Voiron (; frp, Vouèron) 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 ...

(French municipality) in the ninth district of the

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.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 southeastern France. It is the capital of the canton of Voiron and has been part of the

Grenoble-Alpes Métropole Grenoble-Alpes Métropole is the ''métropole'', an intercommunal structure, centred on the city of Grenoble. It is located in the Isère department, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, eastern France. It was created in January 2015, replacing t ...

since 2010. Voiron is located northwest of

Grenoble lat, Gratianopolis , commune status = Prefecture and commune , image = Panorama grenoble.png , image size = , caption = From upper left: Panorama of the city, Grenoble’s cable cars, place Saint- ...

and southeast of Lyon. Its roughly 20,000 inhabitants are named ''Voironnais'' in French. Voiron, along with

Chambéry Chambéry (, , ; Arpitan: ''Chambèri'') is the prefecture of the Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of eastern France. The population of the commune of Chambéry was 58,917 as of 2019, while the population of the Chambér ...

and Grenoble, is a gateway city of the

Chartreuse Mountains The Chartreuse Mountains (french: massif de la Chartreuse ) are a mountain range in southeastern France, stretching from the city of Grenoble in the south to the Lac du Bourget in the north. They are part of the French Prealps, which continue a ...

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.

History

Voiron had been a part of the

County of Savoy The County of Savoy (, ) was a State of the Holy Roman Empire which emerged, along with the free communes of Switzerland, from the collapse of the Burgundian Kingdom in the 11th century. It was the cradle of the future Savoyard state. History ...

in the Middle Ages. In the

Treaty of Paris (1355) The Treaty of Paris was signed in 1355 between Amadeus VI, Count of Savoy and the first Dauphin_of_France#History, dauphin, future Charles V of France. Overall, the treaty benefited Savoy financially and politically by expanding and consolidating ...

the count exchanged Voiron and the rest of the region between the rivers

Rhône The Rhône ( , ; wae, Rotten ; frp, Rôno ; oc, Ròse ) is a major river in France and Switzerland, rising in the Alps and flowing west and south through Lake Geneva and southeastern France before discharging into the Mediterranean Sea. At Ar ...

and

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 ...

and Gex from France.

17th and 18th centuries

In 1700, the capital of the

Chartreuse massif The Chartreuse Mountains (french: massif de la Chartreuse ) are a mountain range in southeastern France, stretching from the city of Grenoble in the south to the Lac du Bourget in the north. They are part of the French Prealps, which continue a ...

and its surrounding area had about 1,200 inhabitants and more than a hundred of them worked in the processing of

hemp Hemp, or industrial hemp, is a botanical class of ''Cannabis sativa'' cultivars grown specifically for industrial or medicinal use. It can be used to make a wide range of products. Along with bamboo, hemp is among the fastest growing plants o ...

. Since the beginning of the century, production had been organized around the Voironnaise factory and canvases were marked to certify their origin. The city acquired a great reputation thanks to its paintings resulting from a secular know-how. The privileges granted by

Louis XII Louis XII (27 June 14621 January 1515), was King of France from 1498 to 1515 and King of Naples from 1501 to 1504. The son of Charles, Duke of Orléans, and Maria of Cleves, he succeeded his 2nd cousin once removed and brother in law at the tim ...

disappeared during the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

. However, the production of canvas continued, and their reputation allowed Voiron to maintain this activity under the First Empire due in large part to purchases by the army.

19th century

The nineteenth century saw the decline of the era of canvas in Voiron because of the scarcity of

linen Linen () is a textile made from the fibers of the flax plant. Linen is very strong, absorbent, and dries faster than cotton. Because of these properties, linen is comfortable to wear in hot weather and is valued for use in garments. It also ...

and

cotton Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus ''Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor perce ...

, and because of the disappearance of the sailing navy which had been a large consumer of canvasses. Voiron came to be known for its fine silks, sought after by European royalties. Voiron then benefited from a female workforce, housed at the factory and often poorly paid. Voiron also gained religious influence marked by the 1876 erection of the Saint-Bruno church of neo-Gothic style by a first magistrate. A statue representing the Virgin Mary and the infant Jesus, a tribute to Notre-Dame-de-France Puy-en-Velay, was also erected.

20th century

The company

Skis Rossignol Skis Rossignol S.A., or simply Rossignol, is a French manufacturer of alpine, snowboard, and Nordic equipment, as well as related outerwear and accessories, located in Isère, France. Rossignol was one of the first companies to produce plasti ...

was founded in 1907 by Abel Rossignol. Entire families of Voiron, along with Italian immigrants who arrived en masse at the beginning of the century, worked in these factories. On the eve of the First World War, the silk-weaving business used nearly 3,000 looms. At the same time, the rise of paper mills on the banks of the Morge, the river crossing the small town, attracted workers to the city. The company

Radiall Radiall is a company that designs, develops, and manufactures connectors and associated components for use in electronic applications. The company offers interconnect components, including radio frequency/coaxial connectors and cable assemblies, a ...

was founded as well and the population of Voiron grew past 15,000.

21st century

Voiron remains a significant economic and administrative center of the department of Isère. Voiron has sought to keep its independence from its much larger neighbor, the

conurbation. Voiron survived a difficult conversion after the departure of companies Rossignol and Johnson & Johnson. Pays Voironnais is working to attract new jobs aimed at limiting the dormitory phenomenon already affecting the suburbs of Voiron. However, because of the urban sprawl between

Voreppe Voreppe () is a commune in the Isère department in southeastern France. It is part of the Grenoble urban unit (agglomeration).National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (INSEE) as belonging to the

since 2010.

