Moûtiers

Moûtiers

View of Moûtiers and the Isère River

Coat of arms
Moûtiers

Coordinates: 45°29′09″N 6°32′04″E / 45.4858°N 6.5344°ECoordinates: 45°29′09″N 6°32′04″E / 45.4858°N 6.5344°E
Country France
Region Rhône-Alpes
Department Savoie
Arrondissement Albertville
Canton Moûtiers
Area1 3.16 km2 (1.22 sq mi)
Population (2006)2 4,348
 • Density 1,400/km2 (3,600/sq mi)
INSEE/Postal code 73181 / 73600
Elevation 465–1,042 m (1,526–3,419 ft)
(avg. 479 m or 1,572 ft)
Website http://www.moutiers-savoie.com/

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.

Moûtiers, historically also called Tarentaise, is a commune in the Savoie department in the Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France.

It is the access point to the Les Trois Vallées ski area and its train station, although not on a high-speed rail line, is an important stop for TGV trains from Lyon, Paris and beyond.

Geography

Moûtiers is located deep in the Tarentaise Valley. It is its geographic capital, between Albertville and Bourg-Saint-Maurice. Several popular French ski resorts are located in its vicinity. The river Isère flows in the town.

History

Moûtiers was the capital of the Ceutrones, a Celtic tribe of Gaul. Its antique name, Darantasia, appears on a surviving ancient Roman road map known as the Tabula Peutingeriana. In a medieval text dating from 996, Moûtiers was called Monasterium (root of the word "monastery") from which its later names, Moustiers and finally Moûtiers, were derived.

Moûtiers was the episcopal see of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Tarentaise. The archdiocese was disbanded in 1801, and reestablished as the Diocese of Tarentaise. This diocese was united with the diocese of Chambéry and diocese of St-Jean-de-Maurienne to form the diocese of Chambéry, Maurienne and Tarentaise.

Today, the town has a small historic center with narrow streets surrounding Saint-Pierre cathedral.

It hosted the TV display for the 1992 Winter Olympics.

Demography

demographic evolution
1962 1968 1975 1982 1990 1999 2006
3788 4161 4187 4342 4295 4151 4348

Sightseeing

References

    External links

    Wikimedia Commons has media related to Moûtiers.