Ville-la-Grand (; frp, Vela-la-Grand) 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

Haute-Savoie Haute-Savoie (; Arpitan: ''Savouè d'Amont'' or ''Hiôta-Savouè''; en, Upper Savoy) or '; it, Alta Savoia. is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of Southeastern France, bordering both Switzerland and Italy. Its prefecture is ...

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 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 south-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 ...

. The commune consists of the main town Ville-la-Grand and the small villages Crêt and Marsaz.

History of Ville-la-Grand

Founding

Ville-la-Grand was founded during the

Roman Republic The Roman Republic ( la, Res publica Romana ) was a form of government of Rome and the era of the classical Roman civilization when it was run through public representation of the Roman people. Beginning with the overthrow of the Roman Kin ...

, from around 48BC to 44BC, with the establishment of a villa by a rich

patrician Patrician may refer to: * Patrician (ancient Rome), the original aristocratic families of ancient Rome, and a synonym for "aristocratic" in modern English usage * Patrician (post-Roman Europe), the governing elites of cities in parts of medieval ...

or a simple veteran rewarded by

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, and ...

, whereas the nobles of the time were located at

Allobroges The Allobroges (Gaulish: *''Allobrogis'', 'foreigner, exiled'; grc, Ἀλλοβρίγων, Ἀλλόβριγες) were a Gallic people dwelling in a large territory between the Rhône river and the Alps during the Iron Age and the Roman period. ...

. Located on a

Roman road Roman roads ( la, viae Romanae ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, and were built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Re ...

going to the

Chablais Chablais () was a province of the Duchy of Savoy. Its capital was Thonon-les-Bains. Chablais was elevated to a duchy in 1311 by Henry VII, Holy Roman Emperor. This region is currently divided into three territories, the ''Chablais savoyard'', the ...

, it quickly became the center of an important Gallo-Roman village. From this time, three carved stones can be seen in the city.

Evangelism

In 522, a church was built in honor of

Mammes of Caesarea Saint Mammes (Mamas, Mammas, Mammet) of Caesarea ( el, Μάμας; french: Mammès; it, Mamante; es, Mamés; pt, São Mamede) was a child-martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who s ...

, child martyr, on the spot of a former temple dedicated to the god

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury (planet), Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Mars (mythology), Roman god of war. Mars is a terr ...

. Two stones located in the front of the church can be seen from this time.

From 1200 to 1800

Between 1220 and 1748, the village is under the influence of the

House of Grailly Grailly is a noble family from the Pays de Gex, which rose in the southern French nobility through marriage. The family originated from Lake Geneva in the County of Savoy. Jean I de Grailly presumably was part of Peter II of Savoy entourage, who ...

. After that, Ville-la-Grand belongs to the

Duchy of Savoy The Duchy of Savoy ( it, Ducato di Savoia; french: Duché de Savoie) was a country in Western Europe that existed from 1416. It was created when Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor, raised the County of Savoy into a duchy for Amadeus VIII. The duc ...

. Annexed by France as part of Savoy in 1792, it becomes a

of the

Mont Blanc Mont Blanc (french: Mont Blanc ; it, Monte Bianco , both meaning "white mountain") is the highest mountain in the Alps and Western Europe, rising above sea level. It is the second-most prominent mountain in Europe, after Mount Elbrus, and i ...

, and then from the department of Léman in 1798. Given back to the Duchy of Savoy in 1814, the commune lost some of his territory because of the Treaty of Turin when the villages of Présinge, Puplinge, the hamlets of "la Louvière" and "Carra" are transferred to the

canton of Geneva The Canton of Geneva, officially the Republic and Canton of Geneva (french: link=no, République et canton de Genève; frp, Rèpublica et canton de Geneva; german: Republik und Kanton Genf; it, Repubblica e Cantone di Ginevra; rm, Republica e ...

. The parish of Ville-la-Grand lost its dependents of Juvigny in 1681, Ambilly in 1803, as well as the hamlets of Carraz, Pesey and Puplinge in 1816.. Elle récupère par contre lors du Concordat celle de Présinge. Between 1780 and 1837, Ville-la-Grand belongs to the

Carouge Carouge () is a municipality in the Canton of Geneva, Switzerland. History Carouge is first mentioned in the Early Middle Ages as ''Quadruvium'' and ''Quatruvio''. In 1248 it was mentioned as ''Carrogium'' while in the 14th Century it was kn ...

province, administrative division of the Duchy of Savoy, before being incorporated to the

Faucigny Faucigny ( it, Fossigni) is a commune in the Haute-Savoie 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-centr ...

province from 1837 to 1860.

Annexation of the Duchy of Savoy

During the debates about the Annexation of the Duchy of Savoy in 1860, the people are in a majority for joining the north part which became part of Switerzland. A petition was established and collected more than 13 600 signatures. The territory becomes then part of France, where on 22 and 23 April 1860 99.8% of the Savoy people voted for the territory to be attached to France.

Rail transport

In 1860, the commune becomes part of France. As part of an imperial decree from 22 December of the same year, the rail station of Annemasse is built on land owned by the city of Ville-La-Grand to realize a railway to Thonon. Annemasse proposed a 3000 francs compensation in 1881, which was not accepted. The matter was finally resolved in 1927 after Ville-La-Grand had exhausted all appeals, and finally accepted the compensation. Ville-la-Grand became the favorite place to life for the railroad workers after the

SNCF The Société nationale des chemins de fer français (; abbreviated as SNCF ; French for "National society of French railroads") is France's national state-owned railway company. Founded in 1938, it operates the country's national rail traffi ...

residential buildings were built. This was a noticeable change for the city, which was mainly an agricultural city until then.

World War II

On 8 July 1944, six members of the

French Resistance The French Resistance (french: La Résistance) was a collection of organisations that fought the German occupation of France during World War II, Nazi occupation of France and the Collaborationism, collaborationist Vichy France, Vichy régim ...

were killed by German forces on the "lieu-dit" « sur les côtes », including

Marianne Cohn Marianne Cohn (17 September 1922, in Mannheim – 8 July 1944, in Haute-Savoie), was a German-born French Resistance fighter. Biography Marianne Cohn was the eldest child of a family of German intellectuals of Jewish descent, but they did not pra ...

. Moreover, the catholic priests from the Juvénat school helped save the file of more than 2,500 Jews, by helping them cross into

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 ...

Geography

The commune of Ville-la-Grand is located in the

Arve The Arve (french: L'Arve, ) is a river in France (''département'' of Haute-Savoie), and Switzerland (canton of Geneva). A left tributary of the Rhône, it is long, of which 9 km in Switzerland. Its catchment area is , of which 80 km2 ...

valley, north of

Annemasse Annemasse (; Arpitan: ''Anemâsse'') is a commune in the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in Eastern France. Even though it covers a relatively small territory (4.98 km2 or 1.92 sq mi), it is Haute-Savoie's second ...

. It is next to the border with the

Canton of Geneva The Canton of Geneva, officially the Republic and Canton of Geneva (french: link=no, République et canton de Genève; frp, Rèpublica et canton de Geneva; german: Republik und Kanton Genf; it, Repubblica e Cantone di Ginevra; rm, Republica e ...

with Switzerland. The river Foron goes through the city.