Vif, Isère

Vif
Commune
A general view of Vif
Coat of arms
Location of Vif
Vif Vif
Coordinates: 45°03′22″N 5°40′15″E
Country	France
Region	Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Department	Isère
Arrondissement	Grenoble
Canton	Le Pont-de-Claix
Intercommunality	Grenoble-Alpes Métropole
Government
• Mayor (2021–2026)	Guy Genet
Area 1	28.30 km2 (10.93 sq mi)
Population  (2021)	8,584
• Density	300/km2 (790/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	38545 /38450
Elevation	277–1,263 m (909–4,144 ft) (avg. 312 m or 1,024 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Vif (French pronunciation: [vif] ^ⓘ) is a commune in the Isère department in southeastern France.

The town hosts the Champollion Museum, located in the former residence of the Champollion family. Closed for renovations, it reopened in June 2021.

Geography

Vif is situated in the Valley of Gresse, in the south of Grenoble, upon the north-east foothills of the Vercors. The town is crossed by the Gresse river (which come from Gresse-en-Vercors). Vif lies 16 km (10 mi) south of Grenoble, 65 km (40 mi) north-west of Gap and 65 km (40 mi) north-east of Valence.

Population

Historical population

Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1793 2,055 —     1800 2,021 −0.24% 1806 2,025 +0.03% 1821 2,257 +0.73% 1831 2,282 +0.11% 1836 2,362 +0.69% 1841 2,314 −0.41% 1846 2,426 +0.95% 1851 2,435 +0.07% 1856 2,353 −0.68% 1861 2,417 +0.54% 1866 2,043 −3.31% 1872 2,506 +3.46% 1876 2,925 +3.94% 1881 2,734 −1.34% 1886 2,821 +0.63% 1891 2,792 −0.21% 1896 2,617 −1.29%	Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1901 2,707 +0.68% 1906 2,589 −0.89% 1911 2,165 −3.51% 1921 2,007 −0.75% 1926 2,134 +1.23% 1931 2,080 −0.51% 1936 2,028 −0.51% 1946 2,071 +0.21% 1954 2,444 +2.09% 1962 3,057 +2.84% 1968 3,287 +1.22% 1975 3,593 +1.28% 1982 4,419 +3.00% 1990 5,788 +3.43% 1999 6,478 +1.26% 2007 8,050 +2.75% 2012 7,975 −0.19% 2017 8,532 +1.36%
Source: EHESS and INSEE (1968-2017)

Sights

The Champollion Museum

• Vif is the home of the Champollion Museum, settled in the former family house of Jacques-Joseph Champollion-Figeac and his wife Zoé Berriat.
• The city is the cradle of the French company Vicat, founded by Joseph Vicat (son of Louis Vicat). The first cement works was built in Genevrey-de-Vif in 1857.
• The town has two churches: Saint-Jean-Baptiste de Vif and Saint-Marie du Genevrey, which is one of the oldest medieval churches in Grenoble métropole.
• The actual town hall was an ancient monastery until 1792, then a silk mill managed by the Berriat family.

A general view of the Viaduct of Crozet

The "Line of Alps", a railway connecting Grenoble to Gap via the Alps, crosses the town territory on a 19th-century railway viaduct, the viaduct of Crozet (viaduc du Crozet).

Notable people

Jacques-Joseph Champollion-Figeac, brother of Jean-François

• Charles Le Goux de La Berchère (1647-1719), bishop
• Jacques-Joseph Champollion-Figeac (1778-1867), archaeologist, brother of Jean-François (Champollion le Jeune)
• Jean-François Champollion (1790-1832), philologist and orientalist, decipherer of Egyptian hieroglpyhs
• François-Jean Rochas Frenchy (1843-1894), first settler of today's Oliver Lee Memorial State Park (New Mexico)
• Yves de La Brière (1877-1941), French Jesuit born in Vif.

Twin towns – sister cities

Vif is twinned with:

• Rivalta di Torino, Italy, since 1985

See also

• Communes of the Isère department