Albertville (; Arpitan: ''Arbèrtvile'') is a

subprefecture A subprefecture is an administrative division of a country that is below prefecture or province. Albania There are twelve Albanian counties or prefectures, each of which is divided into several districts, sometimes translated as subprefectures. ...

of the

Savoie Savoie (; Arpitan: ''Savouè'' or ''Savouè-d'Avâl''; English: ''Savoy'' ) is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, Southeastern France. Located in the French Alps, its prefecture is Chambéry. In 2019, Savoie had a population of ...

department in the

Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes (ARA; ; frp, Ôvèrgne-Rôno-Ârpes; oc, Auvèrnhe Ròse Aups; it, Alvernia-Rodano-Alpi) is a region in southeast-central France created by the 2014 territorial reform of French regions; it resulted from the merger of Au ...

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...

in Southeastern

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. It is best known for hosting the 1992 Winter Olympics and Paralympics. In 2018, the

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

had a population of 19,214; its

urban area An urban area, built-up area or urban agglomeration is a human settlement with a high population density and infrastructure of built environment. Urban areas are created through urbanization and are categorized by urban morphology as cities, t ...

had 39,780 inhabitants.

Geography

Albertville is one of two subprefectures of the

department, alongside Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne. Albertville is situated on the river

Arly The Arly () is a 32.1 km long river in the departments of Savoie and Haute-Savoie, France. It is a tributary of the Isère, which it joins at Albertville. Towns crossed by the river * Megève * Praz-sur-Arly * Flumet * Saint-Nicolas-la-C ...

, close to the confluence with the river

Isère Isère ( , ; frp, Isera; oc, Isèra, ) is a landlocked department in the southeastern French region of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. Named after the river Isère, it had a population of 1,271,166 in 2019.mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited Summit (topography), summit area, and ...

s include: Belle Étoile,

Dent de Cons Dent de Cons is a mountain of Savoie and Haute-Savoie, France. It lies in the Bauges range of the French Prealps The French Prealps (french: Préalpes) are a group of subalpine mountain ranges of medium elevation located immediately west of the ...

, Négresse, Roche Pourrie, Mirantin,

Pointe de la Grande Journée Pointe de la Grande Journée is a mountain of Savoie, France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in th ...

, Chaîne du Grand Arc. Nearby

mountain range A mountain range or hill range is a series of mountains or hills arranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure, and alignment that have arise ...

s include the

Bauges The Bauges Mountains (French: ''Massif des Bauges'') is a mountain range in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Eastern France, stretching from the city of Annecy, Haute-Savoie to the city of Chambéry, Savoie, which is part of the French Prealps. Major ...

, the

Beaufortain Beaufortain is a valley in the Savoie department in the Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France. It extends around the commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations m ...

and the beginning of the Vanoise.

History

The modern city of Albertville was formed in 1836 by King

Charles Albert of Sardinia Charles Albert (; 2 October 1798 – 28 July 1849) was the King of Sardinia from 27 April 1831 until 23 March 1849. His name is bound up with the first Italian constitution, the Albertine Statute, and with the First Italian War of Independence ...

, who merged the medieval town of Conflans, which had buildings dating to the 14th century, with the town of L'Hôpital. Since then, Albertville has fostered trade between France, Italy and Switzerland. Industries such as

paper mills A paper mill is a factory devoted to making paper from vegetable fibres such as wood pulp, old rags, and other ingredients. Prior to the invention and adoption of the Fourdrinier machine and other types of paper machine that use an endless belt ...

and

hydroelectricity Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is Electricity generation, electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other Renewabl ...

are found along its river. The 1992 Winter Olympics were organised in the Savoie region, with Albertville hosting it. Some of the sports venues were later adapted for other uses. Some sports venues still remain, such as the

ice rink An ice rink (or ice skating rink) is a frozen body of water and/or an artificial sheet of ice created using hardened chemicals where people can ice skate or play winter sports. Ice rinks are also used for exhibitions, contests and ice shows. The ...

La halle de glace Olympique Halle Olympique (french: Olympic Hall) is an indoor arena located in Albertville, France. For the 1992 Winter Olympics, it hosted the figure skating and the short track speed skating events. It was first use for the 1991 Trophée Lalique, which ...

, designed by the architect Jacques Kalisz. Despite this, the town remains more industrial than touristic.Politique économique
albertville.fr (in French) In 2003, the town was labelled a " Town of Art and History".

Population

Transport

Albertville station was put into service in 1879 by the Compagnie des chemins de fer de Paris à Lyon et à la Méditerranée (PLM).

Notable people

* Gérard Mourou (born 1944), Nobel Prize winner in Physics, 2018 *

Justine Braisaz Justine Braisaz-Bouchet (born 4 July 1996) is a French biathlete, Olympic champion in the 12.5 km mass start at the 2022 Beijing Games and medalist at the Winter Olympics 2018 and World Championships. Biography Justine Braisaz began her biath ...

(born 1996), Olympic champion and world medalist in biathlon * Jean-Luc Crétier (born 1966), Olympic champion in alpine skiing ( WOC 1998, downhill) * Léa Lemare (born 1996), ski jumper and national champion * Florine De Leymarie (born 1981), skier *

Jérôme Jarre Jérôme Jarre (pronounced ) is a French entrepreneur, creator and humanitarian. He is best known for being a Vine and Snapchat celebrity. As of June 2014, he was the fourth most followed individual on Vine. That same month he became one of the fi ...

(born 1990), comedian on the Vine app *

Julia Simon (biathlete) Julia Simon (born 9 October 1996) is a French biathlete. She competes in the Biathlon World Cup. Biathlon results All results are sourced from the International Biathlon Union.International Biathlon UnionJulia Simon IBU Datacenter. Retrieved 19 ...

(born 1996), world champion in biathlon

Sites of interest

, or the Olympic ice hall, the ice arena that hosted events during the 1992 Winter Olympics. *

L'anneau de vitesse L'Anneau de Vitesse ( en, The Speed Circuit) is an outdoor speed skating venue located in Grenoble, France. It hosted the speed skating events for the 1968 Winter Olympics. This Speed Circuit is located in a park of 27 hectares, the Park Paul Mist ...

, or speed oval, the athletic stadium that previously served as the site of the speed skating competitions of 1992 Winter Olympics.

International relations

Albertville is twinned with: *

Aosta Aosta (, , ; french: Aoste , formerly ; frp, Aoûta , ''Veulla'' or ''Ouhta'' ; lat, Augusta Praetoria Salassorum; wae, Augschtal; pms, Osta) is the principal city of Aosta Valley, a bilingual region in the Italian Alps, north-northwest of ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

Winnenden Winnenden ( Swabian: ''Wẽnnede'') is a small town in the Rems-Murr district of the Stuttgart Region in Baden-Württemberg in southwest Germany. It lies in a wine-growing area approx. northeast of Stuttgart and has a population of fewer than 2 ...

Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg (; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million inhabitants across a ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

* Sainte-Adèle, Quebec,

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

, which like Albertville, hosted a Winter Olympics, doing so in 2010

Heraldry

References

External links

City council website

(in French)

in English) {{authority control Communes of Savoie Subprefectures in France Populated places established in 1836 Ceutrones