Savoie (; Arpitan: ''Savouè'' or ''Savouè-d'Avâl''; English: ''Savoy'' ) is a
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 ...
prefecture
A prefecture (from the Latin ''Praefectura'') is an administrative jurisdiction traditionally governed by an appointed prefect. This can be a regional or local government subdivision in various countries, or a subdivision in certain international ...
Savoy
Savoy (; frp, Savouè ; french: Savoie ) is a cultural-historical region in the Western Alps.
Situated on the cultural boundary between Occitania and Piedmont, the area extends from Lake Geneva in the north to the Dauphiné in the south.
Savo ...
; 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 ...
It is widely accepted that Savoie takes its name from the Latin ''Sapaudia'' or ''Sabaudia'', meaning land covered in
fir
Firs (''Abies'') are a genus of 48–56 species of evergreen coniferous trees in the family (biology), family Pinaceae. They are found on mountains throughout much of North America, North and Central America, Europe, Asia, and North Africa. The ...
trees. Savoie was long part of the states of
Savoy
Savoy (; frp, Savouè ; french: Savoie ) is a cultural-historical region in the Western Alps.
Situated on the cultural boundary between Occitania and Piedmont, the area extends from Lake Geneva in the north to the Dauphiné in the south.
Savo ...
; though beginning in the 16th century, it was occupied by France several times. It was integrated into 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 List of European ultra-prominent peaks, second-most prominent mountai ...
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, ...
from 1792 to 1815 (and partially into the Léman department from 1798 to 1814). The province was
annexed
Annexation (Latin ''ad'', to, and ''nexus'', joining), in international law, is the forcible acquisition of one state's territory by another state, usually following military occupation of the territory. It is generally held to be an illegal act ...
by France in 1860. The former
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 ...
became the two departments of Savoie and Haute-Savoie.
Moûtiers
Moûtiers (; Arpitan: ''Motiérs''), historically also called Tarentaise, is a commune in the Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in Southeastern France. In 2018, it had a population of 3,511.
Moûtiers is the main access point ...
, capital of the former province of Tarentaise Valley (French: ''Vallée de la Tarentaise''), ceased to be a subprefecture following a law that took effect on 10 September 1926.
Savoie hosted the
1992 Winter Olympics
)
, nations = 64
, athletes = 1,801 (1313 men, 488 women)
, events = 57 in 6 sports (12 disciplines)
, opening = 8 February 1992
, closing = 23 February 1992
, opened_by = President François Mitterrand
, cauldron ...
Beaufortain
Beaufortain is a valley in the Savoie department in the Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France. It extends around the commune
A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations m ...
. The coat of arms for Savoie was used as a pattern for the flames in the official emblem of the games.
The other main alpine valley is the
Maurienne
Maurienne ( frp, Môrièna) is one of the provinces of France, provinces of Savoy, corresponding to the arrondissement of Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne in France. It is also the original name of the capital of the province, now Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne.
...
, connected to the Tarentaise valley by two passes, the
col de la Madeleine
Col de la Madeleine (el. 1,993 m.) is a high mountain pass in the Alps in the department of Savoie in France which connects La Chambre in Maurienne with La Léchère in Tarentaise. The pass is closed from November to the beginning of June. It h ...
and the highest pass in Europe, the col de l'Iseran. The Maurienne valley was through the
col du Mont Cenis
, photo = Col du Mont Cenis.jpg
, photo_caption = Lake at the pass
, elevation_m = 2085
, elevation_ref =
, traversed = Route nationale 6
, map = Alps
, map_caption = Location of Col de Mont Cenis
, map_size =
, label = Col de Mont Cen ...
, the major commercial route between France and Italy. It is one of the longest intra-alpine valleys in the Alps.
Geography
Savoie is part of 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 established on 1 January 2016. It was previously part of Rhône-Alpes. It borders the departments of Haute-Savoie,
Ain
Ain (, ; frp, En) is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in Eastern France. Named after the Ain river, it is bordered by the Saône and Rhône rivers. Ain is located on the country's eastern edge, on the Swiss border, where it ...
,
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.Hautes-Alpes in addition to the Aosta Valley and the
Metropolitan City of Turin
The Metropolitan City of Turin ( it, Città metropolitana di Torino, Piedmontese: ''Sità metropolitan-a 'd Turin'') is a metropolitan city in the Piedmont region, Italy. Its capital is the city of Turin. It replaced the Province of Turin and co ...
Belledonne
Belledonne (french: link=no, La chaine de Belledonne, ) is a mountain range (french: link=no, massif) in the Dauphiné Alps (part of the French Alps) in southeast France. The southern end of the range forms the eastern wall of the mountains th ...
Massif des Cerces
The massif des Cerces is a region of the French Alps on the Franco-Italian border. On the French side it lies in the departements of Hautes-Alpes and Savoie.
The massif consists of smaller mountain chains including Mont Thabor as well as those of ...
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 ...
Beaufortain
Beaufortain is a valley in the Savoie department in the Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France. It extends around the commune
A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations m ...
