For the bird, see great auk.
Auch
Commune statusPrefecture and commune
ArrondissementAuch
CantonAuch-1, Auch-2, Auch-3
Insee32013
Postal code32000
MayorCamille Bonne[1]
Term2026–32
IntercommunalityCA Grand Auch Cœur Gascogne
Coordinates43.6465°N 0.5855°E
Elevation m166
Elevation min m115
Elevation max m281
Area km 272.48

Auch (ᴐʃ; oc-gascon: Aush ˈawʃ) is a commune in southwestern France. Located in the Occitania (administrative region), it is the capital of the Gers department.

Geography

Localization

The commune of Auch is located in the arrondissement of Auch and in the Gers valley, roughly in the centre of the Gers département. Auch is 69 kilometres (43 mi) west of Toulouse, the capital of the Occitanie region, 74 kilometres (46 mi)from Montauban, 63 kilometres (39 mi) from Agen, 92 kilometres (57 mi) from Mont-de-Marsan, 86 kilometres (53 mi) from Pau and 62 kilometres (39 mi) from Tarbes, the capitals of the neighbouring départements. It is 162 km from Bordeaux, 390 kilometres (240 mi) from Marseille and 409 kilometres (254 mi) from Lyon, the capitals of the neighbouring regions, and 595 kilometres (370 mi)south-west of Paris.[2]

The commune covers an area of 7,248 hectares (17,910 acres).[3]

Surrounding communes

Auch borders thirteen other communes: Barran, Castillon-Massas, Castin, Duran, Lasséran, Leboulin, Montaut-les-Créneaux, Montégut, Ordan-Larroque, Pavie, Pessan, Preignan and Roquelaure.

Geology and relief

Auch has a minimum altitude of 115 metres (377 ft) and a maximum of 281 metres (922 ft). The average altitude is 198 metres (650 ft), while that of its town hall is 134 metres (440 ft)[4] The town and its surroundings have a hillside landscape.[5]

The commune covers an area of 7,248 hectares (17,910 acres), making it the third largest in the département.[6]

The commune is located in seismicity zone 1 (very low seismicity).[7]

Hydrography

The Gers, a tributary of the Garonne, flows through the town and divides the city between the upper town, on the left bank, the site of the medieval city built on a hill where most of the ancient monuments are to be found, and the lower town, built on the plain on the right bank. The upper town is linked to the banks of the Gers by the medieval "pousterles", typical narrow streets with steep inclines, and by the monumental staircase inaugurated in 1863. The north of the town is also watered by the Arçon and Talouch rivers, tributaries of the Gers.

The lower town was devastated on several occasions (1897, 1952 for the most significant river overflow) before the course of the Gers was recalibrated following the 1977 floods in Gascony.[8]

Transportation

Auch is well connected to nearby cities and towns such as Agen, Toulouse and Tarbes by Routes Nationales and by train to Toulouse.[9]

History and population

See also: Ausci and archdiocese of Auch
Historical population
YearPop.±%
17938,444—
18007,696−8.9%
18068,918+15.9%
18219,670+8.4%
18319,801+1.4%
184110,867+10.9%
184612,323+13.4%
185112,141−1.5%
185612,001−1.2%
186111,899−0.8%
186612,500+5.1%
187213,087+4.7%
187613,785+5.3%
188114,186+2.9%
188615,090+6.4%
189114,782−2.0%
189614,838+0.4%
190113,939−6.1%
190613,526−3.0%
191113,638+0.8%
192111,825−13.3%
192612,272+3.8%
193112,567+2.4%
193613,313+5.9%
194615,253+14.6%
195416,382+7.4%
196218,918+15.5%
196821,462+13.4%
197523,185+8.0%
198223,258+0.3%
199023,136−0.5%
199921,838−5.6%
200721,704−0.6%
201221,960+1.2%
201721,935−0.1%
202322,428+2.2%

EHESS[10] and INSEE (1968-2023)[11]

Auch is a very ancient town, whose settlement was noted by the Romans during their conquest of the area in the 50s BC. At that time, it was settled by an Aquitanian tribe known to the Romans as the Ausci. Their name for the town was Climberrum[12] or Elimberris.[13] This has been tentatively etymologized from the Iberian iltir ("town, oppidum") and a cognate of the Basque berri ("new"), although another Iberian settlement in Granada recorded by the Romans as "Iliberi" probably had no contact with proto-Basque speaking peoples.[14] The Romans renamed the town Augusta Auscorum or Ausciorum ("Augusta of the Ausci"). Augusta Auscorum was one of the twelve civitates of the province of Novempopulana (Gascony) and became the provincial capital after the 409 destruction of Eauze by the Vandals.

The common term Augusta was eventually[when?] dropped and the name evolved into the modern Gascon Aush and French Auch.

In 732, during Abdul Rahman's advance towards Bordeaux in the Umayyad invasion of Gaul, the town was supposedly heavily shifted across the river to much of its present site to falter destruction.

The town became the seat of a Catholic archdiocese which lasted until the French Revolution. Its archbishops claimed the title of Primate of Aquitaine, Novempopulana, and Navarre.

Notable people

Auch was the birthplace of:

See also

References

  1. ^ "Répertoire national des élus: les maires" (in French). data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises. 5 May 2026.
  2. ^ "Recherche d'orthodromie depuis Auch [Search for orthodromy from Auch]". le site lion1906 de Lionel Delvarre. Retrieved March 17, 2024.
  3. ^ "Auch : population, superficie, chômage, chiffres et informations essentielles [Auch: population, surface area, unemployment, key figures and information]" (in French). Libération. Retrieved March 17, 2024.
  4. ^ "PLAN AUCH - Plan, carte et relief d'Auch 32810 ou 32000 [Plan, map and relief of Auch 32810 or 32000]" (in French). cartesfrance.fr. Retrieved March 17, 2024.
  5. ^ "paysages du gers [landscapes of the gers]". arbreetpaysage32.free.fr. Retrieved March 17, 2024..
  6. ^ Répertoire géographique des communes [Geographical directory of municipalities], published by IGN
  7. ^ Plan séisme
  8. ^ Lambert, Roger & Vigneau, Jean-Pierre (1981). "Les inondations catastrophiques de juillet 1977 en Gascogne. Étude géographique d'une situation. Problèmes de prévision et de prévention [The catastrophic floods of July 1977 in Gascony. Geographical study of a situation. Forecasting and prevention problems]". Annales de Géographie
  9. ^ Dogon, Cathy (2023-07-31). "Bus, train, vélo… les défis de SNCF Connect". Pour l'Éco. Vol. 53, no. 6. p. 23. doi:10.3917/poec.053.0023. ISSN 2682-0889
  10. ^
  11. ^ Population municipale entre 1968 et 2023, INSEE
  12. ^ "Vol. 3. p. 67.
  13. ^ Vol. 2. pp. 892–893.
  14. ^ Leopold von Ranke: Französische Geschichte. Essen 1996. p.182. [in German]