The Bugey (, ; Arpitan: ''Bugê'') is a historical region in the department of Ain, 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 ...

, located between

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

and

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

. It is located in a loop of the

Rhône River The Rhône ( , ; Occitan: ''Ròse''; Arpitan: ''Rôno'') is a major river in France and Switzerland, rising in the Alps and flowing west and south through Lake Geneva and Southeastern France before discharging into the Mediterranean Sea (Gulf ...

in the southeast of the department. It includes the foothills of the

Jura mountains The Jura Mountains ( ) are a sub-alpine mountain range a short distance north of the Western Alps and mainly demarcate a long part of the French–Swiss border. While the Jura range proper (" folded Jura", ) is located in France and Switzerla ...

, and the highest point is the

Grand Colombier Grand Colombier is a small, uninhabited island in the French North American territory of Saint Pierre and Miquelon. Only 50 ha in area, it lies 500 m off the north coast of Saint Pierre Island and rises to an elevation of 150 m. I ...

. Bugey is divided into two sub-regions: Haut Bugey and Bas Bugey. The inhabitants of Bugey are known as ''Bugistes'' or alternatively as ''Bugeysiens''.

History

The Bugey was a fief of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

. When

Emperor Henry IV Henry IV (; 11 November 1050 – 7 August 1106) was Holy Roman Emperor from 1084 to 1105, King of Germany from 1054 to 1105, King of Italy and Burgundy from 1056 to 1105, and Duke of Bavaria from 1052 to 1054. He was the son of Henry III, Holy ...

received the much-needed support of

Adelaide of Susa Adelaide of Susa (also ''Adelheid'', ''Adelais'', or ''Adeline''; – 19 December 1091) was the countess of part of the March of Ivrea and the Marchioness of Turin in Northwestern Italy from 1034 to her death. She was the last of the Arduin ...

, marchesa of Turin, when he came to Italy to submit to

Pope Gregory VII Pope Gregory VII (; 1015 – 25 May 1085), born Hildebrand of Sovana (), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 22 April 1073 to his death in 1085. He is venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church. One of the great ...

and

Matilda of Tuscany Matilda of Tuscany (; or ; – 24 July 1115), or Matilda of Canossa ( ), also referred to as ("the Great Countess"), was a member of the House of Canossa (also known as the Attonids) in the second half of the eleventh century. Matilda was on ...

Canossa Canossa ( Reggiano: ) is a ''comune'' and castle town in the Province of Reggio Emilia, Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy. It is where Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV did penance in 1077 and stood three days bare-headed in the snow to reverse his excom ...

, in return for her permission to travel through her lands, Henry gave Bugey to Adelaide. Previté-Orton, ''The Early History of the House of Savoy (1000-1233)'' (Cambridge, 1912'', pp. 237f. Henceforth it belonged to the

House of Savoy The House of Savoy (, ) is a royal house (formally a dynasty) of Franco-Italian origin that was established in 1003 in the historical region of Savoy, which was originally part of the Kingdom of Burgundy and now lies mostly within southeastern F ...

until 1601, when it was ceded to France by the Treaty of Lyon.

Geography

Bugey is delimited by the Rhone in the south and east and by the

Ain Ain (, ; ) is a French department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, Eastern France. Named after the Ain river, it is bordered by the Saône and Rhône rivers. Ain is located on the country's eastern edge, on the Swiss border, where it ...

in the west. The northern boundary of Bugey is disputed. In 1867 Baron Achille Raverat declared the

Valserine The river Valserine () is a tributary of the Rhône that flows for from the Col de la Faucille in the Jura Mountains to its confluence with the Rhône at Bellegarde-sur-Valserine. The Valserine Valley has great charm; it includes the Pont des Pi ...

to be the northern border of Bugey, but contemporary definitions generally include the entire Ain department as part of Bugey. The region of

Revermont Revermont () is a natural region of France located in the departments of Ain, Jura, and a small portion of Saône-et-Loire. Geography Geographically defined as the western foothills of the Jura Massif, the Revermont is characterized by lime ...

has never been considered part of Bugey.

Culture

The residents of rural areas in the Bugey,

Valromey The canton of Champagne-en-Valromey is a former administrative division in eastern France. It was disbanded following the French canton reorganisation which came into effect in March 2015. It consisted of 14 communes, which joined the canton of ...

, and Chautagne speak Savorêt, a dialect of the Arpitan language, and spoke it in everyday life until the 1970s. The area is known for its wine, Bugey AOC.

References

External links

Gazetteer Entry
* Geography of Ain Former provinces of France {{Ain-geo-stub

History

Geography

Culture

See also

References

External links