Massif
The department is crossed by the Isère river, which has its source in the Iseran pass. Its two main lakes are Lac du Bourget (the largest and deepest lake entirely in France) and Lac d'Aiguebelette, one of the least polluted in France due to a 1976 law forbidding any use of motorboats on the lake.
File:Relief Savoie.GIF, Relief map of
Savoy
Savoy (; frp, Savouè ; french: Savoie ) is a cultural-historical region in the Western Alps.
Situated on the cultural boundary between Occitania and Piedmont, the area extends from Lake Geneva in the north to the Dauphiné in the south.
Savo ...
File:Paysage de l'avant-pays savoyard.jpg, Low elevation: the Savoie frontcountry
File:Plateau du mariet - arith - 1.JPG, Mid elevation: Mariet plateau in the
Bauges Massif
The Bauges Mountains (French: ''Massif des Bauges'') is a mountain range in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Eastern France, stretching from the city of Annecy, Haute-Savoie to the city of Chambéry, Savoie, which is part of the French Prealps.
Major pea ...
File:Aime_(vue_g%C3%A9n%C3%A9rale).JPG, High elevation: the village of
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.alpine climate or a
subalpine climate
The subarctic climate (also called subpolar climate, or boreal climate) is a climate with long, cold (often very cold) winters, and short, warm to cool summers. It is found on large landmasses, often away from the moderating effects of an ocean, ge ...
. At lower altitudes and in the valleys, the climate is humid continental ( Köppen: Dfb) or even oceanic in the frontcounrty and
lake Bourget
Lac du Bourget (; English Lake Bourget), also locally known as Lac Gris (; en, Grey Lake) or Lac d'Aix (), is a lake at the southernmost end of the Jura Mountains in the department of Savoie, France. It is the deepest lake located entirely wit ...
According to the Chambéry chamber of commerce, close to 50% of the department's wealth comes from tourism. Each year, Savoie hosts over 30 million visitor-nights of tourists. Savoie also profits from its natural resources with particular strengths in ore processing and hydroelectric power.
Savoie had an exceptionally high export/import ratio of 214% in 2005. Its exports rose to €1.768 billion and €825 million in imports. Its leading exports were
steel
Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistant ty ...
, aluminum, and electric and electronic components.
Agriculture
Savoie is famous for its cows, which produce numerous
cheese
Cheese is a dairy product produced in wide ranges of flavors, textures, and forms by coagulation of the milk protein casein. It comprises proteins and fat from milk, usually the milk of cows, buffalo, goats, or sheep. During production, ...
s, some of them are:
*
Beaufort Beaufort may refer to:
People and titles
* Beaufort (surname)
* House of Beaufort, English nobility
* Duke of Beaufort (England), a title in the peerage of England
* Duke of Beaufort (France), a title in the French nobility
Places Polar regions ...
Abbaye de Tamié
Abbaye de Tamié is a soft cheese made from unpasteurised cow's milk, similar in style to Reblochon and produced exclusively by the monks of Tamié Abbey, near to Albertville in the Savoie ''Départements of France, département'', in the French ...
*
Tome des Bauges
A tome or codex is a large book, especially one volume of a multi-volume scholarly work.
Tome may also refer to:
Places
* Tome, Miyagi, city in Japan (formerly Tome District)
* Tome, New Mexico, an unincorporated community and census-designated ...
*
Tomme de Savoie
Tomme de Savoie is an uplandJoel Robuchon et al., ''Larousse Gastronomique'' (New York, New York: Clarkson Potter, 2001), page 1220. variety of Tomme cheese, specifically, one from Savoy in the French Alps. It is a mild, semi-firm cow's milk ch ...
Numerous wine grapes are also grown in Savoie. The most famous wines are made of Gamay,
Pinot noir
Pinot Noir () is a red-wine grape variety of the species ''Vitis vinifera''. The name may also refer to wines created predominantly from pinot noir grapes. The name is derived from the French language, French words for ''pine'' and ''black.' ...
and Mondeuse grapes. Fruit production is the third largest component of agriculture in Savoie.
Apples and pears are also produced in the region and are well known for their qualities.
Demographics
Residents of Savoie are known as ''Savoyards'', though they can also be called ''Savoisiens'' (the historical name) or ''Savoyens''.
Principal towns
The most populous commune is Chambéry, the prefecture. As of 2019, there are 8 communes with more than 7,000 inhabitants:
The "average" (see
arithmetic mean
In mathematics and statistics, the arithmetic mean ( ) or arithmetic average, or just the ''mean'' or the ''average'' (when the context is clear), is the sum of a collection of numbers divided by the count of numbers in the collection. The colle ...
) population density is not a good indicator: the valleys tend to be much more densely populated, whereas the mountains tend to be near-completely uninhabited.
Religion
The Catholic Church in Savoie is divided into three dioceses: Chambéry, Maurienne, and Tarentaise. Together, they form an
archdiocese
In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop.
History
In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...
, in which the
bishop of Chambéry
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...
is the
archbishop
In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...
.
