Belley

Belley
Place des Terreaux, Belley

Coat of arms
Belley
Location within Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region
Belley
Coordinates: 45°46′00″N 5°41′00″E / 45.7667°N 5.6833°E / 45.7667; 5.6833Coordinates: 45°46′00″N 5°41′00″E / 45.7667°N 5.6833°E / 45.7667; 5.6833
Country France
Region Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Department Ain
Arrondissement Belley
Canton Belley
Intercommunality Communauté de communes Bugey Sud
Government
 • Mayor (2015 - 2020) Pierre Berthet
Area1 22.42 km2 (8.66 sq mi)
Population (2014)2 8,983
 • Density 400/km2 (1,000/sq mi)
Demonym(s) Belleysans
Time zone UTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST) UTC+2 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code 01034 /01300
Elevation 220–392 m (722–1,286 ft)
(avg. 306 m or 1,004 ft)
Website www.belley.fr

1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

2 Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once.

Belley (French pronunciation: ​[bɛlɛ], Arpitan: Bèlê) is a commune in the Ain department in eastern France.

History

Belley is of Roman origin, and in the 5th century became an episcopal see. It was the capital of the province of Bugey, which was a dependency of Savoy till 1601, when it was ceded to France. In 1385 the town was almost entirely destroyed by an act of incendiarism, but was subsequently rebuilt by the dukes of Savoy, who surrounded it with ramparts of which little is left.[1]

Belley was the birthplace of the epicure Jean-Anthelme Brillat-Savarin.

Ecclesiastical history

Belley was the seat of the Bishop of Belley and the location of Belley Cathedral. Belley is the home region of St. Peter Chanel, the famous 19th-century Marist missionary matryr and proto-martyr of Oceania.

Population

Historical population
YearPop.±%
17934,197—    
18003,727−11.2%
18063,775+1.3%
18214,166+10.4%
18314,286+2.9%
18363,970−7.4%
18413,821−3.8%
18464,474+17.1%
18514,867+8.8%
18564,879+0.2%
18614,792−1.8%
18664,624−3.5%
18724,684+1.3%
18764,970+6.1%
18815,622+13.1%
18866,160+9.6%
18916,295+2.2%
18966,070−3.6%
19016,467+6.5%
19065,707−11.8%
19116,182+8.3%
19216,536+5.7%
19264,739−27.5%
19315,126+8.2%
19365,815+13.4%
19465,308−8.7%
19545,470+3.1%
19625,958+8.9%
19687,049+18.3%
19757,583+7.6%
19827,981+5.2%
19907,807−2.2%
19998,004+2.5%
20088,750+9.3%

Economy

The town is famed for its cheese, la Tome de Belley, also known as Chevret or still "Le pavé d'Affinois". It is also at the centre of the Bugey wine region. It is also home to a sizeable Volvo production unit producing compact excavators, Comatel and Ciat.

Personalities


See also

References

  1. ↑  One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Belley". Encyclopædia Britannica. 3 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 699.
  2. ↑ Life and Letters: Gertrude Stein's War: The New Yorker


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