Moulins

▪ France

      town, Allier département,, Auvergne région, central France. It lies northwest of Lyon and is situated on the right bank of the Allier River.

      The town's 16th- to 17th-century Flamboyant Gothic Cathedral of Notre-Dame houses the famous triptych by the 15th-century Dutch painter referred to as the Master of Moulins (Moulins, Master of) (q.v.). The cathedral has some fine 15th- and 16th-century stained-glass windows. The nearby 15th-century tower has a quaint jaquemart clock with automatons that strike the quarter-hours. The municipal library opposite contains the 12th-century Bible of Souvigny, a magnificent illuminated manuscript from Souvigny Priory, 7 miles (12 km) southeast of Moulins. Part of the ancient castle of the dukes of Bourbon currently serves as a prison. The town, which has some fine old houses, reached a high state of prosperity in the 15th and 16th centuries. Despite the presence of some light industry, Moulins acts primarily as an administrative and commercial centre for the surrounding prosperous agricultural region. Pop. (1999) 20,979; (2005 est.) 19,742.

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