Geography

The city is located northwest of Grenoble and southeast of

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 t ...

. Voiron is at an altitude of , on the Morge (a tributary of the

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.Grande Chartreuse Grande Chartreuse () is the head monastery of the Carthusian religious order. It is located in the Chartreuse Mountains, north of the city of Grenoble, in the commune of Saint-Pierre-de-Chartreuse (Isère), France. History Originally, the ch ...

. Voiron was the starting-point of the steam tramways to

Saint-Laurent-du-Pont Saint-Laurent-du-Pont () is a commune in the Isère department in southeastern France. It was the site of the Club Cinq-Sept fire, which killed 146, in 1970. Population Economy There is a large cement works at Saint-Laurent-du-Pont, unusua ...

, (for the Grande Chartreuse), and to

Charavines Charavines () is a commune in the Isère department in southeastern France. Population See also *Communes of the Isère department The following is a list of the 512 communes in the French department of Isère. The communes cooperate in ...

, over (for the

Lac de Paladru Lake Paladru (''Lac de Paladru, nicknamed "Lac Bleu" by local residents'') is a small lake located in the Isère ''département'' of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, near Charavines, in France. The lake was formed by the glacier of the Rhône. It is 5.3&nb ...

). The distillery Chartreuse Cellars is a popular tourist destination. It is the longest liqueur cellar in the world. The cellar is open year-round with English guided tours available during June, July, and August.

Economy

Voiron is a manufacturing town, and it contains numerous factories. Companies include: Rossignol (

ski A ski is a narrow strip of semi-rigid material worn underfoot to glide over snow. Substantially longer than wide and characteristically employed in pairs, skis are attached to ski boots with ski bindings, with either a free, lockable, or partia ...

s), Radiall Connections, Antésite (a

liquorice Liquorice (British English) or licorice (American English) ( ; also ) is the common name of ''Glycyrrhiza glabra'', a flowering plant of the bean family Fabaceae, from the root of which a sweet, aromatic flavouring can be extracted. The liqu ...

-flavored drink),

Chartreuse Chartreuse () may refer to: Food and drink * Chartreuse (liqueur), a French liqueur * Chartreuse (dish), a French dish of vegetables or meat tightly wrapped in vegetable leaves and cooked in a mould Religion * Carthusians, a Catholic religi ...

liquor cellars, Bonnat Chocolatier (since 1884), and Allaman (manufacturing and transporting of petrol tanks).

Education

; Secondary (high school): * Lycée

Édouard Herriot Édouard Marie Herriot (; 5 July 1872 – 26 March 1957) was a French Radical politician of the Third Republic who served three times as Prime Minister (1924–1925; 1926; 1932) and twice as President of the Chamber of Deputies. He led the ...

* Lycée

Ferdinand Buisson Ferdinand Édouard Buisson (20 December 1841 – 16 February 1932) was a French academic, educational bureaucrat, pacifist and Radical-Socialist (left liberal) politician. He presided over the League of Education from 1902 to 1906 and the Human R ...

* Lycée agricole La Martelière

Notable people

Dantès Dailiang Dantès, or Dai Liang is a French singer-songwriter. He is also a trilingual host (French, Chinese, English) and a writer. Dantès is an intercultural artist who intertwines Chinese language, the French way of thinking and pop rock. Dantès' LP, ...

(born 1978), singer-songwriter *

Christophe Bouchut Christophe Bouchut (born 24 September 1966 in Voiron, Isère) is a French professional racing driver. He currently competes in the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series, driving for Dexwet-df1 Racing and Alex Caffi Motorsport in a part-time effort. He won ...

(born 1966), race driver,

24 Hours of Le Mans The 24 Hours of Le Mans (french: link=no, 24 Heures du Mans) is an endurance-focused Sports car racing, sports car race held annually near the town of Le Mans, France. It is the world's oldest active Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance r ...

winner *

Mélina Robert-Michon Mélina Robert-Michon (; born 18 July 1979) is a French discus thrower. She was the silver medalist at the 2013 World Championships in Athletics – Women's discus throw, 2013 World Championships and Athletics at the 2016 Summer Olympics – Wo ...

(born 1979), discus thrower * Fabien Centonze (born 1996), footballer

Twin towns – sister cities

Voiron is twinned with: *

Bassano del Grappa Bassano del Grappa ( vec, Basan or ''Bassan'', ) is a city and ''comune'', in the Vicenza province, in the region of Veneto, in northern Italy. It bounds the communes of Cassola, Marostica, Solagna, Pove del Grappa, Romano d'Ezzelino, Campolongo ...

, Italy *

Droitwich Spa Droitwich Spa (often abbreviated to Droitwich ) is an historic spa town in the Wychavon district in northern Worcestershire, England, on the River Salwarpe. It is located approximately south-west of Birmingham and north-east of Worcester, Engl ...

, England, United Kingdom *

Herford Herford (; nds, Hiarwede) is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, located in the lowlands between the hill chains of the Wiehen Hills and the Teutoburg Forest. It is the capital of the district of Herford (district), Herford. Geography ...

, Germany *

Šibenik Šibenik () is a historic city in Croatia, located in central Dalmatia, where the river Krka flows into the Adriatic Sea. Šibenik is a political, educational, transport, industrial and tourist center of Šibenik-Knin County, and is also the ...

, Croatia

References

External links

Official site
{{Authority control Communes of Isère Dauphiné Isère communes articles needing translation from French Wikipedia