Paray-le-Monial 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

Saône-et-Loire Saône-et-Loire (; Arpitan: ''Sona-et-Lêre'') is a department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in France. It is named after the rivers Saône and Loire, between which it lies, in the country's central-eastern part. Saône-et-Loire is Bo ...

department in the

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 ...

Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Bourgogne-Franche-Comté (; , sometimes abbreviated BFC; Arpitan: ''Borgogne-Franche-Comtât'') is a region in Eastern France created by the 2014 territorial reform of French regions, from a merger of Burgundy and Franche-Comté. The new region ...

in eastern

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 ...

. Since 2004 is Paray-le-Monial part of the

Charolais-Brionnais Country The Charolais-Brionnais region (french: Pays Charolais-Brionnais) is located in the southwest of the French department of the Saône-et-Loire in Burgundy. Created in 2004, the region comprises a population of 90,000 inhabitants across 129 municip ...

. It is nicknamed the "city of the

Sacred Heart The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus ( la, Cor Jesu Sacratissimum) is one of the most widely practised and well-known Catholic devotions, wherein the heart of Jesus is viewed as a symbol of "God's boundless and passionate love for mankind". This devo ...

" and its inhabitants are called Parodiens and Parodiennes.

Geography

Paray-le-Monial is located in the southwest of the

Département, in the heart of the Charolais countryside, in a plain bounded by the Brionnais upland, the rivers

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 ...

, l' Arroux and the

Bourbince The Bourbince () is an long river in the Saône-et-Loire ''département'', in central eastern France. Its source is at Montcenis. It flows generally southwest. It is a left tributary of the river Arroux into which it flows at Digoin. Commun ...

. The roughly parallel Bourbince River and the canal du Centre traverse the city from the southeast to the northwest. Among the elements that form the city, as it has developed over its history, are the upland near the Bourbince River, the priory and basilica, a rectangular town center with very dense housing, national highway N79, which crosses the Bourbince River east and west of the town center, a newer part of town located north of the town center, the Bellevue residential area to the southwest, and several suburbs. Michel Bouillot, « Contribution à l'étude des plans des villes clunisiennes », article paru dans ''Mélanges d'histoire et d'archéologie offerts au professeur Kenneth John Conant par l'association Splendide Bourgogne'', Éditions Bourgogne-Rhône-Alpes, Mâcon, 1977, pp 173-204.

History

Paray (''Paredum''; ''Parodium'') existed before the monks who gave it its surname of ''Le Monial'', for when Count

Lambert of Chalon Lambert of Chalon (French: ''Lambert de Chalon''; before 930 - 22 February 978) was the count of Chalon from 956 to 978, and viscount of Autun. He was the son of Robert of Dijon and Ingeltrude, and the brother to Robert, viscount of Chalon and t ...

, together with his wife Adelaide and his friend

Mayeul de Cluny Majolus of Cluny (Maieul, Mayeul, Mayeule) (c. 906 – May 11, 994) was the fourth abbot of Cluny. Majolus was very active in reforming individual communities of monks and canons; first, as a personal commission, requested and authorized by the E ...

, founded there in 973 the celebrated

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

priory, the borough had already been constituted, with its ædiles and communal privileges. At that time an ancient temple was dedicated to the Mother of God (Charter of Paray). The Cluny monks were, 999–1789, lords of the town.

Population

Main sights

Basilique du Sacré Coeur de Paray le Monial

The town is mainly known for its Romanesque church of the ''Sacré-Coeur'' ("Sacred Heart") and as a place of

pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a journey, often into an unknown or foreign place, where a person goes in search of new or expanded meaning about their self, others, nature, or a higher good, through the experience. It can lead to a personal transformation, aft ...

. It was built from the 12th century as a small-scale version of the

Abbey of Cluny Cluny Abbey (; , formerly also ''Cluni'' or ''Clugny''; ) is a former Benedictine monastery in Cluny, Saône-et-Loire, France. It was dedicated to Saint Peter. The abbey was constructed in the Romanesque architectural style, with three churches ...

. It was finished in the 14th century, while the cloister dates to the 18th century. The Hôtel de Ville, in Renaissance style, is also one of the historical monuments. Another major building in Paray-le-Monial, is Saint Nicolas' tower, built during the 16th century, which hosts different exhibitions but mainly mosaic exhibitions.

Economy

The area's primary industry is agriculture in particular beef cattle farming. The area is known for its

charolais cattle The Charolais () or Charolaise () is a French breed of taurine beef cattle. It originates in, and is named for, the Charolais area surrounding Charolles, in the Saône-et-Loire department, in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region of eastern F ...

