Annecy

For the film festival, see Annecy International Animated Film Festival.

Annecy

Panoramic sight of Annecy and Lake Annecy.

Flag

Coat of arms

Annecy

Location within Rhône-Alpes region

Annecy

Coordinates: 45°54′58″N 6°07′59″E / 45.916°N 6.133°ECoordinates: 45°54′58″N 6°07′59″E / 45.916°N 6.133°E

Country

Government

• Mayor (2014-2020)

Jean-Luc Rigaut (UDI)

Area¹

13.75 km² (5.31 sq mi)

Population (2011)²

51,012

• Density

3,700/km² (9,600/sq mi)

Time zone

CET (GMT +1)

INSEE/Postal code

74010 / 74000

Dialling codes

0450

Elevation

418–9 m (1,371–30 ft)
(avg. 448 m or 1,470 ft)

¹ French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

² Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once.

Annecy (French pronunciation: [an.si]; Èneci / Ènneci in Arpitan language) is a commune in the Haute-Savoie department in the Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France.

It lies on the northern tip of Lake Annecy (Lac d'Annecy), 35 kilometres (22 miles) south of Geneva.

Administration

Annecy is the capital of Haute-Savoie.

The metropolitan area of Annecy includes 13 municipalities.

Annecy is the capital of three cantons:

The Canton of Annecy-Centre is made up of a part of Annecy and has 16,769 (2013) inhabitants;
The Canton of Annecy-Nord-Est is also made up of part of Annecy and counts 18,574 (2013) inhabitants;
The largest canton is that of the Annecy-Nord-Ouest, which is formed from a part of Annecy and the communities of La Balme-de-Sillingy, Choisy, Épagny, Lovagny, Mésigny, Metz-Tessy, Meythet, Nonglard, Poisy, Sallenôves and Sillingy. Its population numbers 50,662 (2013).^[1]

History

The Hôtel de Ville (Town Hall)

Map of Annecy in 1914, French edition

Starting as the capital of the county of Geneva, after the demise of the counts of Geneva, it became integrated into the House of Savoy's possessions in 1401. In 1444, it was set up by the Princes of Savoy as the capital of a region covering the possessions of the Genevois, Faucigny and Beaufortain. With the advance of Calvinism in 1535, it became a center for the Counter-Reformation and the bishop's see of Geneva was transferred here. After being suppressed in 1801, it was restored in 1822.

During the French Revolution the Savoy region was conquered by France. Annecy became attached to the département of Mont Blanc, of which the capital was Chambéry. After the Bourbon Restoration in 1815, it was returned to the Kingdom of Sardinia (heir of the Duchy of Savoy). When Savoy was sold to France in 1860, it became the capital of the new département of Haute-Savoie.

Francis of Sales was born at the nearby castle of Sales in 1567. He was bishop of Annecy from 1602 to 1622.

Annecy was the site of the second round of General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) talks in 1949.

In 2012, a multiple murder occurred in the Annecy area.^[2]

Geography

The Fier forms part of the commune's north-western border. The mountains around the town of Annecy are: Le Mont Veyrier, Le Semnoz, La Tournette and the Parmelan.

Climate

Climate data for Annecy, Haute-Savoie - Alt : 458m
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Record high °C (°F)	16.4 (61.5)	19.2 (66.6)	23.5 (74.3)	27.4 (81.3)	32.6 (90.7)	35.1 (95.2)	36.0 (96.8)	38.5 (101.3)	30.0 (86)	26.5 (79.7)	20.6 (69.1)	19.9 (67.8)	38.5 (101.3)
Average high °C (°F)	5.4 (41.7)	7.6 (45.7)	12.0 (53.6)	15.6 (60.1)	20.5 (68.9)	24.0 (75.2)	26.1 (79)	25.7 (78.3)	20.7 (69.3)	16.0 (60.8)	9.5 (49.1)	5.6 (42.1)	15.72 (60.32)
Average low °C (°F)	−1.6 (29.1)	−1.0 (30.2)	1.6 (34.9)	4.7 (40.5)	9.5 (49.1)	12.5 (54.5)	14.3 (57.7)	14.1 (57.4)	10.4 (50.7)	7.2 (45)	2.3 (36.1)	−0.7 (30.7)	6.11 (42.99)
Record low °C (°F)	−23.0 (−9.4)	−15.5 (4.1)	−15.0 (5)	−6.0 (21.2)	−2.0 (28.4)	1.0 (33.8)	3.0 (37.4)	1.5 (34.7)	−2.5 (27.5)	−5.0 (23)	−11.5 (11.3)	−16.0 (3.2)	−23.0 (−9.4)
Average precipitation mm (inches)	91.2 (3.591)	82.2 (3.236)	94.6 (3.724)	102.8 (4.047)	105.1 (4.138)	90.0 (3.543)	100.8 (3.969)	114.8 (4.52)	123.3 (4.854)	118.0 (4.646)	116.8 (4.598)	109.9 (4.327)	1,249.5 (49.193)
Avg. precipitation days	11	9	10	10	12	9	10	10	9	11	12	11	124
Mean monthly sunshine hours	93	117	172	196	224	262	277	242	192	138	83	70	2,066
Source: Météo France - Period 1981-2010 - Extremes since 1970.

