is a ''
Département '' in south-central
France named after the
Allier River .
Allier was one of the original 83 ''départements'' created during the
French Revolution on
March 4 ,
1790 . It was created from parts of the former
Provinces of
Auvergne and
Bourbonnais .
In 1940, the government of Marshal
Philippe Pétain chose the town of
Vichy as its capital.
The ''département'' belongs to the ,
Nièvre ,
Saône-et-Loire ,
Loire ,
Puy-de-Dôme , and
Creuse .
The following rivers run through Allier:
See also: List of the
Communes Of The Allier Département .
Allier is the most productive agricultural area of the
Auvergne . Vichy has long been known for its water, which is exported throughout the world.
Montluçon ,
Vichy , and
Moulins are the principal cities. The rest of the ''département'' consists of smaller towns, mostly along the rivers. In general, the 'département'' is sparsely populated. The population increased until the end of the 19th century because of the growth of industry in Montluçon and Moulins and development of the thermal resources at Vichy. At that time the 'département'' had over 420,000 inhabitants. After the losses of
World War I , the population stagnated, with a small increase in the 1960s. Since then, it has decreased slightly from 386,533 in 1968 to 344,721 in 1999.
