Rhône (; ) is a French department located in the east-central administrative region of

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 ...

. Named after the river

Rhône The Rhône ( , ; Occitan language, Occitan: ''Ròse''; Franco-Provençal, Arpitan: ''Rôno'') is a major river in France and Switzerland, rising in the Alps and flowing west and south through Lake Geneva and Southeastern France before dischargi ...

, its

prefecture A prefecture (from the Latin word, "''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 inter ...

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

. Its sole

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 ...

is Villefranche-sur-Saône. Including the

Lyon Metropolis The Metropolis of Lyon (, ), also known as Grand Lyon (, "Greater Lyon"), is a French territorial collectivity in the east-central region of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. It is a directly-elected metropolitan authority, encompassing both the city of Ly ...

, it had a population of 1,875,747 in 2019.Populations légales 2019: 69 Rhône
INSEE

History

The department was created on August 12, 1793, when the former Rhône-et-Loire was split into two departments: Rhône and

Loire The Loire ( , , ; ; ; ; ) 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. It rises in the so ...

. Originally, the eastern border of Rhône was the city of

itself, so that the communes immediately east of Lyon belonged to neighboring departments. With the growth of Lyon and the extension of its urban area into communes such as Villeurbanne, the limits of the department were judged impractical as they left the suburbs of Lyon outside of Rhône. Thus, Rhône was enlarged several times to incorporate into it the suburbs of Lyon from neighboring department: * In 1852, four communes from

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.

were incorporated into Rhône. * In 1967, 23 communes of Isère and six communes of Ain were incorporated into Rhône. * In 1971, one commune from Isère was incorporated into Rhône. With these enlargements, the area of the department increased from 2,791 km² to 3,249 km² (16.4% larger). At the 1999 French census, the original department of Rhône would have had only 1,071,288 inhabitants, which means that the population in the territories added in the last two centuries was 507,581 inhabitants in 1999. In 2015 the

Metropolis of Lyon The Metropolis of Lyon (, ), also known as Grand Lyon (, "Greater Lyon"), is a French territorial collectivity in the east-central region of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. It is a directly-elected metropolitan authority, encompassing both the city of L ...

was separated from the department of Rhône. Rhône lost 16% of its territory, and 75% of its population.Comparateur de territoires: Département du Rhône (69), Métropole de Lyon (200046977)
INSEE Lyon, although no longer part of the department, remains its administrative center.

Geography

Rivers include the

and the Saône (which joins the Rhône in Lyon). The neighboring departments are Ain,

and

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 B ...

Demographics

Population development since 1801 (with Lyon Metropolis) : Before the Metropolis of Lyon was separated from the department, over 75% of its population lived within the Greater Lyon, which included all of the largest cities of the Rhône department, apart from Villefranche-sur-Saône. The most populous commune of the new department of Rhône is Villefranche-sur-Saône. As of 2019, there are 5 communes with more than 10,000 inhabitants:

Politics

The President of the Departmental Council has been Christophe Guilloteau since 2015, a member of The Republicans (LR).

Current National Assembly representatives

This list includes representatives from the

created in 2015 as a separate department.

Tourism

File:View from Chiroubles Cru Beaujolais.jpg, Beaujolais vineyards File:Oingt, July 2012 (3).jpg, Oingt, one of The Most Beautiful Villages of France File:Château de Jarnioux 1.JPG, Château de Jarnioux

References

External links

Prefecture website

Departmental Council website

''69.pagesd.info – Webportal and directory of communes and web sites of the Rhône (69) département'' website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rhone 1793 establishments in France Departments of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes States and territories established in 1793 Massif Central