Albertville (; Arpitan: ''Arbèrtvile'') is a

subprefecture A subprefecture is an administrative division of a country that is below prefecture or province. Albania There are twelve Counties of Albania, Albanian counties or prefectures, each of which is divided into several Districts of Albania, district ...

of 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 o ...

department in the

Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes (; AURA) or ; or ; . is a Regions of France, region in southeast-central France created by the 2014 territorial reform of French regions; it resulted from the merger of Auvergne and Rhône-Alpes. The new region came into e ...

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

in Southeastern

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. It is best known for hosting the

1992 Winter Olympics The 1992 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XVI Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Albertville '92 (Franco-Provençal, Arpitan: ''Arbèrtvile '92''), were a winter multi-sport event held from 8 to 23 February 1992 in and aroun ...

and

Paralympics The Paralympic Games or Paralympics is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of disabilities. There are Winter and Summer Paralympic Games, which since the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Kore ...

. In 2018, the commune had a population of 19,214; its

urban area An urban area is a human settlement with a high population density and an infrastructure of built environment. Urban areas originate through urbanization, and researchers categorize them as cities, towns, conurbations or suburbs. In urbani ...

had 39,780 inhabitants.

Geography

Albertville is one of two subprefectures of the

department, alongside

Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne (; or ''Sant-Jian-de-Môrièna''; ) is a Subprefectures in France, subprefecture of the Savoie Departments of France, department, in the regions of France, region of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes (formerly Rhône-Alpes), in south ...

. Albertville is situated on the river

Arly The Arly () is a 32.1 km long river in the departments of Savoie and Haute-Savoie, France. It is a tributary of the Isère, which it joins at Albertville. Towns crossed by the river * Megève * Praz-sur-Arly * Flumet * Saint-Nicolas-la-C ...

, close to the confluence with the river

Isère Isère ( , ; ; , ) is a landlocked Departments of France, department in the southeastern French Regions of France, region of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. Named after the river Isère (river), Isère, it had a population of 1,271,166 in 2019.

. Its altitude ranges from . Nearby

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher t ...

s include: Belle Étoile, Dent de Cons,

Négresse Négresse is a mountain of Savoie, France. It lies in the Bauges The Bauges Mountains (, ) are a mountain range in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Eastern France, stretching from the city of Annecy, Haute-Savoie to the city of Chambéry, Savoie, which i ...

Roche Pourrie Roche Pourrie is a mountain of Savoie, France. It lies in the Beaufortain Massif range. It has an elevation of 2,037 metres above sea level. It has a T3 hiking trail. The mountain offers a hiking trail. At the start of the hiking trail, there i ...

, Mirantin,

Pointe de la Grande Journée Pointe de la Grande Journée is a mountain of Savoie, France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South Amer ...

, Chaîne du Grand Arc. Nearby

mountain range A mountain range or hill range is a series of mountains or hills arranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure, and alignment that have aris ...

s include the

Bauges The Bauges Mountains (, ) are 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 peaks The Bauges have fourt ...

, the

Beaufortain Beaufortain is a valley in the Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in Southeastern France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and ...

and the beginning of the Vanoise.

History

The modern city of Albertville was formed in 1836 by King

Charles Albert of Sardinia Charles Albert (; 2 October 1798 – 28 July 1849) was the Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861), King of Sardinia and ruler of the Savoyard state from 27 April 1831 until his abdication in 1849. His name is bound up with the first Italian constit ...

, who merged the medieval town of Conflans, which had buildings dating to the 14th century, with the town of L'Hôpital. Since then, Albertville has fostered trade between France, Italy and Switzerland. Industries such as

paper mills A paper mill is a factory devoted to making paper from vegetable fibres such as wood pulp, old rags, and other ingredients. Prior to the invention and adoption of the Fourdrinier machine and other types of paper machine that use an endless belt, ...

and

hydroelectricity Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is Electricity generation, electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies 15% of the world's electricity, almost 4,210 TWh in 2023, which is more than all other Renewable energ ...

are found along its river. The

were organised in the Savoie region, with Albertville hosting it. Some of the sports venues were later adapted for other uses. Some sports venues still remain, such as the

ice rink An ice rink (or ice skating rink) is a frozen body of water or an artificial sheet of ice where people can ice skate or play winter sports. Ice rinks are also used for exhibitions, contests and ice shows. The growth and increasing popularity of ...

