Chalon-sur-Saône
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- Not to be confused with Châlons-en-Champagne, formerly known as Châlons-sur-Marne.
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Commune of Chalon-sur-Saône |
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| Location | |
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| Administration | |
|---|---|
| Country | France |
| Region | Bourgogne |
| Department | Saône-et-Loire (71) (sous-préfecture) |
| Arrondissement | Chalon-sur-Saône |
| Canton | Chief town of 4 cantons |
| Intercommunality | Le grand Chalon |
| Mayor | Christophe Sirugue (2008 – 2014) |
| Statistics | |
| Elevation | 172 m–190 m (avg. 185 m) |
| Land area¹ | 15.22 km² |
| Population² (1999) |
50,124 |
| - Density | 3,295/km² |
| Miscellaneous | |
| INSEE/Postal code | 71076/ 71100 |
| 1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. | |
| 2 Population sans doubles comptes: residents of multiple communes (e.g. students and military personnel) only counted once. | |
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Chalon-sur-Saône is a town, former bishopric and commune in central France, in the Saône-et-Loire département, of which it is a sous-préfecture. It is the largest city in the department; however, the department's préfecture (capital) resides in the smaller commune of Mâcon.
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[edit] Geography
Chalon-sur-Saône lies in the south of the Burgundy region of France. It is located on the Saône river, and was once a busy port, acting as a distribution point for local wines which were sent up and down the Saône river and the Canal du Centre.
[edit] History
The bishopric of Chalon-sur-Saône, a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Lyon since Roman times, was merged into the diocese of Autun shortly after the French Revolution.
Chalon is best known as the birthplace of photography. Its most famous resident, Nicéphore Niépce also has a lycée (secondary school) named after him. There is a museum which contains some early photography relics, located on the Quai des Messageries in the town, containing more than two million photographs and many old artefacts such as cameras and other equipment for old and modern photography.
Another famous resident is Dominique Vivant Denon (1747-1825) who was involved in the creation of the Louvre Museum, converting the palace into a Museum after the French Revolution.
[edit] Sights
Although its suburbs are mostly uninteresting, the centre of Chalon-sur-Saône makes for a pleasant wander. One may wander along the river, browse around the pretty shops or visit St. Vincent's Cathedral on the Place Saint-Vincent, which has some elements dating from the 8th century, and a neoclassical 19th century façade. This city square also has a number of cafés and hosts a busy market on Fridays and Sundays.
[edit] Twin towns
Chalon-sur-Saône is twinned with:
- St. Helens, which was at the time of the twinning in the 1960s in Lancashire and is now, thanks to local government reorganisation, in Merseyside. Like Chalon, which has a large Saint Gobain factory, St. Helens is a prominent centre of glass manufacturing.
- Solingen, Germany
- Novara, Italy
- Næstved, Denmark
[edit] See also
[edit] Sources and external links
- Official website (French)
- This article incorporates text from the public-domain Catholic Encyclopedia of 1913.
- Westermann, Großer Atlas zur Weltgeschichte (German)
