Villefranche-sur-Saône
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Coordinates: 45°59′00″N 4°43′00″E / 45.983333°N 4.716667°E
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Commune of Villefranche-sur-Saône |
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| Location | |
  Villefranche-sur-Saône
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| Administration | |
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| Country | France |
| Region | Rhône-Alpes |
| Department | Rhône |
| Arrondissement | Villefranche-sur-Saône |
| Canton | Villefranche-sur-Saône |
| Intercommunality | Villefranche-sur-Saône |
| Mayor | Jean-Jacques Pignard |
| Statistics | |
| Land area1 | 9.48 km2 (3.66 sq mi) |
| Population2 | 34,626 (2006) |
| - Density | 3,653 /km² (9,460 /sq mi) |
| Miscellaneous | |
| INSEE/Postal code | 69264/ 69400 |
| 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. | |
Villefranche-sur-Saône (Velafranche in the Arpitan language) is a commune in the Rhône department in eastern France.
It lies 1 mile (1.6 km) west of the Saône River, and is around 25 km north of Lyon. The inhabitants of the town are called Caladois.
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[edit] Notable people
The popular French singers Coralie Clément and Benjamin Biolay, as well as football player hopeful Grégory Bettiol were born in Villefranche-sur-Saône.
[edit] History
Villefranche-sur-Saône was founded in 1212 by Guichard IV, count of Beaujeu (Bôjor / Biôjœr), and became in the 14th century the capital of the Beaujolais (Biôjolês) province. It endured three sieges in the 15th and 16th centuries. The town walls were taken down early in the 19th century.
[edit] Economy
Industries include wine-trading, metallurgy, textiles, and chemicals.
[edit] Transport
The Autoroute du Sud (the principal road from Paris to the south of France) is adjacent to the east of the town, running alongside the Saône River.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- INSEE
- This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica, Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.
[edit] External links
- Official website (in French)
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