Environment Parks and gardens Verdun Square, on Rue Grammont, has a monument commemorating French efforts during World War I. Les Jardins de Saint-Jean are between the old Thiers hospital and the Durolle River. Le Breuil Park is a former campsite; locker rooms, showers, and camp toilets are still visible at the bottom of the park. The Chassaigne Castle features an English landscape garden. A local fair is held during the third week of September in a park between the Orangerie Park and Le Breuil Park. There is a small green area opposite the Gare de Thiers (Thiers Station). Protected areas Natural areas surrounding Thiers are the Limagne plain in the west; the Dore valley, largely classified and protected by the Natura 2000 network; the Livradois-Forez Regional Natural Park, and the Auvergne volcanoes beyond the Limagne plain. Urban renewal Thiers began an urban renewal project in 2002, rehabilitating Antonin Chastel Place, the San Juan district and the Transvaal streets. Population In 2019, Thiers had a population of 11,784 inhabitants. The first peak in population was reached in 1901, at 17,625. The population began a downward trend until the end of World War II, when it began climbing again to a second peak of 16,623 in 1968. History Antiquity Thiers is at the eastern end of the Roman road linking it to Lezoux. The road was part of the old national road 89, which has become Departmental Road 2089 and Secondary Road 62. Middle Ages The town was settled during the 10th century, when Malfred (granddaughter of the count of Auvergne) ordered the construction of a castle and church which became Église Saint-Genès de Thiers. In 1371, the Barony of Thiers passed to the Lords and then the Dukes of Bourbon. French Revolution The repression of counterrevolutionary activities in Thiers began in June 1791, after Louis XVI's flight to Varennes, intensifying in February 1793 against the clergy and triggering a wave of emigration which lasted until 1815. Although the Revolutionary Supervisory Committee was created on 22 May 1793, the committee was not very active; its prison opened in September. Forty-nine people were arrested in Thiers, primarily those involved in the revolts of Vollore-Ville and Servant, in October 1793. World War II Thiers was one of the few towns, and the only one in the Puy-de-Dôme, which was freed by arms on 25 August 1944. The fighting opposed the 400-strong SS Panzergrenadiers Training