Known for itsmineral springs since the Roman times, Vichy had become a major destination for the French nobility and the wealthy by the late 18th century. The town developed further under the patronage ofNapoleon III. Following the1940 armistice, the pro-Germancollaborationist government headed byPhilippe Pétain was set up at Vichy, which remained the de facto capital of the French rump state for the next four years. After the war, the city experienced a period of great prosperity but went into decline from the 1960s.
In 2021, the town became part of the transnationalUNESCO World Heritage Site under the name "Great Spa Towns of Europe" because of its famous baths and its architectural testimony to the popularity of spa towns in Europe from the 18th through 20th centuries.[3][4]
Vichy is the French form of theOccitan name of the town,Vichèi, of uncertainetymology.Dauzat & al. have proposed that it derived from an unattestedLatin name (Vippiacus) referencing the most important regional landowner (presumably a "Vippius") during the time of the Roman emperorDiocletian's administrative reorganizations and land surveys at the end of the 3rd century AD.[5]
In French, the present-daydemonym for a female resident or native of Vichy isVichyssoise, f sg (Vichyssoises, f pl) andVichyssois, m sg for a male, andVichyssois m pl for a mixed group of both sexes. Until the 18th century, it was also common to useVichois(e), which derived from the Occitan name of the town. The cold soupvichyssoise is also named after the town.
Vichy lies on the banks of the riverAllier. The source of the Allier is in the nearbyMassif Central plateau which lies only a few miles to the south, near the region's capital,Clermont-Ferrand.
The historical existence ofvolcanic activity in the Massif Central is somewhat visually evident. Volcanic eruptions have happened for at least 150,000 years, but all volcanoes there have been dormant for at least 112 years.[citation needed] Volcanic activity in the area is the direct cause of the many thermal springs that exist in and around Vichy.
The famousmineral springs in Vichy are rich in trace elements such aslithium andfluorine, and high insodium bicarbonate.[9] The temperatures of the spring range from 73 degrees C at Antoine Spring to 14 degrees C at Lafayette Spring.[9] In total, about 289 springs have been charted in Vichy and its surroundings. These springs are derived from infiltration throughOligocene-period sedimentary rocks, part of theLimagne Graben collapse basin.[9]
Vichy enjoys anoceanic climate (Cfb). Heavy snows in the Massif Central often make roads impassable, but Vichy is low enough—about 249 metres (817 feet) above sea level—that the climate is more continental than mountain. Rainfall is moderate around Vichy, averaging about 769.1 millimetres (30.3 in) annually.
Comparison of local Meteorological data with other cities in France[10]
The first known settlement at Vichy was established byRoman legionaries in 52BC. Returning south from their defeat at theBattle of Gergovia by theGauls underVercingetorix, they found thehotmineral springs beside theFlumen Elaver ("River Allier") and established the township of Aquae Calidae (Latin for "Hot Waters"). During the first two centuries AD, Vichy became fairly prosperous because of the supposed medicinal value of the thermal springs.
On 2 September 1344,John II of France ceded the noble fiefdom of Vichy toPeter I, Duke of Bourbon. On 6 December 1374, the last part of Vichy was acquired byLouis II, Duke of Bourbon. At that point Vichy was incorporated into theHouse of Bourbon. In 1410, aCelestinian monastery was founded with twelve monks. A building located above the Celestinian Spring is still visible.
In 1527, the House of Bourbon was incorporated into the French Kingdom. By the end of the 16th century, the mineral baths had obtained a reputation for having quasi-miraculous curing powers and attracted patients from the noble and wealthy classes. Government officials, such as Fouet and Chomel, began to classify the curing properties of the mineral baths.
Marie de Rabutin-Chantal, marquise de Sévigné was a patient in 1676 and 1677 and would popularize Vichy's Thermal Baths through the written descriptions in her letters. The Vichy waters were said to have cured the paralysis in her hands, thus enabling her to take up letter-writing. In 1761 and 1762,Adélaïde andVictoire of France, the daughters ofLouis XV, came to Vichy for the first time and returned in 1785. The bath facilities seemed extremely uncomfortable to them because of the muddy surroundings and insufficient access. When they returned toVersailles, they asked their nephewLouis XVI to build roomier and more luxurious thermal baths, which were subsequently completed in 1787.
In 1799,Laetitia Bonaparte, mother ofNapoleon, came to be cured with her sonLouis. Under the Empire,Le Parc des Sources, was created on the Emperor's orders (Decree of Gumbinen of 1812).
Under Charles X, the great increase in patients wishing to be healed at the springs led to an expansion of thehydrotherapeutic facilities.Princess Marie-Thérèse-Charlotte expanded theJanson buildings under the plan ofRose – Beauvais (work completed in 1830). From 1844 to 1853, theatrical and poetry recitals were performed for the wealthy in the comfort of their own homes byIsaac Strauss [fr].
