Saint-Étienne (; frp, Sant-Etiève; oc, Sant Estève, ) is a city and the prefecture of the

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 ...

department in eastern-central France, in the

Massif Central The (; oc, Massís Central, ; literally ''"Central Massif"'') is a highland region in south-central France, consisting of mountains and plateaus. It covers about 15% of mainland France. Subject to volcanism that has subsided in the last 10,0 ...

, southwest of

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan language, Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, third-largest city and Urban area (France), second-largest metropolitan area of F ...

in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes

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 ...

. Saint-Étienne is the thirteenth most populated commune in France and the second most populated commune in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. Its

metropolis A metropolis () is a large city or conurbation which is a significant economic, political, and cultural center for a country or region, and an important hub for regional or international connections, commerce, and communications. A big ci ...

(''métropole''),

Saint-Étienne Métropole Saint-Étienne Métropole is the ''métropole'', an intercommunal structure, centred on the city of Saint-Étienne. It is located in the Loire department, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, central France. It was created in January 2018, replac ...

, is the third most populous regional metropolis after Grenoble-Alpes and

. The commune is also at the heart of a vast metropolitan area with 497,034 inhabitants (2018), the eighteenth largest in France by population, comprising 105 communes. Its inhabitants are known as ''Stéphanois'' (masculine) and ''Stéphanoises'' (feminine). Long known as the French city of the "weapon, cycle and ribbon" and a major coal mining centre, Saint-Étienne is currently engaged in a vast

urban renewal Urban renewal (also called urban regeneration in the United Kingdom and urban redevelopment in the United States) is a program of land redevelopment often used to address urban decay in cities. Urban renewal involves the clearing out of blighte ...

program aimed at leading the transition from the

industrial city An industrial city or industrial town is a town or city in which the municipal economy, at least historically, is centered around industry, with important factories or other production facilities in the town. It has been part of most countries' i ...

inherited from the 19th century to the "design capital" of the 21st century. This approach was recognised with the entry of Saint-Étienne into the

UNESCO Creative Cities network The UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN) is a project of UNESCO launched in 2004 to promote cooperation among cities which recognized creativity as a major factor in their urban development.AS Saint-Étienne which has won the Ligue 1 title a record ten times.

History

Named after

Saint Stephen Stephen ( grc-gre, Στέφανος ''Stéphanos'', meaning "wreath, crown" and by extension "reward, honor, renown, fame", often given as a title rather than as a name; c. 5 – c. 34 AD) is traditionally venerated as the protomartyr or first ...

, the city first appears in the historical record in the Middle Ages as (after the River Furan, a tributary of the

). In the 13th century, it was a small borough around the church dedicated to Saint Stephen. On the upper reaches of the Furan, near the Way of St. James, the Abbey of Valbenoîte had been founded by the Cistercians in 1222. In the late 15th century, it was a fortified village defended by walls built around the original nucleus. From the 16th century, Saint-Étienne developed an arms manufacturing industry and became a market town. It was this which accounted for the town's importance, although it also became a centre for the manufacture of

ribbons A ribbon or riband is a thin band of material, typically cloth but also plastic or sometimes metal, used primarily as decorative binding and tying. Cloth ribbons are made of natural materials such as silk, cotton, and jute and of synthetic mate ...

and

passementerie Passementerie (, ) or passementarie is the art of making elaborate trimmings or edgings (in French, ) of applied braid, gold or silver cord, embroidery, colored silk, or beads for clothing or furnishings. Styles of passementerie include the tas ...

starting in the 17th century. Later, it became a mining centre of the Loire coal mining basin, and more recently, has become known for its bicycle industry. In the first half of the 19th century, it was only a chief town of an arrondissement in the ' of the

, with a population of 33,064 in 1832. The concentration of industry prompted these numbers to rise rapidly to 110,000 by about 1880. It was this growing importance of Saint-Étienne that led to its being made seat of the prefecture and the departmental administration on 25 July 1855, when it became the chief town in the ' and seat of the prefect, replacing Montbrison, which was reduced to the status of chief town of an . Saint-Étienne absorbed the commune of Valbenoîte and several other neighbouring localities on 31 March 1855.

Demographics

The population data in the table and graph below refer to the commune of Saint-Étienne proper, in its geography at the given years. The commune of Saint-Étienne absorbed the former communes of Beaubrun, Montaud, Outre-Furent and Valbenoîte in 1855, ceded Planfoy in 1863, merged with the exclave Saint-Victor-sur-Loire and with Terrenoire in 1969 and Rochetaillée in 1973.

Culture

Vue 5 de la cathédrale Saint-Charles à Saint-Etienne

Saint Étienne-La Manufacture d'Armes-20110111

Saint-Étienne became a popular stop for automobile travelers in the early 20th century. In 1998, Saint-Étienne set up a design biennale, the largest of its kind in France. It lasts around two weeks. A landmark in the history of the importance ascribed to design in Saint-Étienne was the inauguration of ''La Cité du design'' on the site of the former arms factory in 2009. The city also launched the Massenet Festivals, (the composer Jules Massenet hailed from the area) devoted mainly to perform Massenet's operas. In 2000, the city was named one of the

French Towns and Lands of Art and History Since 1985, the French Ministry of Culture and Communication has pursued a policy of preserving and promoting France's heritage. Historic towns and districts have been designated ''Villes et Pays d'Art et d'Histoire'' ("Towns and Lands of Art and H ...

