Coligny, Ain
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Commune of Coligny
 gules an eagle displayed argent beaked membered and crowned azure langued and armed or |
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| Administration | |
|---|---|
| Country | France |
| Region | Rhône-Alpes |
| Department | Ain |
| Arrondissement | Bourg-en-Bresse |
| Canton | Coligny (chief town) |
| Intercommunality | Communauté de communes du Coligny |
| Mayor | Jean Bernadac (2001-2008) |
| Statistics | |
| Land area¹ | 16.87 km² |
| Population² (1999) |
1,114 |
| - Density (1999) | 66.0/km² |
| Miscellaneous | |
| INSEE/Postal code | 01108/ 01270 |
| ¹ French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 mi² or 247 acres) and river estuaries. | |
| ² Population sans doubles comptes: single count of residents of multiple communes (e.g. students and military personnel). | |
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Coligny is a commune in the French département of Ain.
[edit] Celtic background
Coligny is famed for its Celtic lunisolar calendar, the "Coligny calendar". The calendar, which dates from the 2nd century, has been key in the understanding of the knowledge of astronomy among the Gauls, and also supplied interesting iformation about their language (e.g., their names for months and the words for "lucky" and "unlucky"). It is written in the Latin alphabet and it represents a five-year cycle composed of three years having twelve lunar months and two years (the first and third) having thirteen lunar months.
At the end of the 19th century a bronze statue was discovered in the town and has been christened the Dieu de Coligny (God of Coligny).
[edit] Miscellaneous
Coligny was the birthplace of Joseph Darnand (1897-1945), a French pro-Nazi traitor and leader of the Vichy French Milice.
[edit] External links
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