La halle de glace Olympique Halle Olympique () is an indoor arena located in Albertville, France. For the 1992 Winter Olympics, it hosted the figure skating and the short track speed skating events. It was first use for the 1991 Trophée Lalique, which was staged as a test ...

, designed by the architect Jacques Kalisz. Despite this, the town remains more industrial than touristic. In 2003, the town was labelled a " Town of Art and History".

Population

Transport

Albertville station Albertville station ( French: ''Gare d'Albertville'') is a railway station in Albertville, Savoie, Southeastern France. The station, opened on 27 October 1879 by the Chemins de fer de Paris à Lyon et à la Méditerranée (PLM), is located on bot ...

was put into service in 1879 by the Compagnie des chemins de fer de Paris à Lyon et à la Méditerranée (PLM).

Notable people

Justine Braisaz Justine Braisaz-Bouchet (born 4 July 1996) is a French biathlete, Olympic champion in the 12.5 km mass start at the 2022 Beijing Games and medalist at the Winter Olympics 2018 and World Championships. Biography Justine Braisaz began her biath ...

(born 1996), Olympic champion and world medalist in biathlon *

Jean-Luc Crétier Jean-Luc Crétier (born 28 April 1966 in Albertville, Savoie) is a retired French World Cup alpine ski racer. He was one of the four members of the "Top Guns" team, created and trained by Serge Guillaume outside the mainstream of the Frenc ...

(born 1966), Olympic champion in alpine skiing ( WOC 1998, downhill) *

Florine De Leymarie Florine de Leymarie (born 9 May 1981 in Moûtiers) is a French Alpine skier. She is tall and weighs . She participated in the 2006 Olympic Winter Games in Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural cent ...

(born 1981), skier *

Jérôme Jarre Jérôme Jarre (pronounced ) is a French entrepreneur, creator and humanitarian. He is best known for being a Vine and Snapchat celebrity. As of June 2014, he was the fourth most followed individual on Vine. That same month he became one of the f ...

(born 1990), comedian on the Vine app * Léa Lemare (born 1996), ski jumper and national champion * Lucette Mazzella (1910–1987) teacher, communist organizer and women's rights activist *

Gérard Mourou Gérard Albert Mourou (; born 22 June 1944) is a French scientist and pioneer in the field of electrical engineering and lasers. He was awarded a Nobel Prize in Physics in 2018, along with Donna Strickland, for the invention of chirped pulse a ...

(born 1944), Nobel Prize winner in Physics, 2018 *

Julia Simon (biathlete) Julia Simon (born 9 October 1996 in Albertville) is a French Biathlon, biathlete. She competes in the Biathlon World Cup. Biathlon results All results are sourced from the International Biathlon Union.International Biathlon UnionJulia Simon IBU ...

(born 1996), world champion in biathlon

Sites of interest

, or the Olympic ice hall, the ice arena that hosted events during the

. *

L'anneau de vitesse () is an outdoor speed skating venue located in Grenoble, France. It hosted the Speed skating at the 1968 Winter Olympics, speed skating events for the 1968 Winter Olympics. This Speed Circuit is located in a park of 27 hectares, the Park Paul Mi ...

, or speed oval, the athletic stadium that previously served as the site of the speed skating competitions of 1992 Winter Olympics.

International relations

Albertville is twinned with: *

Aosta Aosta ( , , ; ; , or ; or ) is the principal city of the Aosta Valley, a bilingual Regions of Italy, region in the Italy, Italian Alps, north-northwest of Turin. It is situated near the Italian entrance of the Mont Blanc Tunnel and the G ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

Winnenden Winnenden (; Swabian German, Swabian: ''Wẽnnede'') is a small town in the Rems-Murr district of the Stuttgart Region in Baden-Württemberg in southwest Germany. It lies in a wine-growing area approx. northeast of Stuttgart and has a population o ...

Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg ( ; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a states of Germany, German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million i ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

* Sainte-Adèle, Quebec,

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

, which like Albertville, hosted a Winter Olympics, doing so in

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

Heraldry

Climate

References

External links

City council website

(in French)

(in English) {{authority control Communes of Savoie Subprefectures in France Populated places established in 1836 Ceutrones