. On 22 November 2010, it was nominated as "City of Design" as part of

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

Creative Cities Network The UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN) is a project of UNESCO launched in 2004 to promote cooperation among cities which recognized creativity as a major factor in their urban development.Musée d'Art Moderne'' has one of the largest collections of modern and contemporary art in France # '' Musée de la Mine'' # ''Musée d'Art et d'Industrie'' ( fr) # ''Musée du vieux Saint-Étienne'' ( fr)

Climate

The climate is temperate at the weather station due to its low altitude, but Saint-Étienne itself is much higher, above 530 m (1,739 ft) in the centre, as well as even above 700 m (2,297 ft) in the southern parts of the city. Saint-Étienne is very close from a

warm-summer humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freezing ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...

: ''Dfb''); it is generally one of the snowiest cities in France, with an average of 85 cm (2.79 ft) of snow accumulation per year.

Sport

The city's football club AS Saint-Étienne has won the Ligue 1 title a record ten times, achieving most of their success in the 1970s."Ligue 1 : Le PSG égale l'ASSE avec 10 titres, les records en Europe"
rmcsport.bfmtv.com (in French), 25 April 2022. The British indie-dance band Saint Etienne named themselves after the club. Saint-Étienne has many sports stadiums, the largest being

Stade Geoffroy-Guichard Stade Geoffroy-Guichard is a multi-purpose stadium in Saint-Étienne, France. It is used primarily for football matches, and tournaments such as the UEFA Euro 1984 and 2016, the 1998 FIFA World Cup and the 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup. It is a ...

used for football and Stade Henri-Lux for athletics. St. Étienne was the capital of the French bicycle industry. The bicycle wheel manufacturer Mavic is based in the city and frame manufacturers

Motobécane Motobécane was a French manufacturer of bicycles, mopeds, motorcycles, and other small vehicles, established in 1923. "Motobécane" is a compound of "moto", short for motorcycle; "bécane" is slang for "bike." Motobécane is a different c ...

and Vitus are also based here. The city often hosts a stage of the

Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage bicycle race primarily held in France, while also occasionally passing through nearby countries. Like the other Grand Tours (the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España), it consists ...

. Saint-Étienne resident Thierry Gueorgiou is a world champion in orienteering. The local

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...

team is CA Saint-Étienne Loire Sud Rugby.

Transport

The nearest airport is Saint-Étienne–Bouthéon Airport which is located in

Andrézieux-Bouthéon Andrézieux-Bouthéon (; frp, link=no, Andrèsiô-Botion) is a commune of the Loire department in central France. It lies on the right bank of the river Loire, at its confluence with the river Furan. Population Sights * Le Château Bouthéon ...

, north-northwest of Saint-Étienne. The main railway station is Saint-Étienne-Châteaucreux station, which offers high-speed services to Paris and Lyon (

Saint-Étienne–Lyon railway The Saint-Étienne to Lyon line is a railway linking Saint-Étienne to Lyon. The line was built between 1828 and 1833 by Camille Seguin and Marc Seguin at a cost of 14,500,000 FRF. History Construction Construction began in September 1 ...

), as well as connects to several regional lines. There are four other railway stations in Saint-Étienne (Bellevue, Carnot, La Terrasse and Le Clapier) with local services.Réseau TER et cars Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
TER Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, accessed 30 May 2022. Saint-Étienne is also notable for its tramway ( Saint-Étienne tramway) – which uniquely with Lille, it kept throughout the 20th century – and its

trolleybus A trolleybus (also known as trolley bus, trolley coach, trackless trolley, trackless tramin the 1910s and 1920sJoyce, J.; King, J. S.; and Newman, A. G. (1986). ''British Trolleybus Systems'', pp. 9, 12. London: Ian Allan Publishing. .or trol ...

system ( Saint-Étienne trolleybus system) – which is one of only three such systems currently operating in France. Bus and tram transport is regulated and provided by the Société de Transports de l'Agglomération Stéphanoise (STAS), a public transport executive organisation. The

bicycle sharing system A bicycle-sharing system, bike share program, public bicycle scheme, or public bike share (PBS) scheme, is a shared transport service where bicycles are available for shared use by individuals at low cost. The programmes themselves include bo ...

Vélivert with 280 short term renting bicycles has been available since June 2010.

Colleges and universities

Jean Monnet University Jean Monnet University (french: Université Jean Monnet or Université de Saint-Etienne) is a public research university based in Saint-Étienne, France. It is under the Academy of Lyon and belongs to the administrative entity denominated Univer ...

* École d'Économie - Saint-Étienne School of Economics (SE²) *

École Nationale Supérieure des Mines de Saint-Étienne , also called (literally meaning "Saint-Étienne school of mines") or simply and commonly abbreviated EMSE is a prestigious French graduate engineering school () training engineers and carrying out industry-oriented research. Its function is to ...

