Villefranche-sur-Saône
Velafranche (Arpitan) | |
---|---|
Subprefecture and commune | |
![]() A general view of Villefranche-sur-Saône | |
Coordinates: 45°59′00″N 4°43′00″E / 45.9833°N 4.7167°E | |
Country | France |
Region | Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes |
Department | Rhône |
Arrondissement | Villefranche-sur-Saône |
Canton | Villefranche-sur-Saône |
Intercommunality | CA Villefranche Beaujolais Saône |
Government | |
• Mayor (2020–2026) | Thomas Ravier[1] |
Area 1 | 9.48 km2 (3.66 sq mi) |
Population (2021)[2] | 35,913 |
• Density | 3,800/km2 (9,800/sq mi) |
Demonym | Caladois |
Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
INSEE/Postal code | 69264 /69400 |
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. |
Villefranche-sur-Saône (US: /ˌviːl(ə)ˈfrɒ̃ʃ sʊər ˈsoʊn/,[3] French: [vilfʁɑ̃ʃ syʁ son] ; Arpitan: Velafranche) is a commune in the Rhône department in eastern France.
It lies 1 mile (1.6 km) west of the river Saône, and is around 25 kilometres (16 mi) north of Lyon. The inhabitants of the town are called Caladois.
History
[edit]Villefranche-sur-Saône was founded in 1212 by Guichard IV, count of Beaujeu (Arpitan: Bôjor/Biôjœr), and became in the 14th century the capital of the Beaujolais (Arpitan: Biôjolês) province.[4] It endured three sieges in the 15th and 16th centuries. The town walls were taken down early in the 19th century.
Population
[edit]The population data in the table and graph below refer to the commune of Villefranche-sur-Saône proper, in its geography at the given years. The commune of Villefranche-sur-Saône absorbed the former communes of Béligny and Ouilly (partly) in 1853.[5]
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Source: EHESS[5] and INSEE (1968-2017)[6] |
Economy
[edit]Industries include wine-trading, metallurgy, textiles, and chemicals.
Transport
[edit]The Autoroute du Sud (the principal road from Paris to the south of France) is adjacent to the east of the town, running alongside the Saône.
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b6/Villefranche_Notre_Dame_des_Marais_Portal.jpg/220px-Villefranche_Notre_Dame_des_Marais_Portal.jpg)
Buildings
[edit]The church of Notre-Dame des Marais, begun at the end of the 14th and finished in the 16th century, has a tower and spire (rebuilt in 1862), standing to the right of the 15th century façade, in which are carved wooden doors.[4]
Sport
[edit]FC Villefranche Beaujolais is based in the town.
Notable people
[edit]- Pierre Teilhard de Chardin (1881–1955), Jesuit priest and scientist, attended school here in 1892–1897
- Maurice Baquet (1911–2005), actor and cellist
- François Picard (1921–1996), racing driver
- Christian Lavieille (born 1965), racing driver
- Benjamin Biolay (born 1973), singer, songwriter and musician
- Coralie Clément (born 1978), singer
- Grégory Bettiol (born 1986), footballer
Twin towns – sister cities
[edit]Villefranche-sur-Saône is twinned with:[7]
Bertinoro, Italy
Bühl, Germany
Călărași District, Moldova
Kandi, Benin
Schkeuditz, Germany
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "Répertoire national des élus: les maires" (in French). data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises. 13 September 2022.
- ^ "Populations légales 2021" (in French). The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 28 December 2023.
- ^ "Villefranche". Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary. Merriam-Webster. Retrieved 28 July 2019.
- ^ a b public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Villefranche-sur-Saône". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 28 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 77. One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the
- ^ a b Des villages de Cassini aux communes d'aujourd'hui: Commune data sheet Villefranche-sur-Saône, EHESS (in French).
- ^ Population en historique depuis 1968, INSEE
- ^ "Comité des associations de jumelage de Villefranche". villefranche.net (in French). Villefranche-sur-Saône. Retrieved 2021-04-13.
External links
[edit]- Official website (in French)