Nièvre
Nièvre () is a department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region, central-east France. Named after the river Nièvre, it had a population of 204,452 in 2019.department in central
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 ...
Fourchambault lies on the right, eastern bank of the river
Loire
The Loire ( , , ; ; ; ; ) 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.
It rises in the so ...
, about 7 km northwest of
Nevers
Nevers ( , ; , later ''Nevirnum'' and ''Nebirnum'') is a city and the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Nièvre Departments of France, department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Regions of France, region in central France. It was the pr ...
. Fourchambault station has rail connections to Nevers, Cosne-sur-Loire and Paris. The
A77 autoroute
The A77 autoroute is a motorway in central France. The road starts at the hamlet of Rosiers in Seine-et-Marne and finishes to the south of Nevers in Nièvre. It is also known as the ''l'Arbre'' - the motorway of the Tree.
It has been designed t ...
(Montargis–Nevers) passes east of the town.
Demographics
Industrial history
In 1819 Boigues & Fils, iron merchant in Paris, and M. Labbé, decided to find a new site on the
Loire
The Loire ( , , ; ; ; ; ) 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.
It rises in the so ...
for their iron foundry to which it would be easier to transport coal, and decided on Fourchambault.
A dock was built for cargo boats, and the Loire provided water for the steam engines.
Construction of the factory at Fourchambault began in 1821.
The Charbonnières Raveaux and Cramain furnaces became annexes to the new building, and Boigues & Fils collected several furnaces from Nivernais and Berry.
Manufacturing began in 1822.
Almost 3,000 workers from the surrounding countryside were employed in the cast iron foundry.
The Société de Commentry, Fourchambault et Decazeville was formed in 1853 through a merger of the Fourchambault foundry,
Imphy
Imphy () is a commune in the Nièvre department in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, France.
Industrial history
Imphy is known in particular for its steel-works, renowned for their special steels which were useful in particular for the north foot of t ...
(Nièvre) steelworks,
Montluçon
Montluçon (; ) is a commune in central France on the river Cher. It is the largest commune in the Allier department, although the department's prefecture is located in the smaller town of Moulins. Its inhabitants are known as ''Montluçonna ...
(Allier) foundry and
Commentry
Commentry (; Auvergnat: ''Comentriac'') is a commune in the department of Allier in central France. It lies southwest of Moulins in the valley of the Œil. It is within 8 km of one of the geographic centres of France. The film actress ...
(Allier) colliery.
In 1954 the company was renamed the Société métallurgique d'Imphy.
In 1968 it was merged with the Société des forges et aciéries du Creusot, which in 1971 became
Creusot-Loire
Creusot-Loire was a French engineering conglomerate, formed from factories in Le Creusot and Châteauneuf, Loire. The Creusot-Loire subsidiary of ArcelorMittal also includes an Innovation, Research and Development centre for the group.
History
Th ...
.
The combined company was in turn absorbed by Creusot-Loire (Saône-et-Loire) in 1971.
The Creusot-Loire group was liquidated in December 1984.
See also
*
Communes of the Nièvre department
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 ...