Allier

Allier, department in central France. Allier covers an area of 7,327 sq km (2,829 sq mi) and is bordered by the departments of Cher and Nièvre on the north, Saône-et-Loire and Loire on the east, Puy-de-Dôme on the south, and Creuse on the west. Uplands of the Massif Central area dominate the west and east regions of Allier, and a fertile central plain sits between them. The Allier River runs from south to north within the department; the spa town of Vichy, home of the collaborationist French government during World War II, is situated on the river. The town of Moulins, the capital of Allier, was also the capital of the Bourbonnais province from 1368 to 1527, when King Francis I of France confiscated the entire region from Duc Charles de Bourbon and annexed it to the Crown. Allier department was formed from Bourbonnais and part of Auvergne in 1790. Population (1990) 357,710.