(EMSE or ENSMSE) * École nationale d'ingénieurs de Saint-Étienne (ENISE) * Telecom Saint Etienne (TSE) * EMLYON Business School * ENSASE (Ecole National Supérieure d'Architecture de Saint-Étienne)

Notable people

Saint-Étienne was the birthplace of: * René Diaz, French journalist and illustrator * Augustin Dupré (1748–1833), engraver of French coins and medals, France's 14th graveur général des monnaies * Claude Fauriel (1772–1844), historian, philologist and critic *

Saint Marcellin Champagnat Marcellin Joseph Benedict Champagnat (20 May 17896 June 1840), also known as Saint Marcellin Champagnat, was born in Le Rosey, village of Marlhes, near St. Etienne (Loire), France. He was the founder of the Marist Brothers, a religious congregati ...

(1789–1840), Catholic priest and founding members of the Society of Mary (Marist Fathers) who founded the

Marist Brothers The Marist Brothers of the Schools, commonly known as simply the Marist Brothers, is an international community of Catholic religious institute of brothers. In 1817, St. Marcellin Champagnat, a Marist priest from France, founded the Marist Brothe ...

and was

canonised Canonization is the declaration of a deceased person as an officially recognized saint, specifically, the official act of a Christian communion declaring a person worthy of public veneration and entering their name in the canon catalogue of ...

in 1999 * Antonin Moine (1796–1849), sculptor *

Jules Janin Jules Gabriel Janin (16 February 1804 – 19 June 1874) was a French writer and critic. Life and career Born in Saint-Étienne (Loire), Janin's father was a lawyer, and he was educated first at St. Étienne, and then at the lycée Louis-le-Gra ...

(1804–1874), writer and critic *

Francis Garnier Marie Joseph François Garnier ( vi, Ngạc Nhi; 25 July 1839 – 21 December 1873) was a French officer, inspector of Indigenous Affairs of Cochinchina and explorer. He eventually became mission leader of the Mekong Exploration Commission in 19th ...

(1839–1873), officer and explorer who explored the

Mekong River The Mekong or Mekong River is a trans-boundary river in East Asia and Southeast Asia. It is the world's twelfth longest river and the third longest in Asia. Its estimated length is , and it drains an area of , discharging of water annual ...

, much to the surprise of the inhabitants * Lucie Grange (1839-1908), medium, feminist prophet, newspaper founder * Jules Massenet (1842–1912), composer best known for his operas *

Paul de Vivie Paul de Vivie, who wrote as Vélocio
(April 29, 1853

, aka ''Velocio'' (1853–1930), publisher of ''Le Cycliste'', early champion of the

dérailleur Shimano 600 front derailleur (1980) A derailleur is a variable-ratio bicycle gearing system consisting of a chain, multiple sprockets of different sizes, and a mechanism to move the chain from one sprocket to another. Modern front and rear d ...

and father of French cycle touring * Claudine Chomat (1915–1995), member 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 ...

during World War II, feminist, communist activist * Jean Bonfils (1921–2007), classical organist and composer * André Bourgey (1936), geographer *

Jean-Michel Othoniel Jean-Michel Othoniel (born 27 January 1964) is a French contemporary artist. He has worked in a variety of artistic media, including film, installation, photography and sculpture. In 2000 he designed a new entrance for the Palais Royal–Mus� ...

(1963), contemporary artist *

Bernard Lavilliers Bernard Oulion (; born 7 October 1946 in Saint-Étienne), known professionally as Bernard Lavilliers (), is a French singer-songwriter and actor. Discography Albums Studio albums * ''Premiers pas...'' (1968) * ''Les poètes'' (1972) * ''Le St� ...

(b. 1946), (Bernard Ouillon), singer *

Orlan orlan is an internationally recognized French artist. She is not tied to any one material, technology, or artistic practice. She uses sculpture, photography, performance, video, 3D, video games, augmented reality, artificial intelligence, and ro ...

(1947–), contemporary artist *

Willy Sagnol Willy David Frédéric Sagnol (born 18 March 1977) is a French professional football manager and former player who played as a defender. He is the manager of the Georgia national team. Sagnol spent much of his professional career playing for ...

(b. 1977), French International football player *

Jean Guitton Jean Guitton (August 18, 1901 – March 21, 1999) was a French Catholic philosopher and theologian. Biography Born in Saint-Étienne, Loire in August 1901, he studied at the Lycée du Parc in Lyon and was accepted at the École Normale Sup� ...

(1901–1999), Catholic philosopher and theologian * Thierry Gueorgiou (b. 1979), Orienteering world champion * Norma Ray (born 1970), singer * Alexis Ajinça (born 1988), basketball player * Sylvain Armand (born 1980), footballer * Sliimy (born 1988), singer * Aravane Rezai (born 1987), tennis player * Loïc Perrin (born 1985), footballer It was also the place where Andrei Kivilev died.

International relations

Saint-Étienne is twinned with:

References

Bibliography

External links

*
City council website

Tourist board official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saintetienne Massif Central Communes of Loire (department) Prefectures in France Forez Loire communes articles needing translation from French Wikipedia Cities in France