Villefranche-sur-Saône
Villefranche-sur-Saône
Subprefecture and commune in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France
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.
Villefranche-sur-Saône
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Subprefecture and commune | |
A general view of Villefranche-sur-Saône | |
| Coordinates: 45°59′00″N 4°43′00″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. | |
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.
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.
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] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Industries include wine-trading, metallurgy, textiles, and chemicals.
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.
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]
FC Villefranche Beaujolais is based in the town.
- 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
Villefranche-sur-Saône is twinned with:[7]
Bertinoro, Italy
Bühl, Germany
Călărași District, Moldova
Kandi, Benin- Schkeuditz, Germany
- "Répertoire national des élus: les maires" (in French). data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises. 13 September 2022.
- "Villefranche". Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary. Retrieved 28 July 2019.
One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Villefranche-sur-Saône". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 28 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 77.- Des villages de Cassini aux communes d'aujourd'hui: Commune data sheet Villefranche-sur-Saône, EHESS (in French).
- "Comité des associations de jumelage de Villefranche". villefranche.net (in French). Villefranche-sur-Saône. Retrieved 2021-04-13.
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