Le Creusot () is a

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

and industrial town 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, ...

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 ...

, 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 ...

. The inhabitants are known as Creusotins. Formerly a mining town, its economy is now dominated by metallurgical companies such as

ArcelorMittal ArcelorMittal S.A. is a Luxembourgian multinational steel manufacturing corporation headquartered in Luxembourg City. It was formed in 2006 from the takeover and merger of Arcelor by Indian-owned Mittal Steel. ArcelorMittal is the second larg ...

Schneider Electric Schneider Electric SE is a French multinational company that specializes in digital automation and energy management. It addresses homes, buildings, data centers, infrastructure and industries, by combining energy technologies, real-time automation ...

, and

Alstom Alstom SA is a French multinational rolling stock manufacturer operating worldwide in rail transport markets, active in the fields of passenger transportation, signalling, and locomotives, with products including the AGV, TGV, Eurostar, Avelia ...

. Since the 1990s, the town has been developing its tourism credentials. Its main attraction is the Parc des Combes. The

Creusot steam hammer The Creusot steam hammer is a giant steam hammer built in 1877 by Schneider and Co. in the French industrial town of Le Creusot. With the ability to deliver a blow of up to 100 tons, the Creusot hammer was the most powerful in the world until 18 ...

is exposed as a tourist attraction in a square at the entrance to the town from the south. Le Creusot is also the second educational centre of the Bourgogne (after

Dijon Dijon (, , ) (dated) * it, Digione * la, Diviō or * lmo, Digion is the prefecture of the Côte-d'Or department and of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in northeastern France. the commune had a population of 156,920. The earlies ...

), with its IUT and the Condorcet university centre.

History

In 1836, iron ore mines and forges around Le Creusot were bought by

Adolphe Schneider Adolphe Schneider (23 October 1802 – 3 August 1845) was a French financier and industrialist who developed a major metalworking enterprise at Le Creusot, the parent of today's Schneider Electric. Early years Adolphe Schneider was born in Nancy ...

and his brother

Eugène Schneider Joseph Eugène Schneider (29 March 1805 – 27 November 1875) was a French industrialist and politician. In 1836, he co-founded the Schneider company with his brother, Adolphe Schneider. For many years he was a Deputy, and he was briefly Minister ...

. They developed a business in steel, railways, armaments, and shipbuilding. The Schneider empire developed much of the town itself, until it was much reduced in the second half of the twentieth century. It eventually became known as

. The steel forgings for the French nuclear power plants as well as the special alloys for the

TGV The TGV (french: Train à Grande Vitesse, "high-speed train"; previously french: TurboTrain à Grande Vitesse, label=none) is France's intercity high-speed rail service, operated by SNCF. SNCF worked on a high-speed rail network from 1966 to 19 ...

trains were manufactured in Le Creusot. On 17 October 1942 the Schneider factory was targeted by the RAF in a daylight raid designated

Operation Robinson The RAF bombing raid against the Schneider Works at Le Creusot, known as Operation Robinson, was undertaken during the daylight hours of 17 October 1942. The mission was assigned to No. 5 Group, which had converted to the new Avro Lancaster. Th ...

Population

Transport

About south-east of town centre is the

Le Creusot TGV station Le Creusot TGV station (French: ''Gare du Creusot TGV'', officially ''Le Creusot-Montceau-Montchanin'') is a railway station on the LGV Sud-Est providing TGV high-speed train services to the city of Le Creusot, Saône-et-Loire, France. It was in ...

, a train station on the

LGV Sud-Est The LGV Sud-Est (French: ''Ligne à Grande Vitesse Sud-Est''; English: ''South East high-speed line)'' is a French high-speed rail line which connects the Paris and Lyon areas. It was France's first high-speed rail line. The inauguration of th ...

line, which links the area to Paris, Lyon and beyond with

high-speed rail High-speed rail (HSR) is a type of rail system that runs significantly faster than traditional rail, using an integrated system of specialised rolling stock and dedicated tracks. While there is no single standard that applies worldwide, lines ...

. Le Creusot station is closer to the city centre, and is served by regional trains towards Nevers, Montchanin and Dijon.

