Apprieu () is a commune in the

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

department in the

Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes (; AURA) or ; or ; . is a Regions of France, region in southeast-central France created by the 2014 territorial reform of French regions; it resulted from the merger of Auvergne and Rhône-Alpes. The new region came into e ...

region of southeastern

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Geography

Apprieu is located some 60 km east by south-east of

Vienne Vienne may refer to: Places *Vienne (department), a department of France named after the river Vienne *Vienne, Isère, a city in the French department of Isère * Vienne-en-Arthies, a village in the French department of Val-d'Oise * Vienne-en-Bessi ...

and 12 km north-west of

Voiron Voiron (; ) is a commune (French municipality) in 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 is located northwest of Grenoble ...

stretching along the southern slope of a hill originating from a

moraine A moraine is any accumulation of unconsolidated debris (regolith and Rock (geology), 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 gla ...

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 La Murette () is a commune in the Isère department in southeastern France. Population See also *Communes of the Isère department The following is a list of the 512 communes in the French department of Isère. The communes cooperate ...

. 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 betw ...

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 (; ) 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 term priapism. He becam ...

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

Lampsacus Lampsacus (; ) was an ancient Greece, ancient Greek city located in modern day Turkey, strategically situated on the eastern side of the Hellespont in the northern Troad. An inhabitant of Lampsacus was called a Lampsacene. The name has been trans ...

'' near

Troy Troy (/; ; ) or Ilion (; ) was an ancient city located in present-day Hisarlik, Turkey. It is best known as the setting for the Greek mythology, Greek myth of the Trojan War. The archaeological site is open to the public as a tourist destina ...

Heraldry

Administration

List of Successive Mayors

Demography

The inhabitants of the commune are known as ''Apprelans'' or ''Apprelanes'' in French.

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 (), 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 its own rule, called th ...

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 Redox, oxidizing enviro ...

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.