Montbrison, Loire (original) (raw)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Subprefecture in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France

Montbrison
Subprefecture
Coat of arms
Location of Montbrison
MontbrisonShow map of FranceMontbrisonShow map of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Coordinates: 45°36′30″N 4°03′57″E / 45.6083°N 4.0658°E / 45.6083; 4.0658
Country	France
Region	Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Department	Loire
Arrondissement	Montbrison
Canton	Montbrison
Intercommunality	CA Loire Forez
Government
• Mayor (2020–2026)	Christophe Bazile[1]
Area1	16.33 km2 (6.31 sq mi)
Population (2021)[2]	16,064
• Density	980/km2 (2,500/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	42147 /42600
Elevation	370–552 m (1,214–1,811 ft) (avg. 399 m or 1,309 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Montbrison (French pronunciation: [mɔ̃bʁizɔ̃]; Arpitan: Montbréson) is a commune and a subprefecture of the Loire department in central France.[3]

Montbrison was the historical capital of the counts of Forez, and today it is the principal city in the Forez.

The commune gives its name to the popular blue cheese Fourme de Montbrison, which has been made in the region for centuries. It received Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée status in 1972.

The town of Montbrison was founded in the area around the lords' castles in the Forez region, of which Montbrison would later become the capital. The earliest recorded reference to the town dates to 870CE.

The town was fortified following the attacks by the English army at the start of the Hundred Years War. During the Religious Wars, Montbrison was captured and pillaged by the Protestant forces of François de Beaumont in 1562, with the town's garrison thrown from the ramparts onto spikes placed by the attackers.[4]

The Convent of the Visitation was founded in 1643 during a period of severe famine. The town suffered a series of poor harvests as well as an outbreak of the plague between the years 1648–1653. The Augustinian Convent was founded in 1654, followed by the Hospital to house the poor in 1659. The Ursuline Convent closed in 1851.

• 1892 - execution of Ravachol, a noted anarchist
• 1909 - electrical power reaches the town
• 1940 - (June) the Forez region is occupied by German troops, with Montbrison falling into the 'free' zone. The forces withdrew at the start of July
• 1944 - (August) Montbrison liberated
• 1954 - Water treatment plant built
• 1968 - Jacquou le Croquant broadcast on television
• 1972 - local cheese Fourme de Montbrison receives Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée status

Historical population

Montbrison is twinned with:

• Christophe Agou (1969–), photographer
• Pierre Boulez (1925–2016), composer and conductor
• Guillaume Cizeron (1994–), ice dancer, Olympic champion (2022), Olympic silver medalist (2018), five-time world champion (2015, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2022) and five-time European champion (2015–2019)
• Philippe Delaye (1975–), footballer
• Estienne Du Tronchet (c.1510–c.1580), writer
• Victor de Laprade (1812–1882) poet
• Mickey 3D, pop group
• Sarah Mikovski, singer-songwriter
• Marie-Anne Pierette Paulze (1758–1836), wife of Antoine Lavoisier
• Michael Portier, Bishop of Mobile, Alabama
• Ravachol, anarchist
• Muriel Robin (1955), actress
• Yves Triantafyllos (1948–), footballer

1. ^ "Répertoire national des élus: les maires". data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises (in French). 2 December 2020.
2. ^ "Populations légales 2021" (in French). The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 28 December 2023.
3. ^ INSEE commune file
4. ^ Pierre Miquel (1980). Les Guerres de religion. Club France Loisirs. p. 232. ISBN 2-7242-0785-8.
5. ^ Population en historique depuis 1968, INSEE

• Official town site

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Montbrison.