Le Creusot () is a commune and industrial town in the

Saône-et-Loire Saône-et-Loire (; Arpitan: ''Sona-et-Lêre'') is a department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in France. It is named after the rivers Saône and Loire, between which it lies, in the country's central-eastern part. Saône-et-Loire is B ...

department,

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 ...

Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Bourgogne-Franche-Comté (; , sometimes abbreviated BFC; Arpitan: ''Borgogne-Franche-Comtât'') is a region in eastern France created by the 2014 territorial reform of French regions, from a merger of Burgundy and Franche-Comté. The new region ...

, eastern

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 inhabitants are known as Creusotins. Formerly a mining town, its economy is now dominated by metallurgical companies such as

ArcelorMittal ArcelorMittal S.A. is a Luxembourg-based multinational steel manufacturing corporation, headquartered in Luxembourg City. It is ranked second on the list of steel producers behind Baowu, and had an annual crude steel production of 58 millio ...

Schneider Electric Schneider Electric SE is a French multinational corporation that specializes in digital automation and energy management. Registered as a Societas Europaea, Schneider Electric is a ''Fortune'' Global 500 company, publicly traded on the Euronex ...

, and

Alstom Alstom SA () is a French multinational rolling stock manufacturer which operates worldwide in rail transport markets. It is active in the fields of passenger transportation, signaling, and locomotives, producing high-speed, suburban, regional ...

. Since the 1990s, the town has been developing its tourism credentials. Its main attraction is the Parc des Combes. The Creusot steam hammer is exposed as a tourist attraction in a square at the entrance to the town from the south. Le Creusot is also the second educational centre of the Bourgogne (after

Dijon Dijon (, ; ; in Burgundian language (Oïl), Burgundian: ''Digion'') is a city in and the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Côte-d'Or Departments of France, department and of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Regions of France, region in eas ...

), with its IUT and the Condorcet university centre.

History

In 1836, iron ore mines and forges around Le Creusot were bought by Adolphe Schneider and his brother Eugène. They developed a business in steel, railways, armaments, and shipbuilding. The Schneider empire developed much of the town itself, until it was much reduced in the second half of the twentieth century. It eventually became known as

. The steel forgings for the French nuclear power plants as well as the special alloys for the

TGV The TGV (; , , 'high-speed train') is France's intercity high-speed rail service. With commercial operating speeds of up to on the newer lines, the TGV was conceived at the same period as other technological projects such as the Ariane 1 rocke ...

trains were manufactured in Le Creusot. On 17 October 1942 the Schneider factory was targeted by the RAF in a daylight raid designated Operation Robinson.

Population

Transport

About south-east of town centre is the Le Creusot TGV station, a train station on the LGV Sud-Est line, which links the area to Paris, Lyon and beyond with

high-speed rail High-speed rail (HSR) is a type of rail transport network utilising trains that run significantly faster than those of traditional rail, using an integrated system of specialised rolling stock and dedicated railway track, tracks. While there is ...

. Le Creusot station is closer to the city centre, and is served by regional trains towards Nevers, Montchanin and Dijon.

Sights

*''Le pilon'' – 1877 steam hammer invented by François Bourdon Le Creusot - Marteau Pilon 5

*''Château de la Verrerie'' – Originally the Cristallerie royale of Queen

Marie-Antoinette Marie Antoinette (; ; Maria Antonia Josefa Johanna; 2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was the last queen of France before the French Revolution and the establishment of the French First Republic. She was the wife of Louis XVI. Born Archd ...

Personalities

* André Billardon (b. 1940), mayor * Christian Bobin (b. 1951), writer * François Bourdon (1797–1875), engineer and inventor of the steam hammer ''le pilon'' * Fr. Bruno Cadoré (b. 1954), Dominican priest and current Master of the Order *

Mathilde Carré Mathilde Carré (30 June 1908 in Le Creusot, France – 30 May 2007), née Mathilde Lucie Bélard and known as "La Chatte" ("The Cat"), was a French Resistance agent during World War II who betrayed the Franco-Polish resistance organization ...

(1908–2007), French Resistance agent during World War II, who turned double agent *

Marie-Pierre Casey Marie-Pierre Casey is a French people, French actress, born on 24 January 1937 in Le Creusot, Creusot, Saône-et-Loire. Early life and education Marie-Pierre Casey was born on 24 January 1937 in Le Creusot. From the age of nine, she was educa ...

(b. 1937), actress * Jovan Deroko (1912–1941), Serbian Chetnik fighter during World War II *

Sébastien Grax Sébastien Grax (born 23 June 1984) is a French former professional association football, footballer who played as a striker (association football), striker. Career Grax started his career at Monaco in 2001 where he played four matches in three ...

(b. 1984), footballer * Claudie Haigneré (b. 1957), astronaut *

Catherine Lépront Catherine Lépront (June 1951, Le Creusot – 19 August 2012) was a French novelist, playwright, short story writer and essayist. Biography Catherine Lépront was born into a family of doctors and musicians. First of all a liberal nurse (an exp ...

(1951–2012), writer * Adolphe Schneider (1802–1845), mine owner and entrepreneur * Eugène Schneider (1805–1875), mine owner and entrepreneur * Lucien Sergi (b. 1971), former professional footballer * Anthony da Silva (b. 1980), footballer * Mickaël Vendetta (b. 1987),

Internet celebrity An Internet celebrity, also referred to as an Internet personality, is an individual who has acquired or developed their fame and notability on the Internet. The growing popularity of social media provides a means for people to reach a large ...

* John "Iron-Mad" Wilkinson (1728 – 1808), advised Le Creusot on the development of its iron industry * Marie-Alice Yahé (b. 1984), female rugby player *

Deng Xiaoping Deng Xiaoping also Romanization of Chinese, romanised as Teng Hsiao-p'ing; born Xiansheng (). (22 August 190419 February 1997) was a Chinese statesman, revolutionary, and political theorist who served as the paramount leader of the People's R ...

(1904–1997), Chinese leader who briefly worked at the Le Creusot Iron and Steel Plant in the 1920s

International relations

Le Creusot is twinned with: *

Ghimbav Ghimbav (; ) is a town in Brașov County, Transylvania, central Romania. Geography The town is situated in the southern part of the Transylvanian Plateau, at an altitude of , on the banks of the river Ghimbășel. It is located in the Burzenland ...

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

Blieskastel Blieskastel () is a city in the Saarpfalz-Kreis, Saarpfalz (Saar-Palatinate) district, in Saarland, Germany which is divided into villages. It is situated on the river Blies, approximately southwest of Homburg (Saar), west of Zweibrücken, and e ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

* Rumia,

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

Climate

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Creusot Communes of Saône-et-Loire Burgundy