Cran-Gevrier

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Cran-Gevrier is a French commune, located in the department of Haute-Savoie in the Rhône-Alpes region.

[edit] Geography

Cran-Gevrier is in the east of Annecy. Part of the city is on a hill (hill of Gevrier). The hamlet of Cran was on the level of the Thiou river. The top of the hill of Gevrier is designated as a natural preserve.

[edit] History

The city draws its origins from two hamlets: Cran and Gevrier. There are two possible origins for each one of these names:

Cran which means "notch" (permitted the establishment of a road between Boutae (Annecy) and Aquae (Aix-les-Bains), or between two rivers (river Thiou and river Fier).
Gevrier, the oldest hamlet, got its name either from the Grabriaccus villa, or from the word "guivre", the name of a mythical snake whose role in tales is to keep treasures (one finds a snake rolled up around a sword on the blazon of the lords of Aléry).

The Romans were the first to settle on the hill. A Roman villa and a theatre were built there.