Île Aucard
 Île Aucard with Wilson Bridge (Pont Wilson) in the background | |
  Île Aucard | |
| Geography | |
|---|---|
| Location | Loire River |
| Coordinates | 47°24′02″N 0°41′24″E / 47.40056°N 0.69000°E |
| Area | 0.8 km2 (0.31 sq mi) |
| Administration | |
France | |
| Region | Centre-Val de Loire |
| Department | Indre-et-Loire |
| Commune | Tours |
| Additional information | |
| Time zone |
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Île Aucard is an island on the Loire river, administratively belonging to the commune of Tours, France.
Description
The island extends approximately 920 meters in length and about 200 meters at its widest point, with a maximum elevation of 52 meters. Crossed by the Saint-Symphorien suspension bridge, the island hosts a municipal stadium bearing its name.[1]
Located within the embanked riverbed, the island is subject to flooding during major floods of the Loire.[2] Such an event notably occurred in 1941.[3]
History
During the Late Roman Empire, a wooden bridge, faint remains of which are still visible, crossed the Loire at the eastern part of the island, although its existence at that time is uncertain.[4]
The medieval bridge of Tours, constructed in the 11th century, rested on two islands named Île Saint-Maurice and Île de l'Entrepont, which are likely the same as today's Île Aucard. The island acquired its current name from Louis Aucard, who used it for grazing cattle at the beginning of the 16th century, when it belonged to the chapter of the church of Tours. Its area was originally 23 arpents, but by the eve of the French Revolution, erosion from the Loire had reduced its surface to two arpents.[5]
After the ruined medieval bridge was demolished starting in 1876, Île Aucard became a support for several piers of the Saint-Symphorien footbridge, built nearly in the same location and opened in 1847.[6]
Drinking water supply for Tours is partly provided by a pumping station on Île Aucard, extracting water from both an alluvial aquifer beneath the river and a deeper borehole reaching the Cenomanian aquifer.[7] The station became operational in 1933, with initial groundwater surveys conducted as early as 1909.[8]
During World War II, the island hosted French troops before being occupied by German forces in 1940.[3] On 20 June 1940, the prefect of Indre-et-Loire and the mayor of Tours met German authorities there for initial negotiations about the city's status. The archbishop of Tours and a French military officer accompanied them.[9]
The island is used for sports[10] and occasionally hosts the Aucard de Tours music festival, notably in August 2016, when flooding prevented its usual location at La Gloriette.[11]
See also
References
- ^ "Municipal Stadium of Île Aucard in Tours". Ville Data (in French). Retrieved 2025-08-04.
- ^ "Flood risk in Indre-et-Loire" (PDF). Services of the State in Indre-et-Loire (in French). Retrieved 2025-08-04.
- ^ a b "A beautiful centenary". La Nouvelle République du Centre-Ouest (in French). 1 February 2012. Retrieved 2025-08-04.
- ^ Patrick Neury; Jacques Seigne (2003). "Two ancient bridges (?) in Tours". Revue archéologique du Centre de la France (in French). 42: 227–234. Retrieved 2025-08-04.
- ^ Jacques-Xavier Carré de Busserolle (1878). Geographical, Historical and Biographical Dictionary of Indre-et-Loire and the Former Province of Touraine (in French). Vol. I. Société archéologique de Touraine. p. 75. Retrieved 2025-08-04.
- ^ Serge Vannier; Alain Ruter; Charly Hel (2002). The bridges of the Loire (in French). Romorantin-Lanthenay: CPE. pp. 233–234. ISBN 2-84503-170-X.
- ^ "Water distribution in Tours (La distribution de l'eau)". Ville de Tours (in French). Archived from the original on 2016-12-13. Retrieved 2025-08-07.
- ^ "From the river to the tap, drinking water in Tours". Magazine de la Touraine (in French) (1): 42–44. October–December 1981.
- ^ Colonel Amédor de Mollans (1974). "The invasion of Touraine in 1940 based on unpublished Wehrmacht archives". Bulletin of the Société archéologique de Touraine (in French). XXXVII: 461–462.
- ^ "Tours: Île Aucard, a haven for basketball lovers". La Nouvelle République (in French). 25 August 2022. Retrieved 2025-08-12.
- ^ "Aucard is not dead and will return to Île Aucard this summer". 37 degrés (in French). 29 June 2016. Retrieved 2025-08-12.