Villefranche-sur-Saône (, ; frp, Velafranche) is a commune in the

Rhône The Rhône ( , ; wae, Rotten ; frp, Rôno ; oc, Ròse ) is a major river in France and Switzerland, rising in the Alps and flowing west and south through Lake Geneva and southeastern France before discharging into the Mediterranean Sea. At Ar ...

department in 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 ...

. It lies 1 mile (1.6 km) west of the river

Saône The Saône ( , ; frp, Sona; lat, Arar) is a river in eastern France. It is a right tributary of the Rhône, rising at Vioménil in the Vosges department and joining the Rhône in Lyon, at the southern end of the Presqu'île. The name d ...

, and is around north of

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of ...

. The inhabitants of the town are called ''Caladois''.

History

Villefranche-sur-Saône was founded in 1212 by Guichard IV, count of Beaujeu ( frp, Bôjor/Biôjœr), and became in the 14th century the capital of the

Beaujolais Beaujolais ( , ) is a French ''Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée'' (AOC) wine generally made of the Gamay grape, which has a thin skin and is low in tannins. Like most AOC wines they are not labeled varietally. Whites from the region, which mak ...

( frp, Biôjolês) province. It endured three sieges in the 15th and 16th centuries. The town walls were taken down early in the 19th century.

Population

The population data in the table and graph below refer to the commune of Villefranche-sur-Saône proper, in its geography at the given years. The commune of Villefranche-sur-Saône absorbed the former communes of Béligny and Ouilly (partly) in 1853.

Economy

Industries include wine-trading, metallurgy, textiles, and chemicals.

Transport

The

Autoroute du Sud The A6, also known as the Autoroute du Soleil, ''Motorway of the Sun'', (along with the A7), is an Autoroute in France, linking Paris to Lyon. The motorway starts at Paris's Porte d'Orléans and Porte d'Italie with two branches, numbered A6a ...

(the principal road from Paris to the south of France) is adjacent to the east of the town, running alongside the

Villefranche Notre Dame des Marais Portal

Buildings

The church of Notre-Dame des Marais, begun at the end of the 14th and finished in the 16th century, has a tower and spire (rebuilt in 1862), standing to the right of the 15th century façade, in which are carved wooden doors.

Sport

FC Villefranche Beaujolais Football Club Villefranche Beaujolais or simply Villefranche is a French association football club founded in 1927. They are based in Villefranche-sur-Saône, Rhône-Alpes and play at the Stade Armand Chouffet in town. The team played one seaso ...

is based in the town.

Notable people

Pierre Teilhard de Chardin Pierre Teilhard de Chardin ( (); 1 May 1881 – 10 April 1955) was a French Jesuit priest, scientist, paleontologist, theologian, philosopher and teacher. He was Darwinian in outlook and the author of several influential theological and philo ...

(1881–1955), Jesuit priest and scientist, attended school here in 1892–1897 * Maurice Baquet (1911–2005), actor and cellist *

Benjamin Biolay Benjamin Biolay (; born 20 January 1973) is a French singer, musician, songwriter, record producer and actor. He is the brother of singer Coralie Clément—whose first three albums he wrote and produced—and the ex-husband of Chiara Mastroia ...

(born 1973), singer, songwriter and musician *

Coralie Clément Coralie Clément (born Coralie Biolay; 1 September 1978 in Villefranche-sur-Saône, Rhône) is a French singer. Biography Clément was born into a family of musicians, her father a clarinetist, and studied the violin from the age of six but la ...

(born 1978), singer *

Grégory Bettiol Grégory Bettiol (born 30 March 1986) is a retired French footballer who played as a striker. Career Olympique Lyonnais Born in Villefranche-sur-Saône, Bettiol was trained in the youth sections and player development program of Olympique L ...

(born 1986), footballer

Twin towns – sister cities

Villefranche-sur-Saône is twinned with: *

Bertinoro Bertinoro () is a town and '' comune'' in the province of Forlì-Cesena, Emilia-Romagna (Italy). It is located on hill Mount Cesubeo, in Romagna, a few kilometers from the Via Emilia. History There are remains of a settlement dating from the Ir ...

, Italy * Bühl, Germany * Călărași District, Moldova * Kandi, Benin *

Schkeuditz Schkeuditz () is a Große Kreisstadt in the district of Nordsachsen, in Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the White Elster river, 12 km northwest of Leipzig. Leipzig/Halle Airport is located in Schkeuditz. The letter processing center fo ...

, Germany

References

External links

Official website
Communes of Rhône (department) Subprefectures in France Beaujolais (province) {{Rhône-geo-stub