Saint-Étienne

Saint-Étienne
Saint-etienne.jpg
Coat of arms of Saint-Étienne
Coat of arms
Saint-Étienne is located in France
Saint-Étienne
Administration
Country France
Region Rhône-Alpes
Department Loire
Canton Chief town of 9 cantons
Intercommunality Saint-Étienne Métropole
Mayor Maurice Vincent (PS)
(since March 2008)
Statistics
Elevation 422–1,117 m (1,385–3,665 ft)
(avg. 516 m/1,693 ft)
Land area1 79.97 km2 (30.88 sq mi)
Population2 175,700  (2005 estimate)
 - Ranking 16th in France
 - Density 2,197 /km2 (5,690 /sq mi)
Time zone CET (GMT +1)
INSEE/Postal code 42218/ 42000, 42100
Website http://www.saint-etienne.fr/
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.

Saint-Étienne (French pronunciation: [sɛ̃.t‿etjɛn], Saint Stephen) is a city in eastern central France. It is located in the Massif Central, 60 km (37.28 mi) southwest of Lyon in the Rhône-Alpes region, along the trunk road that connects Toulouse with Lyon. Saint-Étienne is the capital of the Loire département and has a population of approximately 175,000 in the city itself expanding to over 320,000 in the metropolitan area (2005).

Contents

History

Musée d'art et d'industrie.

The city is named after Saint Stephen. From the sixteenth century, Saint-Étienne developed an arms manufacturing industry. It was this which accounted for the town's importance, although it also became a centre for the manufacture of ribbons and passementerie starting in the 17th century. During the French revolution, Saint-Étienne was briefly renamed Armeville - 'arms town' - because of this activity.

Later, it became a coal mining centre, and more recently, has been known for its bicycle industry.

In the first half of the 19th century, it was only a chief town of an arrondissement in the département of the Loire, with a population of 33,064 in 1832. The concentration of industry prompted these numbers to rise rapidly to 110,000 by about 1880. It was this growing importance of Saint-Étienne that led to its being made seat of the prefecture and the departmental administration on 25 July 1855, when it became the chief town in the département and seat of the prefect, replacing Montbrison, which was reduced to the status of chief town of an arrondissement. Saint-Étienne absorbed the commune of Valbenoîte and several other neighbouring localities on 31 March 1855.

Culture

Saint-Étienne was a popular stop for automobile travelers in the early 20th century (sometimes referred to as The Golden Age of Travel[1]).

In 1990, Saint-Étienne set up a design biennale which is the largest of its kind in France. The next convention is in 2010. The city also launched the Massenet Festivals, (the place of birth of the composer) devoted mainly to perform his operas. In 2000, the city was named one of the French Towns and Lands of Art and History.

Saint-Étienne is home to three museums, of which the Musée d'Art Moderne has one of the largest collections of modern and contemporary art in France. The other two main museums in Saint-Étienne are Musée de la Mine and Musée des Ponts et Chaussées.

Demographics

Population of the city at the 1999 census was 180,210 (177,300 as of February 2004 estimates). Population of the whole metropolitan area at the 1999 census was 321,703.

Inhabitants of Saint-Étienne are called stéphanois in French. They are named so because "Étienne" derives from the Greek Stephanos.

Sport

The city's football club AS Saint-Étienne has won the Ligue 1 title a record ten times, achieving most of their success in the 1970s. British indie-dance band Saint Etienne named themselves after the club.

St. Étienne was the capital of the French bicycle industry. The bicycle wheel manufacturer Mavic is based in the city and frame manufacturers Motobécane and Vitus are also based here. The city often hosts a stage of the Tour de France.

St. Étienne resident Thierry Gueorgiou is a world champion in orienteering.

CA Saint-Étienne Loire Sud Rugby

Transport

The nearest airport is Saint-Étienne - Bouthéon Airport which is located in Andrézieux-Bouthéon, 12 km north-northwest of Saint-Étienne. The main railway station is Gare de Saint-Étienne – Châteaucreux, which offers high speed service to Lyon and Paris, and several regional lines.

Saint-Étienne is also notable for its Tramway de Saint Etienne tram system (which uniquely with Lille, it kept throughout the 20th century).

Bus and tram transport is regulated and provided by STAS, a public transport executive organisation. The bicycle sharing system Vélivert with 280 bicycles is available since June 2010.

Colleges and universities

Notable people

Street tram in the city
Street in the old center of Saint-Étienne
Rochetaillée castle
View of Saint-Étienne

Saint-Étienne was the birthplace of

It was also the place where Andrei Kivilev died.

International relations

Saint-Étienne is twinned with:

See also

References

Notes
  1. ↑ "LAPL Virtual Photo: Far and Wide". Lapl.org. http://www.lapl.org/virgal/travel/index.html. Retrieved 2010-06-14. 
  2. ↑ (Polish) "Miasta partnerskie Warszawy". um.warszawa.pl. Biuro Promocji Miasta. 2005-05-04. http://um.warszawa.pl/v_syrenka/new/index.php?dzial=aktualnosci&ak_id=3284&kat=11. Retrieved 2008-08-29. 

External links