Thonon-les-Bains (; frp, Tonon), often simply referred to as Thonon, is a

subprefecture A subprefecture is an administrative division of a country that is below prefecture or province. Albania There are twelve Albanian counties or prefectures, each of which is divided into several districts, sometimes translated as subprefectures. ...

of 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 Ann ...

department 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 ...

in Eastern

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

. In 2018, the

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 ...

had a population of 35,241. Thonon-les-Bains is part of a transborder metropolitan area known as

Grand Genève Grand Genève ("Greater Geneva" in English) is a Local Grouping of Transnational Cooperation (in French: ''groupement local de coopération transfrontalière'', or GLCT), a public entity under Swiss law, in charge of organizing cooperation within ...

. It is situated on the shores of

Lake Geneva , image = Lake Geneva by Sentinel-2.jpg , caption = Satellite image , image_bathymetry = , caption_bathymetry = , location = Switzerland, France , coords = , lake_type = Glacial la ...

(french: Lac Léman, or simply ).

History

Thonon-les-Bains was the historic capital of Chablais, a province of the old Duchy of Savoy. The Chablais Savoyard is the portion of Chablais in France. Chablais Valaisan and Chablais Vaudois are those portions of Chablais in the adjacent Switzerland cantons Valais and Vaud.(cite: Chablais Wikipedia) The town was the capital of the Dukedom of Chablais. During the debates on the future of the Duchy of Savoy in 1860, the population was sensitive to the idea of a union of the northern part of the duchy with Switzerland. A

petition A petition is a request to do something, most commonly addressed to a government official or public entity. Petitions to a deity are a form of prayer called supplication. In the colloquial sense, a petition is a document addressed to some offi ...

circulated in this part of the country ( Chablais,

Faucigny Faucigny ( it, Fossigni) is a commune in the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France. Historically, Faucigny was a region in Savoy which included the area of the modern ''département'' of Haute Sav ...

, Northern Genevois), but it collected no more than 13,600 signatures. The duchy was reunited after a

plebiscite A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of ...

organised on 22 and 23 April 1860 under

Napoleon III Napoleon III (Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was the first President of France (as Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte) from 1848 to 1852 and the last monarch of France as Emperor of the French from 1852 to 1870. A nephew ...

, in which 99.8 percent of the Savoyards voting were reported to have answered "yes" to the question "Does Savoy want to be reunited to France?"

Population

Transport

Thonon-les-Bains station has rail connections to Lyon, Évian-les-Bains, Annemasse and Geneva. Local transport is assured by BUT (Bus urbains thononais). The lines are: * Line A: Destination Grangette / Destination Multiplex * Line B: Destination Z.I VONGY / Destination Place des arts * Line C: Destination Collège Théodore Monod / Place des arts * Line D: Destination Collège theodore Monod or Espace Leman / Place des arts * Line L: Destination Amphion Village / Place des arts * Line P: Destination Marin / Place des arts * Line M: Destination La Chavanne / Place des arts * Line N: Destination Parking des chateaux / Place des arts Map of the network: http://www.leman-but.fr/ftp/FR_plan/Plan%202012%202013.pdf Line H and J are used in Évian-Les-Bains, and not Thonon-Les-Bains.

Main sights

* Arboretum de Ripaille * Château des Guillet-Monthoux * Château de Ripaille * Château de Sonnaz * Château de Thuyset * ''Saint-Hippolyte'' church (12th century), rebuilt in Savoy Baroque-style during the 17th century * Funiculaire de Thonon-les-Bains

Twin towns (sister cities)

Thonon-les-Bains is twinned with: * Eberbach,

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

Mercer Island Mercer Island is a city in King County, Washington, United States, located on an island of the same name in the southern portion of Lake Washington. Mercer Island is in the Seattle metropolitan area, with Seattle to its west and Bellevue to it ...

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Čačak Čačak ( sr-Cyrl, Чачак, ) is a city and the administrative center of the Moravica District in central Serbia. It is located in the West Morava Valley within the geographical region of Šumadija. , the city proper has 73,331 inhabitants, wh ...

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References

External links

Official website

Office of Tourism
Communes of Haute-Savoie Spa towns in France Subprefectures in France Populated places on Lake Geneva {{HauteSavoie-geo-stub