Trévoux (; ) is a commune in the Ain department in eastern

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 ...

. The inhabitants are known as Trévoltiens. It is a popular destination outside of

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 ...

, built on the steeply sloping left bank of the river

Saône The Saône ( , ; ; ) is a river in eastern France (modern Regions of France, region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté). It is a right tributary of the Rhône, rising at Vioménil in the Vosges (department), Vosges Departments of France, department an ...

and is known for its fort.

History

In AD 843, the treaty of Verdun divided up the empire of Charlemagne. The river

became the frontier between France and the Empire. It is thanks to this border location that Trévoux gained its particular political status. In the 11th century it was included in the domain of the lords of Thoire-Villars, from whom it acquired its freedom. It was bought by the

Bourbons The House of Bourbon (, also ; ) is a dynasty that originated in the Kingdom of France as a branch of the Capetian dynasty, the royal House of France. Bourbon kings first ruled France and Navarre in the 16th century. A branch descended from ...

in 1402, became the capital of the

Dombes The Dombes (; ) is an area in eastern France, once an independent municipality, formerly part of the provinces of France, province of Burgundy (region), Burgundy, and now a district comprised in the department of France, department of Ain, and b ...

, and had its own

mint Mint or The Mint may refer to: Plants * Lamiaceae, the mint family ** ''Mentha'', the genus of plants commonly known as "mint" Coins and collectibles * Mint (facility), a facility for manufacturing coins * Mint condition, a state of like-new ...

. From that time, the Trévoux river toll became important, and the town built a castle and walls. On the 30th of June 1417, the local baron issued a decree allowing the local Jewish population to continue to study the Talmud, contrary to the decision taken in Chambéry in January 1417 as a result of which Jewish books had been seized and burned. In 1523, the French king François the 1st confiscated the Dombes region and founded a parliament for the region in Lyon. In 1560, the Dombes region fell to the Bourbons. The town then became rich as the capital of Dombes principality and seat of its parliament from 1697 to 1771. In 1603 a printing works was established there, from which in the 18th century the ''Journal de Trévouse'' and a universal dictionary known as the Dictionnaire de Trévoux was printed there from 1704 to 1771 by the Jesuits. At the end of the 17th century, two important sovereign princes, Anne-Marie Louise of Orléans, Duchess of Montpensier known as "la Grande Mademoiselle", and her successor Louis-Auguste of Bourbon, duke of Maine, raised two monuments which are still notable in the landscape: the Montpensier hospital and the Palace of the Dombes Parliament. In 1762, the principality of the Dombes was definitively absorbed into France. The town was a sub-prefecture of Ain until 1926. From the end of the 19th century until the 1950s, Trévoux was the global capital of the manufacture of synthetic diamonds.

Population

Personalities

Trévoux was the birthplace of * Arthur Giry (1848–1899), historian. * François-Marie Treyve (1847–1906), writer and landscape gardener. He designed the park of the Célestins in

Vichy Vichy (, ; ) is a city in the central French department of Allier. Located on the Allier river, it is a major spa and resort town and during World War II was the capital of Vichy France. As of 2021, Vichy has a population of 25,789. Known f ...

and formed in 1881 the Établissements Treyve-Marie.

History

Population

Personalities

See also