By the 19th century, Vichy was astation à la mode, attended by many celebrities. However, it was the stays ofNapoleon III between 1861 and 1866 that were to cause the most profound transformation of the city:dikes were built along the Allier, 13 hectares (32 acres) of landscaped gardens replaced the old marshes and, along the newly laid-out boulevards and streets, chalets and pavilions were built for the emperor and his court.Recreational pursuits were not spared: in view of the park, a largecasino was built by the architect Badger in 1865. The Emperor would be the catalyst of the development of a small rail station, which increased the number of inhabitants and visitors tenfold in fifty years.
After theSecond French Empire, theBelle Époque marked the second large construction campaign in Vichy. In 1903, theOpera House (l'Opéra), theHall of Springs [fr] and a large bath designed in the eastern style were inaugurated. In 1900, theParc des Sources [fr] was enclosed by a metal gallery which came from theWorld Fair of 1889. 700 metres (2,300 feet) long, it is decorated by afrise de chardons and was completed by the ironworker Emile Robert. Many private mansions with varied architectural styles were erected during the first half of the 20th century.
Vichy welcomed 40,000curistes in 1900, and that figure had risen to nearly 100,000 just before the onset of theFirst World War.La vie thermale had its heyday in the 1930s. The success in treating ailments that was attributed to the Vichy Baths ledla Compagnie Fermière to enlarge the Baths again by creating the Callou and Lardy Baths. TheArt Nouveau-style Opéra, inaugurated in 1903, accommodated all the great names on the international scene. Vichy became the summertime music capital of France, but the war of 1914 would put a brutal end to that development.
World War II – Seat of the pro-German collaborationist government
The Opera in Vichy. In this building, parliamentarians of theFrench Third Republic granted full powers to MarshalPhilippe Pétain on 10 July 1940.
Following the stunningdefeat of Allied forces in just four weeks, on 10 June 1940 the French government fled Paris forBordeaux. On 22 June France signed anarmistice, which stipulated German occupation of the north and west of the country, including Paris and all of the Atlantic coast. The remaining two-fifths of France became the unoccupied Free Zone (Zone Libre). On 29 June the government and its parliamentarians moved toClermont-Ferrand. Finding that city too cramped, on 1 July it moved on to Vichy.
German forces had taken the city unopposed on 19 June, but departed with the Armistice. Vichy had the country's second largest hotel capacity, and a modern telephone exchange and post office built for its international visitors. The city was in the unoccupied zone 45 km (28 mi) south of theDemarcation Line, relatively close toParis (4.5 hours by train), and surrounded by productive agricultural lands. Pierre Laval, soon to be Prime Minister, hailed fromChâteldon, a village 20 km (12 mi) south of Vichy. The city was, in any case, expected to be only a temporary seat of government until signature of the peace treaty.[14]
On 9–10 July, 670 of the 846 members of the Senate and Chamber of Deputies met in the Vichy Opera House, where they overwhelmingly voted full powers toPhilippe Pétain and authorized him to revise the constitution. The new regime called itself simply the French State (État Français), but it quickly came to be known asVichy France. While Paris remained the official capital and much of the bureaucracy stayed there, Vichy was thede facto capital. It was home to Pétain's cabinet, top civil servants, the diplomatic corps, and the neutered parliamentarians. As the volume of individuals engaged in government activity adversely affected locals and the spa business, a system of residence permits was established that permitted only five days' maximum stay between 1 June and 30 September.[15]
Following the Anglo-Americaninvasion of North Africa in November 1942, Germany occupied the Free Zone, including Vichy. The Pétain government remained, albeit with an even smaller range of effective action. The city became a center forGestapo and the Vichymilice. After the Allied breakout from Normandy in August 1944, the Germans took Pétain and his entourage toexile in Germany. TheEnvoy of theSwiss Confederation to France, MinisterWalter Stucki, arranged for the peaceful withdrawal of local German forces and themilice. TheFFI liberated the city on 26 August without bloodshed.[15]
The term "Vichyste", which designates partisans of the Pétain regime, should not be confused with "Vichyssois" which designates the inhabitants of the city.[citation needed]
The 1950s and 1960s would become the most ostentatious period for Vichy, complete with parading personalities, visits from crowned heads (Thami El Glaoui, the Pasha of Marrakech; PrinceRainier III ofMonaco) and profits from a massive influx of North African French clients who holidayed in Vichy, spending lavishly. There were thirteen cinemas (which sometimes showed special previews), eight dance halls and three theatres. It was at this period that the station would take the title of "Reine des villes d'eaux" (Queen of the Spa Towns).
From June to September, so many French-Algerian tourists were arriving that it almost seemed like there was an airlift set up between Vichy-Charmeil and the airports of Algeria. MayorPierre Coulon [fr] (1950–1967) decided to createLake Allier [fr] (10 June 1963) and Omnisports Park (1963–68), giving the city its current look.
Thewar in Algeria (1950s–60s), which led to decolonization, marked once again a halt in the prosperity of Vichy, which from then on had to deal with much less favorable conditions. The need to continue to pay the debts incurred by the considerable investments that had been made in more prosperous times obligated the new mayor,Jacques Lacarin [fr] (1967–1989), the successor of Pierre Coulon, to adopt a much more careful policy of management.
