The Bugey (, ;
Arpitan: ''Bugê'') is a historical region in the
department
Department may refer to:
* Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility
Government and military
*Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...
of
Ain
Ain (, ; frp, En) is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in Eastern France. Named after the Ain river, it is bordered by the Saône and Rhône rivers. Ain is located on the country's eastern edge, on the Swiss border, where it ...
, eastern
France, located between
Lyon
Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of th ...
and
Geneva. It is located in a loop of the
Rhône River in the southeast of the department. It includes the foothills of the
Jura mountains, and the highest point is the
Grand Colombier
Grand Colombier is a small, uninhabited island in the French North American territory of Saint Pierre and Miquelon. Only 50 ha in area, it lies 500 m off the north coast of Saint Pierre Island and rises to an elevation of 150 m. It ...
. Bugey is divided into two sub-regions: Haut Bugey and Bas Bugey. The inhabitants of Bugey are known as ''Bugistes'' or alternatively as ''Bugeysiens''.
History
The Bugey was a fief of the
Holy Roman Empire. When
Emperor Henry IV received the much-needed support of
Adelaide of Susa
Adelaide of Turin (also ''Adelheid'', ''Adelais'', or ''Adeline''; – 19 December 1091) was the countess of part of the March of Ivrea and the marchioness of Turin in Northwestern Italy from 1034 to her death. She was the last of the Ardu ...
,
marchesa of Turin, when he came to Italy to submit to
Pope Gregory VII and
Matilda of Tuscany at
Canossa
Canossa ( Reggiano: ) is a '' comune'' and castle town in the Province of Reggio Emilia, Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy. It is where Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV did penance in 1077 and stood three days bare-headed in the snow to reverse his ...
, in return for her permission to travel through her lands, Henry gave Bugey to Adelaide.
[ Previté-Orton, ''The Early History of the House of Savoy (1000-1233)'' (Cambridge, 1912'', pp. 237f.] Henceforth it belonged to the
House of Savoy until 1601, when it was ceded to France by the
Treaty of Lyon.
Geography
Bugey is delimited by the
Rhone in the south and east and by the
Ain
Ain (, ; frp, En) is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in Eastern France. Named after the Ain river, it is bordered by the Saône and Rhône rivers. Ain is located on the country's eastern edge, on the Swiss border, where it ...
in the west. The northern boundary of Bugey is disputed. In 1867 Baron Achille Raverat declared the
Valserine
The river Valserine () is a tributary of the Rhône that flows for from the Col de la Faucille in the Jura Mountains to its confluence with the Rhône at Bellegarde-sur-Valserine. The Valserine Valley has great charm; it includes the Pont des P ...
to be the northern border of Bugey, but contemporary definitions generally include the entire
Ain department as part of Bugey. The region of
Revermont has never been considered part of Bugey.
Culture
The area is known for its wine,
Bugey AOC
Bugey wine is produced in the Bugey region in the Ain département of France, under the two VDQS designations Bugey and Roussette du Bugey. On May 28, 2009, INAO gave its final approval for the elevation of Bugey and Roussette du Bugey to '' App ...
.
See also
*
Bugey Nuclear Power Plant
The Bugey Nuclear Power Plant is located in Bugey in the Saint-Vulbas commune (Ain), about 75 km from the Swiss border. The site occupies 100 hectares. It is on the edge of the Rhône River, from where it gets its cooling water, and is a ...
*
Bugey wine
Bugey wine is produced in the Bugey region in the Ain département of France, under the two VDQS designations Bugey and Roussette du Bugey. On May 28, 2009, INAO gave its final approval for the elevation of Bugey and Roussette du Bugey to '' App ...
*
Ligne du Haut-Bugey
The Haut-Bugey line (french: Ligne du Haut-Bugey) (also nicknamed ''Lignes des Carpates'') is a railway line in France. It is 65 kilometres in length and connects Bourg-en-Bresse with Bellegarde, travelling through the Jura Mountains.
For a cen ...
, railroad line
References
External links
Gazetteer Entry*
Geography of Ain
Former provinces of France
{{Ain-geo-stub