Fourchambault () is a

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 ...

in the

Nièvre Nièvre () is a department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region, central-east France. Named after the river Nièvre, it had a population of 204,452 in 2019.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, ...

in central

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 ...

.INSEE commune file
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Geography

Fourchambault lies on the right, eastern bank of the river

Loire The Loire (, also ; ; oc, Léger, ; la, Liger) is the longest river in France and the 171st longest in the world. With a length of , it drains , more than a fifth of France's land, while its average discharge is only half that of the Rhône ...

, about 7 km northwest of

Nevers Nevers ( , ; la, Noviodunum, later ''Nevirnum'' and ''Nebirnum'') is the prefecture of the Nièvre Departments of France, department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Regions of France, region in central France. It was the principal city of the ...

Fourchambault station Fourchambault is a railway station in Fourchambault, Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, France. The station is located on the Moret-Lyon railway. The station is served by Intercités (long distance) and TER (local) services operated by SNCF The Soci� ...

has rail connections to Nevers, Cosne-sur-Loire and Paris. The

A77 autoroute The A77 autoroute is a motorway in central France. The road starts at the hamlet of Rosiers in Seine-et-Marne and finishes to the south of Nevers in Nièvre. It is also known as the ''l'Arbre'' - the motorway of the Tree. It has been designed to ...

(Montargis–Nevers) passes east of the town.

Demographics

Industrial history

In 1819 Boigues & Fils, iron merchant in Paris, and M. Labbé, decided to find a new site on the

for their iron foundry to which it would be easier to transport coal, and decided on Fourchambault. A dock was built for cargo boats, and the Loire provided water for the steam engines. Construction of the factory at Fourchambault began in 1821. The Charbonnières Raveaux and Cramain furnaces became annexes to the new building, and Boigues & Fils collected several furnaces from Nivernais and Berry. Manufacturing began in 1822. Almost 3,000 workers from the surrounding countryside were employed in the cast iron foundry. The

Société de Commentry, Fourchambault et Decazeville The Société de Commentry, Fourchambault et Decazeville was an integrated coal, iron and steel company in France. Background In 1817 Jean-Georges Dufaud Père, director of the Grossouvre foundry in Cher (department), Cher, visited Wales on a com ...

was formed in 1853 through a merger of the Fourchambault foundry,

Imphy Imphy () is a commune in the Nièvre department in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, France. Industrial history Imphy is known in particular for its steel-works, renowned for their special steels which were useful in particular for the north foot of the ...

(Nièvre) steelworks,

Montluçon Montluçon (; oc, Montleçon ) is a commune in central France on the river Cher. It is the largest commune in the Allier department, although the department's prefecture is located in the smaller town of Moulins. Its inhabitants are known as ...

(Allier) foundry and

Commentry Commentry (; Auvergnat: ''Comentriac'') is a commune in the department of Allier in central France. It lies southwest of Moulins in the valley of the Œil. It is within 8 km of one of the geographic centres of France. The film actress Y ...

(Allier) colliery. In 1954 the company was renamed the Société métallurgique d'Imphy. In 1968 it was merged with the Société des forges et aciéries du Creusot, which in 1971 became

Creusot-Loire Creusot-Loire was a French engineering conglomerate, formed from factories in Le Creusot and Châteauneuf, Loire. The Creusot-Loire subsidiary of ArcelorMittal also includes an Innovation, Research and Development centre for the group. History The ...

. The combined company was in turn absorbed by Creusot-Loire (Saône-et-Loire) in 1971. The Creusot-Loire group was liquidated in December 1984.

Geography

Demographics

Industrial history

See also