Villefranche-sur-Saône

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Coordinates: 45°58′00″N 4°43′00″E / 45.983333, 4.716667

Commune of Villefranche-sur-Saône
Location
Villefranche-sur-Saône (France)
Villefranche-sur-Saône
Administration
Country France
Region Rhône-Alpes
Department Rhône (sous-préfecture)
Arrondissement Villefranche-sur-Saône
Canton Villefranche-sur-Saône
Intercommunality Communauté de communes
de l'agglomération de
Villefranche-sur-Saône
Mayor Jean-Jacques Pignard
Statistics
Land area¹ 9.48 km²
Population²
(1999)		 30,647
 - Density 3,233/km² (1999)
Miscellaneous
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.
2 Population sans doubles comptes: residents of multiple communes (e.g. students and military personnel) only counted once.
France

Villefranche-sur-Saône (Velafranche in Arpitan language) is a town and commune in the Rhône département of the Rhône-Alpes région of east-central France, one mile (1.6 km) west of the Saône River. The inhabitants of the town are called Caladoise(s) (feminine) and Caladois (masculine).

The popular French singers Coralie Clément and Benjamin Biolay, as well as the football player hope, Grégory Bettiol were born in Villefranche-sur-Saône.

Contents

[edit] History

Villefranche-sur-Saône was founded in 1212 by Guichard IV, count of Beaujeu (Bôjor / Biôjœr), and became in the 14th century the capital of the Beaujolais (Biôjolês) province. It faced three sieges in the 15th and 16th centuries. The town walls were taken down early in the 19th century.

[edit] Economy

Industries include wine-trading, metallurgy, textiles, and chemicals.

[edit] Transport

The Autoroute du Sud is adjacent to the east of the town, running alongside the Saône.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

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