Notable people

* Saint Claude de la Colombière (1641-1682), Jesuit priest and the confessor of Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque *

Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque Margaret Mary Alacoque, VHM (french: Marguerite-Marie Alacoque) (22 July 1647 – 17 October 1690), was a French Catholic Visitation nun and mystic who promoted devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus in its modern form. Summary She worked to pr ...

(1647-1690), Visitation nun and mystic who promoted devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus *

Léon-Benoît-Charles Thomas Léon-Benoît-Charles Thomas (1826–1894) was a French cardinal. He served as Bishop of La Rochelle (1867–1883) and Archbishop of Rouen The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Rouen (Latin: ''Archidioecesis Rothomagensis''; French: ''Archidiocèse ...

(1826-1894), cardinal *

Émile Buisson Émile "Mimile" Buisson (19 August 1902 – 28 February 1956) was a French gangster, and French public enemy No. 1 for 1950. A member of the French ''Gang des Tractions Avant'', Buisson was responsible for over thirty murders and a hundred robbe ...

(1902-1956), gangster *

Jacqueline Maillan Jacqueline Jeanne Paule Maillan (11 January 1923 - 12 May 1992) was a French actress with a career spanning almost five decades, known primarily for her forty theatre productions, she also appeared in more than fifty films (1947 to 1992) and is ...

(1923–1992), actress *

Gérard Ducarouge Gérard Ducarouge (23 October 1941 – 19 February 2015) was a French Formula One car designer whose career in motorsport started in 1965 when he joined Equipe Matra Sports. His Matra MS80 car, entered by the privateer Matra International te ...

(1941-2015), Formula One car designer *

Richard Trivino Richard Trivino (born 5 June 1977 in Paray-le-Monial, Saône-et-Loire) is a French former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He won the French League Cup in 2000 and played in the UEFA Cup A cup is an open-top used to h ...

(born 1977), goalkeeper * Vincent Clerc (born 1981), rugby union player * Alexandre Lapandry (born 1989), rugby union player

Twin towns - Sister cities

Paray-le-Monial is twinned with: *

Bethlehem Bethlehem (; ar, بيت لحم ; he, בֵּית לֶחֶם '' '') is a city in the central West Bank, Palestine, about south of Jerusalem. Its population is approximately 25,000,Amara, 1999p. 18.Brynen, 2000p. 202. and it is the capital o ...

Palestine __NOTOC__ Palestine may refer to: * State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia * Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia * Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...

Bad Dürkheim Bad Dürkheim () is a spa town in the Rhine-Neckar urban agglomeration, and is the seat of the Bad Dürkheim district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Geography Location Bad Dürkheim lies at the edge of Palatinate Forest on the German Win ...

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 ...

* Payerne,

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

Wells Wells most commonly refers to: * Wells, Somerset, a cathedral city in Somerset, England * Well, an excavation or structure created in the ground * Wells (name) Wells may also refer to: Places Canada *Wells, British Columbia England * Wells ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

Tourism

In the Southern Bourgogne-Franche-Comté area, you can see : * The

Arboretum de Pézanin The Arboretum de Pézanin or Arboretum Domanial de Pézanin (''Federal Arboretum of Pézanin'') is an arboretum located in Dompierre-les-Ormes, Saône-et-Loire, Bourgogne, France. It is one of the oldest and richest forest collections in France, ...

, one of the richest forest collection in France, * The

Rock of Solutré The Rock of Solutré (French: ''Roche de Solutré'') is a limestone escarpment west of Mâcon, France, overlooking the commune of Solutré-Pouilly. It is an iconic site in the department of Saône-et-Loire, in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. Prote ...

, * The

Cluny abbey Cluny Abbey (; , formerly also ''Cluni'' or ''Clugny''; ) is a former Benedictine monastery in Cluny, Saône-et-Loire, France. It was dedicated to Saint Peter. The abbey was constructed in the Romanesque architectural style, with three churches ...

and its medieval city, *

Mâcon Mâcon (), historically anglicised as Mascon, is a city in east-central France. It is the prefecture of the department of Saône-et-Loire in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. Mâcon is home to near 34,000 residents, who are referred to in French as ...

Charolles Charolles (; Burgundian: ''Tsarolles'') is a commune in the Saône-et-Loire department in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in eastern France. Since 2004 is Charolles part of the Charolais-Brionnais Country. Geography Charolles is located ...

La Clayette La Clayette () is a commune in the east-central French department of Saône-et-Loire. Geography La Clayette is situated in the southernmost part of Burgundy, north of the historical province of Beaujolais. It belongs to an area designated sinc ...

...