Decazeville () is a commune in the

Aveyron Aveyron (; ) is a Departments of France, department in the Regions of France, region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Southern France. It was named after the river Aveyron (river), Aveyron. Its inhabitants are known as ''Aveyro ...

department in the Occitanie

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

in southern

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 ...

. The commune was created in the 19th century because of the

Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution, sometimes divided into the First Industrial Revolution and Second Industrial Revolution, was a transitional period of the global economy toward more widespread, efficient and stable manufacturing processes, succee ...

and was named after the Duke of Decazes (1780–1860), the founder of the factory that created the town. Viviez-Decazeville station has rail connections to Brive-la-Gaillarde, Figeac and Rodez.

History

The town is built on coal. La Salle (the former name) produced coal since the 16th century. It was exported in small quantities to

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...

Louis XIV LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...

and his successors gave mines to their mistresses. The Duke of Decazes inherited such mines. In 1826 he created, with the help of a technician named Cabrol, the ''"Houillères et Fonderies de l'Aveyron"'' (Mines and Foundries of Aveyron) which developed to make this small village a center of ironworking and industry. Under

Napoléon III Napoleon III (Charles-Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was President of France from 1848 to 1852 and then Emperor of the French from 1852 until his deposition in 1870. He was the first president, second emperor, and last ...

, the city took the name of Decazeville. A statue of Decazes dressed in a Roman toga was erected. In 1894, the anarchists in the area were targetted during the repression of January and February 1894. The high point of iron production was reached early in the 20th century, when some 9000 employees produced 1 million tons of steel. Production decreased after changes in the industry that shifted many jobs offshore. A noted strike of mine workers occurred from 1961 to 1962. Some 1500 miners spent 66 days in the mines from 23 December 1961 to 26 February 1962. The last mines closed in June 2001. Although Decazeville felt the full brunt of the decline in the mining industry, the town has diversified its economy. It now has metallurgy, woodworking, metal fabrication, and production of steel tubing. The town has a geological museum named after Pierre Vetter, its founder. It is dedicated to coal strata. The open-pit mine ''La Découverte'' is open to the public. The modern church of Notre-Dame has a celebrated painting of the ''Way of the Cross'' by Gustave Moreau.

Population

Twin towns — sister cities

Decazeville is twinned with: * Utrillas, Spain * Coazze, Italy

Personalities

*Élie Decazes (1780–1860), founder of the town and president of ministers under

Louis XVIII Louis XVIII (Louis Stanislas Xavier; 17 November 1755 – 16 September 1824), known as the Desired (), was King of France from 1814 to 1824, except for a brief interruption during the Hundred Days in 1815. Before his reign, he spent 23 y ...

. *Henri Agel (1911–2008), cinema critic and philosopher who died in Decazeville. *Lilian Bathelot (born 1959), novelist who spent his childhood in Decazeville. *Jean-Claude Berejnoï (born in 1939), rugby player born in Decazeville. *François Gracchus Cabrol (1793–1882), captain in the Napoleonic army at 21, director of the mining enterprise. Buried in Decazeville. *Emma Calvé (born 1858), singer born in Decazeville. *Maurice Frot (1928–2004), writer. *Serge Mesonès (1948–2001), footballer *Jacques Monfrin (1924–1998), philologist born in Decazeville. *Paul Ramadier, mayor of Decazeville from 1919 to 1959, governor of Aveyron, and minister. *Jean-Pierre Timbaud (1904–1941), World War II Resistance fighter worked briefly in the mines as a child.

References

Communes of Aveyron Rouergue Aveyron communes articles needing translation from French Wikipedia {{Aveyron-geo-stub

History

Population

Twin towns — sister cities

Personalities

See also

References