The history of the city is really only known from 856, the year of the birth of Count Gerald of Aurillac at the castle where his father, also named Gerald, was lord. In 885 he founded a Benedictine monastery which later bore his name. It was in this monastery that Gerbert, the first French pope under the name of Sylvester II, studied. The city was made in a Sauveté area which was located between four crosses and was founded in 898 by Gerald shortly after the abbey. The first urban area was circular and built close to the Abbey of Aurillac. Gerald died around 910 but his influence was such that over the centuries Gerald was always a baptismal name prevalent in the population of Aurillac and the surrounding area. It was in the 13th century that municipal conflict began between consuls and abbots. After taking the Chateau of Saint-Étienne in 1255 and two negotiated agreements called the Peace of Aurillac, relations were normalised. In the 13th and 14th centuries Aurillac withstood several sieges by the English and in the 16th century continued to suffer from civil and religious wars. The influence of the abbey declined with its secularization and its implementation of orders. In 1569 the city was delivered by treason to the Protestants: people were tortured and held to ransom and the Abbey was sacked. The library and archives were all burned. Before the French Revolution Aurillac had a Présidial and carried the title of capital of the Haute-Auvergne. In 1790 on the creation of departments, after a period of alternating with Saint-Flour, Aurillac definitively became the capital of Cantal. The arrival of the railway in 1866 accelerated the development of the city. At the first census in 1759 there were 6,268 people in Aurillac, it now has about 28,000. Heraldry Government Cantons Aurillac is the capital of the department of Cantal (seat of the prefecture) and of the Arrondissement of Aurillac as well as for three cantons (INSEE names): Aurillac-1: Ytrac and part of Aurillac Aurillac-2: part of Aurillac Aurillac-3: part of Aurillac Administration List of Successive Mayors Mayors from 1941 Twinning Aurillac has twinning associations with: Bocholt (Germany) since 1972. Bassetlaw (United Kingdom) since 1980. Bougouni (Mali) since 1985. Altea (Spain) since 1992. Vorona (Romania) since 2000. Demography In 2017 the commune had 25,499 inhabitants. Economy Aurillac is the seat of the Chamber of Commerce and