Claude Malhuret, former Minister of Human Rights, born inStrasbourg in 1950, was mayor from 1989 to 2017. He andBernard Kouchner are the co-founders ofDoctors Without Borders (Médecins Sans Frontières). The city and its economic partners have concluded an important program of restoration and modernization. These projects include:
Share of the New Society of Natural Mineral Waters of Vichy, issued 19 February 1900
The city was first noted for its thermal cures in Roman times. Its waters come from springs such as the Vichy Celestins and Vichy Saint-Yorre.
A tin of Vichy Pastilles
Vichy Pastilles (made in Vichy) are octagon-shaped candies made from soda contained in the spring waters.
The health and beauty business, with the laboratories of theL'Oréal company, also make it possible to publicize the city's name to a worldwide audience under the Vichy brand.[21]
Unlike the neighbouring communes on the Allier such as industrialMontluçon and administrative seatMoulins, Vichy's economy is centred on the tertiary sector, with companies like theCompagnie de Vichy developing the health and well-being sector to mitigate the decline of medicalhydrotherapy. The local market, open on Sundays, attracts shoppers from tens of kilometres around.
The closing of two important local employers, the Manurhin company and the Sediver company, has reduced employment in the Vichy basin. Job creation by developing companies such as the NSEelectronics company or the Satel call center company may not completely compensate for the removal of jobs, despite the internet tour operator Karavel's establishment of a new call center in May 2005.
Nevertheless, the two most important employers of the city belong to the public sector: the hospital (1,120 employees), and the town hall (500[22]).
Since 1989, Vichy has been one of the seven sites of the European Total Quality Institute (Institut Européen de la Qualité Totale).[23]
ThePôle Universitaire de Vichy (previously called Pôle Universitaire et Technologique Lardy), born from a project of thermal waste land rehabilitation and launched during the mid-1990s, is an economic priority. This 9,000 m2 (2.2 acres) campus accommodates 600 students in the downtown area, in ten areas of study including the fields of biotechnology, international trade, multi-media and languages.
The CAVILAM – Alliance Française[24] (Centre of Live Approaches to Languages and the Media), receives students from diverse countries who want to learn French. Created in 1964, under the impulse of the Universities of Clermont-Ferrand and the city of Vichy, CAVILAM – Alliance Française joined the international network of theAlliance Française in 2012. After the Covid lockdown, the center developed online courses for FLE teachers,[25] FLE ressources pages,[26][27] and foreign language courses[28][29] for locals.
The Palace of the Congresses is a venue primarily for the conferences of trade associations and learned societies. The structure is 1,800 m2 (19,000 sq ft) in area, including two plenary rooms and fifteen multi-use rooms. With 25,000 visitors yearly, the conferences must carry the economic role once held by the hydrotherapy industry, which today counts only 12,000 patients each year. The hydrotherapy business will now have to reorganise itself to take a less strict therapeutic-only role, and adapt to patients' stays shorter than the traditional three weeks.
This section needs to beupdated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(September 2016)
Under the authority of the local communities, much work is being done on building sites and projects, which will deeply modify Vichy in the years to come. The construction by the Hotel of the Community of Agglomeration in September 2005 on the old site of the "Commercial City" may precede the total restoration of the market hall "Le Grand Marché" (which would cost €5.9 million) which would be delivered in September 2006. Other projects include the creation of a 12,000 m2 (130,000 sq ft) mother-child centre in the hospital complex, the restoration of the spa façade (removal of the metal boarding to uncover the original style of 1862), the transformation of the spa into a multi-use center, creation of parks with fountains in place of parking lots, the demolition and the transformation of the buildings in a congested area to create an enterprise center intended to create 800 jobs (opened in early 2008), the construction of a new aquatic stadium including five basins (open since 2008), and motorway connection (opened in early 2015).
The A719 autoroute, connecting Vichy to theA71 to Clermont-Ferrand, opened in January 2015.[33]
In 2014, only regional two-lane highways (routes départementales) pass through the urban ring of Vichy. The D2209 is the principal axis of circulation for heavily loaded trucks, from the west (viaGannat) or the north (viaVarennes-sur-Allier orSaint-Germain-des-Fossés); other important routes are the following (listed in the clockwise order):
MobiVie is the network of urban transport for six communes of Vichy Communauté intercommunality. This network is composed of eight lines as of 2022[update].[34]
"Mobival" is an on-call transportation service for Vichy and its neighborhood. This service offers the local communes a reliable transportation service for areas that are not served by the MobiVie network. Created in October 2004, it has ten lines.
Vichy hosted the 2024 Europe Triathlon Championships on 21–22 September, attracting top athletes from across Europe.[36] Known for its picturesque setting and rich sporting history, Vichy has previously welcomed major events like Challenge and Ironman. The championships further cemented its status as a premier triathlon destination.
^Dauzat, Albert; et al. (1963),Dictionnaire Étymologique des Noms de Lieux en France [Etymological Dictionary of Names of Locations in France] (in French), Paris: Guénégaud.
^Nazi Germany was never to sign a peace treaty with any of its defeated opponents, but this was not foreseen in 1940-41. The armistice arrangements with France perfectly satisfied its military, economic, and administrative requirements.
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