Sights

*''Le pilon'' – 1877 steam hammer invented by

François Bourdon François Prudent Bourdon (29 July 1797 – 19 April 1865) was a French engineer and inventor, mainly interested in development of steam-powered boats for inland navigation. He is known for designing one of the first steam hammers. Early years Fr ...

*''Château de la Verrerie'' – Originally the Cristallerie royale of Queen

Marie-Antoinette Marie Antoinette Josèphe Jeanne (; ; née Maria Antonia Josepha Johanna; 2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was the last queen of France before the French Revolution. She was born an archduchess of Austria, and was the penultimate child and ...

Personalities

André Billardon André Billardon (born 22 October 1940) is a French politician and member of the Socialist Party. He is the current mayor of Le Creusot and used to be a Minister during Pierre Bérégovoy's term of office, while François Mitterrand was presiden ...

(b.1940), mayor *

Christian Bobin Christian Bobin (24 April 1951 – 24 November 2022) was a French author and poet. Bobin received the 1993 Prix des Deux Magots for the book ''Le Très-Bas'' (translated into English in 1997 by Michael Kohn and published under two titles: ''Th ...

(b. 1951), writer *

(1797–1875), engineer and inventor of the steam hammer ''le pilon'' * Fr. Bruno Cadoré (b. 1954), Dominican priest and current Master of the Order *

Mathilde Carré Mathilde Carré (30 June 1908 –30 May 2007), née Mathilde Lucie Bélard and known as "La Chatte", was a French Resistance agent during World War II who betrayed and turned double agent. Early life Carré was born in Le Creusot, Saône-et- ...

(1908–2007), French Resistance agent during World War II, who turned double agent *

Marie-Pierre Casey Marie-Pierre Casey is a French actress, born on 24 January 1937 in Creusot, Saône-et-Loire. Early life and education Marie-Pierre Casey was born on 24 January 1937 in Creusot. From the age of nine, she was educated at a boarding in Charol ...

(b.1937) actress * Jovan Deroko (1912–1941), Serbian Chetnik fighter during World War II *

Sébastien Grax Sébastien Grax (born 23 June 1984) is a French former professional footballer who played as a striker. Career Grax started his career at Monaco in 2001 where he played four matches in three years. He was then loaned out to Troyes AC in 2004 w ...

(b. 1984), footballer *

Claudie Haigneré Claudie (André-Deshays) Haigneré (born 13 May 1957) is a French doctor, politician and former astronaut with the Centre National d'Études Spatiales (1985–1999) and the European Space Agency (1999–2002). Background and training Born in ...

(b. 1957), astronaut * Catherine Lépront (1951–2012), writer *

(1802–1845), mine owner and entrepreneur *

(1805–1875), mine owner and entrepreneur * Lucien Sergi (b. 1971), former professional footballer * Anthony da Silva (b. 1980), footballer * Adrien Tuison (b. 1984), footballer * Mickaël Vendetta (b. 1987),

Internet celebrity An Internet celebrity (also known as a social media influencer, social media personality, internet personality, or simply influencer) is a celebrity who has acquired or developed their fame and notability through the Internet. The rise of social ...

* John "Iron-Mad" Wilkinson (1728 – 1808) advised Le Creusot on the development of its iron industry * Marie-Alice Yahé (b. 1984), female rugby player *

Deng Xiaoping Deng Xiaoping (22 August 1904 – 19 February 1997) was a Chinese revolutionary leader, military commander and statesman who served as the paramount leader of the People's Republic of China (PRC) from December 1978 to November 1989. After CC ...

(1904–1997), Chinese leader who briefly worked at the Le Creusot Iron and Steel Plant in the 1920s

International relations

Le Creusot is twinned with: * Bor,

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...

. *

Blieskastel Blieskastel () is a city in the Saarpfalz (Saar-Palatinate) district, in Saarland, Germany which is divided into villages. It is situated on the river Blies, approximately southwest of Homburg (Saar), west of Zweibrücken, and east of Saarbrüc ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

989 *

Rumia Rumia (; Kashubian: ''Rëmiô''; German until 1945: ''Rahmel'') is a town in northern Poland, in the Wejherowo County in Pomeranian Voivodeship, with some 45,000 inhabitants. It is a part of the Kashubian Tricity (Rumia, Reda, Wejherowo) and ...