in the Haute-Garonne department in southwestern FranceIt lies on the banks of the River Garonne, 590 km away from Paris and half-way between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea...

, as well as other trains and buses connecting Rodez to smaller towns. Once in town, options for getting around include car rental, the local bus system (Octobus), or on foot.

Music and festivals

There are several music venues and festivals in or near Rodez. The association 12 Touch organises two smaller festivals in Luc La Primaube annually. These festivals are Arts en Scène (spring) and Eklekzic (autumn).

Skabazac is probably the best-known music festival, and it takes place in mid-June. Just on the outskirts of Rodez in a town called Sébazac, Skabazac attracted over 30,000 people in 2010, when Cypress Hill
Cypress Hill
Cypress Hill is an American hip hop group from South Gate, California. Cypress Hill was the first Latino hip-hop group to have platinum and multi-platinum albums, selling over 18 million albums worldwide...

 headlined. In 2011 the festival's 13th edition was cancelled due to a lack of government funding. In midsummer the Occitan festival, called Estivada, takes place over several days. The festival promotes Occitan culture with food, cultural displays, and live music.

Music venues La Guinguette and Le Studio often host concerts, as does the local amphitheatre, and the local Maisons des Jeunes et de la Culture of Rodez and Onet-Le-Château.

Sports

Rodez is home to Rodez AF
Rodez AF
Rodez Aveyron Football is a French association football club based in Rodez. The club was founded in 1929 and currently play in the Championnat de France amateur Group C, the fourth level of French football. From 1988–1993, Rodez played in Ligue 2. The club plays its home matches at the Stade Paul...

 (called RAF by its fans) of the Championnat National
Championnat National
The Championnat de France National, commonly referred to as simply National or Division 3, serves as the third division of the French football league system behind Ligue 1 and Ligue 2...

(Third Division). The women's team is in the First Division. Rodez also has rugby, basketball, and handball teams.

External links

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