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.
Grenoble
Grenoble ( ; ; or ; or ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of the Isère Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, region ...
limestone
Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...
scree
Scree is a collection of broken rock fragments at the base of a cliff or other steep rocky mass that has accumulated through periodic rockfall. Landforms associated with these materials are often called talus deposits.
The term ''scree'' is ap ...
located on the east side of the
Chartreuse mountains
The Chartreuse Mountains ( ) are a mountain range in southeastern France, stretching from the city of Grenoble in the south to the Lac du Bourget in the north. They are part of the French Prealps, which continue as the Bauges to the north and ...
. It is part of the
Grenoble urban unit
The urban unit of Grenoble () is a French urban unit centred on the city of Grenoble. An urban unit is a contiguously built-up area with at least 2,000 inhabitants, according to the definition by the French statistics institute INSEE. In the curre ...
(agglomeration).
Towards the southwest, Biviers faces the Belledonne range, in the Grésivaudan section of 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.
valley. On the northwest, the village leans against a tall limestone cliff above the scree. The cliff is subject to constant erosion, and rock slides are frequent during the summer, with great noise and much dust.
Mont Blanc
Mont Blanc (, ) is a mountain in the Alps, rising above sea level, located right at the Franco-Italian border. It is the highest mountain in Europe outside the Caucasus Mountains, the second-most prominent mountain in Europe (after Mount E ...
can be seen from many places in the village and is only in line of sight.
Biviers can be subdivided into three main sectors:
* The upper part is a cliff starting from an elevation of and culminating at .
* The middle section – between and – is a forest and is a favorite destination of hikers. The slope is steep and averages 20%. This section is sparsely populated.
* The lower section sits on flatter ground and is where most inhabitants live, the lowest point of the village being at .
Administration
The current mayor of Biviers is Thierry Ferotin, elected in 2020.
Biviers is a member of the intercommunality
Communauté de communes Le Grésivaudan
The Communauté de communes Le Grésivaudan is a ''communauté de communes'' in the Isère ''département'' and in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes ''région'' of France. It was formed on 1 January 2009 by the merger of several former communautés de com ...
as of 2024.
Population
The inhabitants of Biviers are known as (). From 2012 to 2017, the birth rate was 0.55% vs. a mortality rate of 0.71%. Despite the negative difference, population increased on average by 0.5% per year during the same period.
In 2017, women represented 50.8% of Biviers' population versus 49.2% for men. Its population is relatively old compared with the average of the Isère department.
Places, monuments and curiosities
Montbives is a fortified house, built during the 14th century and sitting just below the middle section of the village. It boasts a massive square tower and an impressive kitchen with carved stone pillars.
The ''château de Serviantin'' dates back from the 15th century. The name stems from
Abel Servien
Abel Servien, marquis de Sablé et de Boisdauphin and Comte de La Roche des Aubiers (1 November 159317 February 1659) was a French diplomat who served Cardinal Mazarin and signed for the French the Treaty of Westphalia. He was an early member of th ...
who was born there in 1593 and who later served as a minister for
Louis XIII
Louis XIII (; sometimes called the Just; 27 September 1601 – 14 May 1643) was King of France from 1610 until his death in 1643 and King of Navarre (as Louis II) from 1610 to 1620, when the crown of Navarre was merged with the French crown.
...
. Its square tower can be seen from chemin de la Grivelière and is a classified historical monument.
The ''château de Franquières'' is more recent and dates back from the 17th century. It was built between 1601 and 1610 by the Aymon de Franquières family. During the French Revolution, the property belonged to the scientist Laurent-Aymon de Franquières who was elected as the first revolutionary mayor of Grenoble in February 1790 but who knew he was seriously ill and thus resigned in favor of Joseph Marie de Barral. When he died the same year, the property went to Anne-Marie Franquières – most probably his sister – and then to the related McCarthy family in 1809 who renovated it in 1836. In 1852 it moved to Baroness of Vignet, then Charles de Vignet who sold it in 1880 to Félix du Bourg whose family owned it until 1924 when it was sold to the Forest-Colcombet. Finally, it was bought in 1959 by the OVE (Oeuvre des Villages d'Enfants).
The church of Biviers was probably built around 1500. Shortly after the French Revolution it was seriously damaged by a violent storm which destroyed its roof, its stained glass windows and even some furniture. It remained unused from 1794 to 1805, but then was significantly modified: it was repaired in 1822, its choir was elevated in 1829, so was its tower in 1845 and its nave in 1873. New bells were acquired in 1883 and placed in a new tower, while the choir was rebuilt in 1885.
Curiously, the water system that feeds Biviers does not tap water from the Chartreuse limestone mountains where the village sits, but from the Belledonne granitic range that towers the valley across 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.
.
The Syndicat Intercommunal des Eaux de la Dhuy (SIED) organizes potable water distribution among 8 villages:
* Bernin
*Biviers
*
Corenc
Corenc () is a commune in the département of Isère in southeastern France. It is part of the Grenoble urban unit (agglomeration).
*
La Tronche
La Tronche () is a commune in the Isère department, Southeastern France. It is part of the Grenoble urban unit (agglomeration).
*
Meylan
Meylan (; ) is a commune in the Isère department in southeastern France. It is part of the Grenoble urban unit (agglomeration).
Population
Misuse of public money
In 2013, the newly reelected Mayor of Meylan Marie-Christine Tardy was bro ...
*
Montbonnot-Saint-Martin
Montbonnot-Saint-Martin () is a commune in the Isère department in southeastern France. It is part of the Grenoble urban unit (agglomeration).
*
Saint-Ismier
Saint-Ismier () is a commune in the Isère department in southeastern France. It is part of the Grenoble urban unit (agglomeration).Saint-Nazaire-les-Eymes
Saint-Nazaire-les-Eymes () is a commune in the Isère department in southeastern France. It is part of the Grenoble urban unit
The urban unit of Grenoble () is a French urban unit centred on the city of Grenoble. An urban unit is a contiguous ...
An inverted siphon carries water from Belledonne to reservoirs at the foot of the Chartreuse cliff. Work is under way in the upper part of Biviers (Chatelard) to build a new water tank which is planned to be ready by 2010.
The most impressive monuments close to Biviers are the mountains that surround it such as
Dent de Crolles
The Dent de Crolles () is a karstic mountain (2,062 m) of the Chartreuse Mountains range, north east of Grenoble, Isère, France. The mountain has a characteristic "tooth-like" profile; the French word ''dent'' means "tooth". ''de Crolles'' is d ...
in the Chartreuse range, or
Grand Pic de Belledonne
Grand may refer to:
People with the name
* Grand (surname)
* Grand L. Bush (born 1955), American actor
Places
* Grand, Oklahoma, USA
* Grand, Vosges, village and commune in France with Gallo-Roman amphitheatre
* Grand County (disambiguation) ...