Feurs (; frp, Fuèrs) 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 department of

Loire The Loire (, also ; ; oc, Léger, ; la, Liger) 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 ...

, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes,

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

History

Antiquity

The city was founded by the

Romans Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

. The name Feurs is a contraction of ''Segusiavorum Forum''. With a forum the Gallo-Roman era, city was the capital of Ségusiaves as is indicated by

Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudius Ptolemaeus; AD) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist, who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were of importance ...

and appears on the

Tabula Peutingeriana ' (Latin for "The Peutinger Map"), also referred to as Peutinger's Tabula or Peutinger Table, is an illustrated ' (ancient Roman road map) showing the layout of the '' cursus publicus'', the road network of the Roman Empire. The map is a 13th-ce ...

. By extension, the city gave its name to

Forez Forez is a former province of France, corresponding approximately to the central part of the modern Loire ''département'' and a part of the Haute-Loire and Puy-de-Dôme ''départements''. The final "z" in Forez () is not pronounced in the Loire ...

. Vestiges of the ancient Roman city are located by the current post office. Archaeologists have unearthed a

theater Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...

, sewers,

milestone A milestone is a numbered marker placed on a route such as a road, railway line, canal or boundary. They can indicate the distance to towns, cities, and other places or landmarks; or they can give their position on the route relative to so ...

inscription Epigraphy () is the study of inscriptions, or epigraphs, as writing; it is the science of identifying graphemes, clarifying their meanings, classifying their uses according to dates and cultural contexts, and drawing conclusions about the w ...

s, statuettes and

pottery Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other ceramic materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. Major types include earthenware, stoneware and ...

that reflect the importance, at that time, of the Roman the town, located near important Roman roads.

Middle Ages

A church dedicated to St. Baudile is reported in 960. A second dedicated to the

Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of ...

appears in the texts in 1001. A Castle in Feurs is reported in 1246. In the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

, the city had no bridge over the Loire but there was a

harbor A harbor (American English), harbour (British English; see spelling differences), or haven is a sheltered body of water where ships, boats, and barges can be docked. The term ''harbor'' is often used interchangeably with ''port'', which is a ...

(953) and another close to Randans (1060). File:Vestiges de la curie.JPG, Remains of Roman Feurs File:Revelfeurs.jpeg, Feurs in the 1400s File:Map commune FR insee code 42094.png, Map of Feurs

Early modern age

Feurs with the Forez County is forfeited to the Constable of Bourbon along with his other possessions in 1523. It finally enters the royal domain in 1531. In 1542, the city is attached to the generality of Lyon, created by Henry II .

French Revolution

The

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in coup of 18 Brumaire, November 1799. Many of its ...

was very active in the town and the horrors of the guillotine marked its inhabitants. During the Revolution, the Revolutionary Court headed by Claude Javogues made many victims. The 80 victims of the Revolutionary Court were almost all executed at the site of the Chapel of the Martyrs. The chapel of the martyrs was erected later by Mayor Pierre-Marie Assier in 1826. It was for a short time capital of the Loire department in 1793-1795. Feurs Railway StationThe town was on one of the first railways: line 3 of France Andrezieux - Roanne opened 1 August 1832 between Saint-Bonnet-les-Oules and Balbigny. This is in Feurs that from this section that are installed the workshops of the company that will build more locomotives under the orders of Régnié engineer. The sites of archaeological interest are many but all are discovered during the various works in the municipality. The city gave its name to the

province in which it is located. Feurs was the capital of the Loire department from 1793 to 1795, during the

Geography

Lignon du Forez River.The

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of w ...

Lignon du Forez flows into the

in the commune. Feurs is located in the Forez plain, between the

Monts du Lyonnais The ''Monts du Lyonnais'' are a range of low-altitude mountains and eastern foothills of the Massif Central located in the Loire and Rhône departments in France. Geography The monts du Lyonnais' highest summit is the ''crêt Malherbe'' (946 m). ...

to the East and the Monts du Forez to the West.

Economy

Over 300 small and medium enterprises are settled in Feurs and account for about 3200 jobs, distributed as follows: tertiary sector (1675), metal industry (1280), construction (267).

Leisure

The city offers an Olympic-size swimming pool and horse racetracks, as well as playing fields for soccer, rugby and basketball. Inhabitant from Feurs can also easily access hiking trails towards the "Monts du Forez" or "Monts du Lyonnais".

Mayors

* 1855 - 1865 Auguste Broutin Parti de l'Ordre * 1878 - 1881 C Pariat * 1881 - 1891 Jean-Marie Nigay * 1891 - 1896 Félix Nigay * 1896 - 1900 Charles Dorian * 1900 - 1904 Joseph Ory * 1904 - 1908 Joannès Mollon * 1908 - 1912 Joseph Ory * 1912 - 1940 Antoine Drivet * 1940 - 1944 Charles Maxime Geny * 1953 - 1974 Félix Nigay * 1974 - 1977 Maurice Desplaces * 1977 - 2001 André Delorme * 2001 - 2008 Benoît Gardet * 2008 - 2022 Jean-Pierre Taite Feurs [archive] sur le site de l'association des maires de France (consulté le 13 mars 2015).
. * 2022 - Marianne Darfeuille

Population

Landmarks

* Museum of Archaeology Assier, 3 rue Victor de Laprade * The Chapel of the Martyrs, built in memory of the victims guillotined during the Revolution of 1789. People were guillotined and shot there. * The "font that rains" fountain whose origin is lost in the mists of time. A source of carbonated water is mentioned by Auguste Broutin in his ''History of the town of Feurs and its surrounding'' book in the neighborhood of the way of four. * The Roman Forum instead of the position (remains) * The Jacquemart church Our Lady of Feurs

Twin towns

Feurs and the town of Olching in

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

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 ...

, have been

twin towns A sister city or a twin town relationship is a form of legal or social agreement between two geographically and politically distinct localities for the purpose of promoting cultural and commercial ties. While there are early examples of inter ...

since August 1963, when a delegation of 24 Foréziens, led by the mayor Félix Nigay, visited their German counterparts for the first time.

Personalities

* Joseph-Guichard Du Verney (1648-1730), anatomist *

Franck Montagny Franck Montagny (born 5 January 1978) is a retired French professional racing driver. He briefly raced for the Super Aguri Formula One team in 2006. Early career Born in Feurs, Loire, Montagny started racing karts there in 1988, winning the cade ...

, Formula 1 driver