Saint-Céré

Saint-Céré (Languedocien: Sant Seren) is a commune in the Lot department, southern France. The commune includes within its borders the castle of Saint-Laurent-les-Tours, where the artist Jean Lurçat lived and worked for many years, and from which he operated a secret radio for the French Resistance. The castle still houses a collection of his works.

Location
The town is located in the centre of a small metropolitan area, in the Quercy, northeast of the Causse de Gramat and west of Segala, between Lacapelle-Marival and Bretenoux, in the valley of the Bave, tributary of the Dordogne river, and on the northern edge of the Limargue. It is the city-centre of the urban unit of Saint-Céré.

Located at the crossroad of the routes to Limousin, Auvergne and Quercy, Saint-Céré is a sought after place to stay due to its location and an excellent point of departure for many walks and excursions in the Haut-Quercy.

Hydrography
The Bave river, a tributary of the Dordogne, flows through the town.

Geology and relief
The area of the commune is 1,133 hectares; its altitude varies from 141 to 523 meters.

At the town hall, the altitude of Saint-Céré is 155 meters. It rises from 141 meters at Bave river to 523 meters in the southern part of the commune.

Climate
Saint-Céré has the distinction of being at the junction of the three types of temperate climates: there is a Temperate Oceanic climate, with Mediterranean and Continental influences, characterised by a dry and hot summer, a sunny autumn, a mild winter. In the shelter of the foothills of the Massif Central, the Vent d'Autan is here moderate.

Toponymy
Saint-Céré is based on the Christian hagiotoponym of Serenus of Marseille.

During the French Revolution, the commune bore the name of Franc-Céré and Sen Céré (or Seu-Céré).

In Occitan, the name of the municipality is Sant Seren.

Local culture and heritage

 * La place du Mercadial, its fountain and the 15th century Consuls' House, which was declared a historic monument in 1991
 * L'hôtel de Puymule, 15th-century, was listed as a historical monument in 1929
 * L'hôtel de Miramon
 * La maison consulaire
 * Several wood-panelled houses
 * Église Sainte-Spérie, dating from the 10th century, inscribed as a historical monument in 1979
 * Église des Récollets, 17th century, listed as a historic monument in 1973
 * Statue of Marshal Canrobert
 * Statue of Charles Bourseul (1924) by Giovanni Pinotti Cipriani (also sculptor of the monument to the dead in the square of the Place de la République)
 * Château de Montal, 14th-century, listed as a historical monument in 1909. The domain is partly located in the commune of Saint-Jean-Lespinasse.