Apprieu () 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 ...

in the

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

Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes (ARA; ; frp, Ôvèrgne-Rôno-Ârpes; oc, Auvèrnhe Ròse Aups; it, Alvernia-Rodano-Alpi) is a region in southeast-central France created by the 2014 territorial reform of French regions; it resulted from the merger of Au ...

region of southeastern

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 of the commune are known as ''Apprelans'' or ''Apprelanes''.

Geography

Apprieu is located some 60 km east by south-east of Vienne and 12 km north-west of

Voiron Voiron (; frp, Vouèron) is a commune (French municipality) in the ninth district of the Isère department in southeastern France. It is the capital of the canton of Voiron and has been part of the Grenoble-Alpes Métropole since 2010. Voiron i ...

stretching along the southern slope of a hill originating from a

moraine A moraine is any accumulation of unconsolidated debris ( regolith and rock), sometimes referred to as glacial till, that occurs in both currently and formerly glaciated regions, and that has been previously carried along by a glacier or ice sh ...

of Alpine glaciers from the last ice age. Access to the commune is by road D520 from Colombe in the west passing through the town and continuing east to La Murette. The

A48 autoroute The A48 autoroute, also known as ''l'autoroute du Dauphiné'', is a motorway in France connecting the A43 with the city of Grenoble. An extension north to Ambérieu is proposed in the medium term. Characteristics * 2x2 lanes * 2x3 lanes betwe ...

passes through the southern tip of the commune but has no exit until Exit 9 just to the west of the commune. Apart from the town there are also the hamlets of Plan Bois in the north-east and Le Rivier in the south. The commune north of the town is heavily forested while to the south is mostly farmland with forests to a lesser extent. The ''Fure'' river follows the eastern and southern borders of the commune then flows south to join the ''Morge'' river at Le Port.Google Maps
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Neighbouring communes and villages

History

Apprieu, from the Latin ''Apprius'' - an anagram of "

Priapus In Greek mythology, Priapus (; grc, Πρίαπος, ) is a minor rustic fertility god, protector of livestock, fruit plants, gardens and male genitalia. Priapus is marked by his oversized, permanent erection, which gave rise to the medical ter ...

", the ancient god of fertility associated with the ancient city of ''

Lampsacus Lampsacus (; grc, Λάμψακος, translit=Lampsakos) was an ancient Greek city strategically located on the eastern side of the Hellespont in the northern Troad. An inhabitant of Lampsacus was called a Lampsacene. The name has been transmitte ...

'' near

Troy Troy ( el, Τροία and Latin: Troia, Hittite: 𒋫𒊒𒄿𒊭 ''Truwiša'') or Ilion ( el, Ίλιον and Latin: Ilium, Hittite: 𒃾𒇻𒊭 ''Wiluša'') was an ancient city located at Hisarlik in present-day Turkey, south-west of Ç ...

Heraldry

Administration

List of Successive Mayors

Demography

In 2017 the commune had 3,313 inhabitants.

Sites and Monuments

The Forges of Bonpertuis (1859) are registered as an historical monument.Ministry of Culture, Mérimée

Notable people linked to the commune

The Gourju family settled in Apprieu in 1842 to restart the old forges of Bonpertuis known since 1569 and probably much earlier in the

Carthusian The Carthusians, also known as the Order of Carthusians ( la, Ordo Cartusiensis), are a Latin enclosed religious order of the Catholic Church. The order was founded by Bruno of Cologne in 1084 and includes both monks and nuns. The order has i ...

period. Alphonse Gourju (ironmaster from Rives), Renage, and Brignoud from the valley of Gresivaudan installed a remarkable

puddling furnace Puddling is the process of converting pig iron to bar (wrought) iron in a coal fired reverberatory furnace. It was developed in England during the 1780s. The molten pig iron was stirred in a reverberatory furnace, in an oxidizing environment, ...

at Bonpertuis which is well preserved today. The tradition of ironworking was continued by the Experton family. Canadian biathlete Yolaine Oddou emigrated to Canada from Apprieu in 1999.