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Saint-Flour
Saint-Flour is a town of the Cantal set at about 900 metres' altitude on a volcanic flow. It divides into two parts: the upper town, on the planèze, and the lower town, in the Ander valley. According to tradition, it was founded around the fifth century by Saint Florus, evangeliser of the region, and bore the name Indiciacum in Roman times. The poet Camille Gandilhon Gens d'Armes nicknamed it the "city of the wind".
The town became the seat of a bishopric in 1317. Its cathedral is dedicated to Saint Peter and Saint Florus. During the Hundred Years' War, the town's defensive position, protected by basalt cliffs and ramparts, allowed it to resist several sieges between 1363 and 1390. Saint-Flour is today one of the two sub-prefectures of the Cantal and has about 6,400 inhabitants. It acts as a service centre for a vast rural territory.