Politics
Departmental Council of Savoie
The Departmental Council of Savoie has 38 seats. 30 councillors are part of the J'aime la Savoie ("I love Savoie") right-wing group; 8 councillors are part of the Savoie pour Tous ("Savoie for All") left-wing group. Hervé Gaymard ( The Republicans) has been
President of the Departmental Council
In France, the President of the Departmental Council ( French: ''Président du Conseil départemental'') is the locally elected head of the departmental council, the assembly governing a department in France. The position is elected by the depar ...
Jean-Pierre Vial
Jean Pierre Vial (born 17 February 1951) is a member of the Senate of France, representing the Savoie department. He is a member of the Union for a Popular Movement
The Union for a Popular Movement (french: link=no, Union pour un mouvement p ...
and
Martine Berthet
Martine Berthet (born 27 March 1961) is a French politician of the Republicans (LR). She was the mayor of Albertville, Savoie between 2014 and 2017 and became a senator for Savoie in 2017.
Career
Berthet was a deputy mayor of Ugine, Savoie from ...
have served since 1995 and 2017 respectively. Both are members of The Republicans (LR).
Tourism
Tourism, which is quite important to Savoie, began to develop towards the end of the 19th century, mostly summer oriented. The increase in the popularity of skiing in the 20th century made Savoie home to the largest number of ski hills in France, including many famous ones:
* Val-d'Isère
* Tignes
*
Les Arcs
Les Arcs () is a ski resort located in Savoie, France, in the Tarentaise Valley town of Bourg-Saint-Maurice. Initially created by Robert Blanc and Roger Godino, it is a part of the huge Paradiski system which is under ownership by Compagnie des A ...
*
La Plagne
La Plagne () is a French ski area in the alpine valley of the Tarentaise (Savoie). Since 2003, La Plagne and the neighbouring resort of Les Arcs form Paradiski's ski area. It is currently owned by Compagnie des Alpes.
In 2014, La Plagne was ...
Valloire
Valloire (; frp, Valouère, ) is a commune in the Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France.
The ski resort Valloire-Galibier is located in the commune, at the foot of the Col du Télégraphe and next to th ...
antiquity
Antiquity or Antiquities may refer to:
Historical objects or periods Artifacts
*Antiquities, objects or artifacts surviving from ancient cultures
Eras
Any period before the European Middle Ages (5th to 15th centuries) but still within the histo ...
, is also quite developed. There are four locations that are still active:
* Aix-les-Bains
*
Challes-les-Eaux
Challes-les-Eaux (; Arpitan: ''Chales''), known as Triviers until 1872, is a commune in the Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in Southeastern France. In 2019, it had a population of 5,609. Chambéry Aerodrome is located in th ...
La Léchère
La Léchère () is a commune in the Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France. It is situated in the Isère valley, between Albertville and Moûtiers. It was formed in 1972 by the merger of the former commu ...
File:Château des Ducs de Savoie - Chambéry.JPG, Chambéry
File:Palais de Savoie -Aix-les-Bains.JPG, Casino of Aix-les-Bains
File:Hautecombe.jpg,
Hautecombe Abbey
Hautecombe Abbey (french: Abbaye d'Hautecombe, ; la, Altaecumbaeum) is a former Cistercian monastery, later a Benedictine monastery, in Saint-Pierre-de-Curtille in Savoie, France. For centuries it was the burial place of the members of the H ...
Maurienne
Maurienne ( frp, Môrièna) is one of the provinces of France, provinces of Savoy, corresponding to the arrondissement of Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne in France. It is also the original name of the capital of the province, now Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne.
...
valley
File:Refuge des Aiguilles d'Arves, Savoie.jpg, Refuge of the Aiguilles d'Arves
File:Service d'hiver en gare de Chambéry (2016).JPG, Trains in Savoie
See also
History
*
Savoy
Savoy (; frp, Savouè ; french: Savoie ) is a cultural-historical region in the Western Alps.
Situated on the cultural boundary between Occitania and Piedmont, the area extends from Lake Geneva in the north to the Dauphiné in the south.
Savo ...
, historical region
*
House of Savoy
The House of Savoy ( it, Casa Savoia) was a royal dynasty that was established in 1003 in the historical Savoy region. Through gradual expansion, the family grew in power from ruling a small Alpine county north-west of Italy to absolute rule of ...
, ruling dynasty of Savoy from 1032 to 1860
*
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 ...
, rulers of Savoy region from 1416 to 1720
* Kingdom of Sardinia, 1720 to 1860
Language
*
French language
French ( or ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European family. It descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire, as did all Romance languages. French evolved from Gallo-Romance, the Latin spoken in Gaul, and more specifically in Nor ...
Arrondissements of the Savoie department
The 3 arrondissements of the Savoie department are:
# Arrondissement of Albertville, (subprefecture: Albertville) with 69 communes. The population of the arrondissement was 111,751 in 2016.
# Arrondissement of Chambéry, (prefecture of the Savoie ...
*
Cantons of the Savoie department The following is a list of the 19 cantons of the Savoie department, in France, following the French canton reorganisation which came into effect in March 2015:
* Aix-les-Bains-1
* Aix-les-Bains-2
* Albertville-1
* Albertville-2
* Bourg-Saint-Ma ...
