Bourg-Saint-Maurice (; Arpitan: ''Bôrg-Sant-Mori'' or simply ''Le Bôrg''), popularly known as Bourg, 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

Savoie Savoie (; Arpitan: ''Savouè'' or ''Savouè-d'Avâl''; English: ''Savoy'' ) is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, Southeastern France. Located in the French Alps, its prefecture is Chambéry. In 2019, Savoie had a population ...

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-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 an ...

in Southeastern

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 ...

. Located on the Italian border south of

Chamonix-Mont-Blanc Chamonix-Mont-Blanc ( frp, Chamôni), more commonly known as Chamonix, is a commune in the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of southeastern France. It was the site of the first Winter Olympics in 1924. In 2019, it had ...

, it had a population of 7,252 as of 2018. It serves as a transport hub for the Paradiski ski area, with direct trains from

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

and

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...

during the winter.

History

''Bergintrum'' was a place on the Gallic side of the pass of the

Alpes Graiae The Alpes Graiae et Poeninae, later known as Alpes Atrectianae et Poeninae (officially Alpes Atrectianae et Vallis Poenina), were a small Alpine province of the Roman Empire created after the merging of the ''Alpes Poeninae'' (or ''Vallis Poenina' ...

, lying on the road marked in the

Antonine Itinerary The Antonine Itinerary ( la, Itinerarium Antonini Augusti, "The Itinerary of the Emperor Antoninus") is a famous ''itinerarium'', a register of the stations and distances along various roads. Seemingly based on official documents, possibly ...

between Mediolanum (modern

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city ...

) and Vienna (modern

Vienne, Isère Vienne (; frp, Vièna) is a town in southeastern France, located south of Lyon, at the confluence of the Gère and the Rhône. It is the fourth largest-commune in the Isère department, of which it is a subprefecture alongside La Tour-du- ...

). Jean-Baptiste Bourguignon d'Anville (''Notice, etc.'') placed it between Axima (modern

Aime Aime (; frp, Éma) is a former commune in the Savoie ''département'' in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France. On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the new commune of Aime-la-Plagne.Pass of the Little Saint Bernard, which divides the waters that flow to 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.Dora Baltea Dora Baltea () or Doire Baltée () is a river in northwestern Italy. It is a left-hand tributary of the Po and is about long. Name The river's Latin name was ''Duria maior'', ''Duria Baltica'' or ''Duria Bautica''. Strabo called it Δουρ� ...

on the Italian side. This is the place D'Anville calls L'Hôpital, on the authority of a manuscript map of the country. D'Anville first proposed the identification of Bergintrum with Bourg-Saint-Maurice; although he acknowledged that xii, the distance in the Table between Bergintrum and Alpis Graia, does not fit the distance between Bourg-Saint-Maurice and L'Hôpital, which is less. Modern scholarship confirms the identification. In the course of 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 conside ...

, Bourg-Saint-Maurice was briefly renamed Nargue-Sarde between 1794 and 1815.

Geography

Located in the

arrondissement of Albertville The arrondissement of Albertville is an arrondissement of France in the Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. It has 69 communes. Its population is 111,751 (2016), and its area is . Composition The communes of the arrondissement ...

in the

department in the

region, Bourg-Saint-Maurice is the last town along the

Tarentaise Valley The Tarentaise Valley (french: Vallée de la Tarentaise, ; frp, Tarentèsa) is a valley of the Isère River in the heart of the French Alps, located in the Savoy region of France. The valley is named for the ancient town of ''Darantasia'', the ...

in the heart of the

French Alps The French Alps are the portions of the Alps mountain range that stand within France, located in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur regions. While some of the ranges of the French Alps are entirely in France, others, such as ...

Transport

Bourg-Saint-Maurice station Bourg-Saint-Maurice station ( French: ''Gare de Bourg-Saint-Maurice'') is a railway station in Bourg-Saint-Maurice, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes in south-east France. The station is located at the end of the St-Pierre-d'Albigny-Bourg-Saint-Maurice ra ...

is linked to the

TGV The TGV (french: Train à Grande Vitesse, "high-speed train"; previously french: TurboTrain à Grande Vitesse, label=none) is France's intercity high-speed rail service, operated by SNCF. SNCF worked on a high-speed rail network from 1966 to 19 ...

network and has services direct from London (

Eurostar Eurostar is an international high-speed rail service connecting the United Kingdom with France, Belgium and the Netherlands. Most Eurostar trains travel through the Channel Tunnel between the United Kingdom and France, owned and operate ...

) and Amsterdam (

Thalys Thalys (French: ) is a French-Belgian high-speed rail, high-speed train operator originally built around the LGV Nord high-speed line between Gare du Nord, Paris and Brussels-South railway station, Brussels. This track is shared with Eurostar tr ...

) in the winter. The Arc en Ciel funicular railway links the town to the Arc 1600 ski area.

Climate

Located in the far east of France, Bourg-Saint-Maurice is right on the boundary between the warm-summer humid continental climate (Dfb) and the

oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ...

(Cfb) under the Köppen system. Winters are long, cold with at least five months of below-freezing temperatures, especially at night. Summers are usually warm and stormy.

Population

Landmarks

Ouvrage Chatelard Ouvrage Chatelard is a lesser work (''petit ouvrage'') of the Maginot Line's Alpine extension, the Alpine Line, also known as the Little Maginot Line. Begun in 1938, the ouvrage consists of one infantry block about one kilometer northeast of Bo ...

is a lesser work (''petit ouvrage'') of the

Maginot Line The Maginot Line (french: Ligne Maginot, ), named after the Minister of the Armed Forces (France), French Minister of War André Maginot, is a line of concrete fortifications, obstacles and weapon installations built by French Third Republic, F ...

's Alpine extension, the

Alpine Line The Alpine Line (french: Ligne Alpine) or Little Maginot Line (French: ''Petite Ligne Maginot'') was the component of the Maginot Line that defended the southeastern portion of France. In contrast to the main line in the northeastern portion of Fra ...

, also known as the Little Maginot Line. Begun in 1938, the ouvrage consists of one infantry block about one kilometer northeast of the town, in the village of Le Chatelard. A short gallery with cross galleries extends into the rock, with an emergency exit and ventilation shaft halfway back. The ''ouvrage'' was incomplete in 1940, under the command of Sub-Lieutenant Bochaton.

Religious sites

The Catholic church of St Maurice is on Grande Rue in the centre of town, the Protestant church is on Avenue Maréchal Leclerc to the south.

Economy

Bourg-Saint-Maurice provides accommodation and a transport hub for the Paradiski ski area.

Notable people

The French ski mountaineer Bertrand Blanc was born in Bourg-Saint-Maurice on 29 October 1973. It is also the birthplace of French politician

Hervé Gaymard Hervé Gaymard (born 31 May 1960) is a French politician and a member of The Republicans conservative party. He served as the country's Minister of Finances from 30 November 2004 until his resignation on 25 February 2005. Gaymard attended S ...

(31 May 1960).