Varenne-Saint-Germain () is a commune in the

Saône-et-Loire Saône-et-Loire (; Arpitan: ''Sona-et-Lêre'') is a department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in France. It is named after the rivers Saône and Loire, between which it lies, in the country's central-eastern part. Saône-et-Loire is Bo ...

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

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 and t ...

Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Bourgogne-Franche-Comté (; , sometimes abbreviated BFC; Arpitan: ''Borgogne-Franche-Comtât'') is a region in Eastern France created by the 2014 territorial reform of French regions, from a merger of Burgundy and Franche-Comté. The new region ...

in eastern

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 ...

Geography

Varenne-Saint-Germain is bordered by the

Digoin Digoin () is a commune in the Saône-et-Loire department in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in eastern France. The junction of the '' Canal du Centre'' and the '' Canal latéral à la Loire'' is near Digoin. Geography The river Bourbinc ...

commune to the north,

Vitry-en-Charollais Vitry-en-Charollais () is a commune in the Saône-et-Loire department in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in eastern France. Geography The Bourbince forms the commune's northeastern and northern borders. See also *Communes of the Saône- ...

to the east,

Saint-Yan Saint-Yan is a commune in the Saône-et-Loire department in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in eastern France. Geography The Arconce forms part of the commune's southern border and the Loire part of its western border. Climate Educati ...

to the south and Chassenard to the west. The

Arconce The Arconce () is a long river in the Saône-et-Loire department in central France. Its source is in Mary, southwest of the village. It is a right tributary of the Loire, into which it flows at Varenne-Saint-Germain, northwest of the village. ...

flows north-northwest through the middle of the commune, then flows into 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 ...

, which forms parts of the commune's western border.

History

In 1793, 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 ...

, Reuillon, hamlet of Varennes-Reuillon, was renamed to La Montagne. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the commune was crossed by the demarcation line; the remains of a border post are still present on the road D982. The commune of Varenne-Saint-Germain was created in 1973 by merging the communes of Saint-Germain-des-Rives and Varenne-Reuillon.

Demographics

In 2018, the commune had 718 inhabitants, an increase of 5.43% compared to 2013.

Sights

* Château de Pontamailly, former property of Nicolas du Bessey de Contenson (who had bought the barony of Pontamailly in 1771). The remains of the castle were largely rebuilt in 1875. * La Motte-Reuillon castle mound, whose central platform measures about 30 meters in diameter and where the remains of a tower remain. Paul Chaussard, ''À propos de mottes féodales en pays digoinais'', article published in the review "Images de Saône-et-Loire" No. 65, 1986, pages 3-7

References

Communes of Saône-et-Loire {{SaôneLoire-geo-stub