Travel Guide Bourganeuf

Labelled "Small City of Character", the commune of Bourganeuf owes its development to the installation of soldier-monks around 1160 to protect the pilgrims. From the 14th century to the middle of the 18th century, it was the great priory of the "language" of Auvergne, i.e. the capital of one of the eight provinces of the Order of the Hospitallers of Saint John of Jerusalem. The apogee of the city was at the end of the 15th century, when the Ottoman prince Djem "Zizim" was welcomed (or imprisoned) in the tower that bears his name. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, Bourganeuf experienced a new boom thanks to the porcelain and tapestry industry. The work of the physicist Marcel Desprez made it possible to transport water from the Jarrauds waterfall to the town by hydraulic force. Bourganeuf then became one of the first three cities in Europe and the third in France to be lit by electricity. Currently, the activities of the small town of 3,200 inhabitants are focused on the food and wood industry. In the town centre, the 15th century castle (now the Town Hall), the church and the Zizim tower are worth seeing.