Culture

Annecy has hosted the Annecy International Animated Film Festival since 1960 and the Rencontres Internationales d'Annecy Cinéma & Architecture since 1999.

Sport

On 23 July 2009, Annecy played host to Stage 18 of the Tour de France, as the start/finish point for an individual time trial around Lake Annecy.

Annecy bid to host the 2018 Winter Olympic Games but lost to Pyeongchang.^[3] If they had been chosen, Annecy would have been the fourth French city to host the Winter Olympic Games, after Chamonix (1924), Grenoble (1968), and Albertville (1992).

Ligue 1 team Évian Thonon Gaillard F.C. play their home matches in Annecy.

The Annecy basin is one of the world's leading locations for the sport of paragliding, an activity of some economic importance to the region.^[4] The area regularly hosts major competitions, most recently a leg of the Paragliding World Cup in 2012.^[5]

Main sights

The Palais de l'Isle and Thiou river

Palais de l'Isle is a castle in the of Geneva's administrative headquarters, then alternately a courthouse, a mint, and the Middle Ages until 1865 and then again during World War II. The Palais de l'Ile was classified as a Historical Monument in 1900, and today houses a local history museum.

Other sights in Annecy include:

The Château d'Annecy (Annecy Castle) was the home of the Counts of Geneva and the Dukes of Genevois-Nemours, an offshoot

Education

Population

Evolution of the Population (See database)

1793	1800	1806	1822	1838	1848	1858	1861	1866
4,440	5,130	5,467	5,724	8,252	8,547	10,374	9,370	11,554

1872	1876	1881	1886	1891	1896	1901	1906	1911
11,581	10,976	11,334	11,817	11,947	12,894	13,611	14,351	15,622

1921	1926	1931	1936	1946	1954	1962	1968	1975
15,004	17,233	20,289	23,293	26,722	33,114	43,255	54,484	53,262

1982	1990	1999	2008	-	-	-	-	-
49,965	49,644	50,348	50,115	-	-	-	-	-

Sources : Ldh/EHESS/Cassini until 1962, INSEE database from 1968 (population without double counting and municipal population from 2006) · ^[6]

Histogram on demographic change





0

1800

1820

1840

1860

1880

1900

1920

1940

1960

1980

2000

Sources - database Cassini of EHESS and Insee

See database

Research organisations

LAPP Laboratoire d'Annecy-le-Vieux de Physique des Particules specialized in Physics
Mecatronics department of CETIM
Different R&D activities in the Université de Savoie and its École Polytechnique d'Ingenieurs: Polytech'Savoie.

Economy

Logo of the City of Annecy

Companies located in and around Annecy include:

Transport

The Gare d'Annecy railway station offers connections with Lyon, Geneva, Paris, Grenoble and several regional destinations.

International relations

Twin towns – Sister cities

Annecy is twinned with:

Bayreuth, Germany
Cheltenham, United Kingdom^[7]
Liptovský Mikuláš, Slovakia
Sainte-Thérèse, Canada
Vicenza, Italy

Associations

Together with other Alpine towns Annecy engages in the Alpine Town of the Year Association for the implementation of the Alpine Convention to achieve sustainable development in the Alpine Arc. Annecy is also Alpine Town of the Year 2012.

Gallery

Palais de l'Isle jail by night.
View of the Canal.
Annecy and Lake Annecy seen from Mont Veyrier.
Lake Annecy from the south dock of Annecy.

References

INSEE
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Annecy". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.