Saint-Maurice-en-Gourgois

Saint-Maurice-en-Gourgois
Saint-Maurice-en-Gourgois

Coordinates: 45°24′08″N 4°11′02″E / 45.4022°N 4.1839°ECoordinates: 45°24′08″N 4°11′02″E / 45.4022°N 4.1839°E
Country France
Region Rhône-Alpes
Department Loire
Arrondissement Montbrison
Canton Saint-Bonnet-le-Château
Intercommunality Pays de Saint-Bonnet-le-Château
Government
 • Mayor Iwan Mayet
Area1 31.83 km2 (12.29 sq mi)
Population (2009)2 1,658
 • Density 52/km2 (130/sq mi)
INSEE/Postal code 42262 / 42240
Elevation 422–816 m (1,385–2,677 ft)
(avg. 790 m or 2,590 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.

Saint-Maurice-en-Gourgois is a commune in the Loire department in central France.

The inhabitants of Saint-Maurice-en-Gourgois are known as Gargomançois or Gargomançoises but are nicknamed Les Escargots. Gourgois roughly translates as "The Gorgeous" on account of the reputed great beauty of the indigenous population. Upon his arrival in the village in 346 St Maurice is reputed to have abandoned his monastic existence in favour of a life of pure pleasure and snail eating. This may be the origin of the inhabitants sobriquet.

Notable people

Among its most famous inhabitants is the legendary French metallurgist Emilie Ravel who discovered a way to make molten metal flow uphill. This technique is now widely used in her adopted home of Sheffield, England to cast many "lighter than air" metal products such as balloon hammers. Ms Ravel is reputed to be the inspiration for an entry in the La Petite Livre du Metallurgie :

Mimie, a french metallurgist
 Was plagued by undignified urges
She'd stress test in the nude
Which in England is rude
Though it's common in France, it emerges.''

See also

References

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