Bourg-en-Bresse: Guide

Bourg-en-Bresse ( Bôrg in département, and was capital of the former Provinces of France|province of Bresse. It is located 36 m. N.N.E. of Lyon. Population (1999): city 40,666 (named the Burgiennes and the Burgiens), city and suburbs: 57,198 inhabitants, urban area (French: aire urbaine): 101,016.

Geography

Bourg-en-Bresse is located at the western base of the Jura mountains, on the left bank of the Reyssouze, a tributary of the Saône. It's at 60 kilometers North-East of Lyon and at 50 kilometers of Lons-le-Saunier.

History

Roman remains have been discovered at Bourg, but little is known of its early history. Raised to the rank of a free town in 1250, it was at the beginning of the 15th century chosen by the dukes of Savoy as the chief city of the province of Bresse. In 1535 it passed to France, but was restored to Emmanuel Philibert, Duke of Savoy|Duke Philibert Emmanuel, who later built a strong citadel, which afterwards withstood a six months siege by the soldiers of Henry IV of France|Henry IV. The town was finally ceded to France in 1601. In 1814 the inhabitants, in spite of the defenceless condition of their town, offered resistance to the Austrians, who put the place to pillage.

Sights

The chief of the older buildings is the Renaissance; other parts of the church are Gothic architecture|Gothic. In the interior there are stalls of the 16th century. The other public buildings, including a handsome préfecture, are modern. The hôtel de ville contains a library and the Lorin museum with a collection of pictures, while another museum has a collection of the old costumes and ornaments characteristic of Bresse. Among the statues in the town there is one of Edgar Quinet (1803-1875), a native of Bourg.

The church of Brou, a suburb of Bourg-en-Bresse, is of great artistic interest. Marguerite of Bourbon, wife of Philip II of Savoy, had intended to found a monastery on the spot, but died before her intention could be carried into effect. The church was actually built early in the 16th century by her daughter-in-law Margaret of Austria (1480-1530)|Marguerite of Austria, wife of Philibert II of Savoy|Philibert le Beau of Savoy, in memory of her husband. The exterior, especially the façade, is richly ornamented, but the chief interest lies in the works of art in the interior, which date from 1532. The most important are the three mausoleums with the marble effigies of Marguerite of Bourbon, Philibert le Beau, and Marguerite of Austria. All three are remarkable for perfection of sculpture and richness of ornamentation. The rood loft, the oak stalls, and the reredos in the chapel of the Virgin are masterpieces in a similar style.

Economy

The manufactures consist of iron goods, mineral waters, tallow, soap and earthenware, and there are flour mill (factory)|mills and brewery|breweries; and there is considerable trade in grain, cattle and poultry.

Miscellaneous

Bourg is the seat of a prefect and of a Assize Court|court of assizes, and has a tribunal of first instance, a tribunal and a chamber of commerce, and a branch of the Bank of France. Its educational establishments include lycées, and training collèges.

Births

Bourg-en-Bresse was the birthplace of:
Claude Gaspard Bachet de Méziriac (1581-1638), mathematician
Jérôme Lalande (1732-1807), astronomer
Jean-Bernard Gauthier de Murnan (1748-1796), French officer for the Continental Army and a French General during the French Revolution
Edgar Quinet (1803-1875), historian and man of letters
Jacques Pépin (born 1935), noted French chef
François Clerc (born 1983), football player for the Olympique Lyonnais and the French national football team|French national team
Paul Fromin, (born 1950), composer and musician (saxophone player)
Julien Benneteau, (born 1981), tennis player
Lionel Nallet, (born 14 September, 1976), French people|French France national rugby union team|international rugby union|rugby player (lock), currently playing for Castres Olympique in the Top 14.
Laurent Gerra, (born 1967), humorist, voices imitator, writer and director.
Georges Blanc, famous cook.
Alain Giletti, (born on 9 November, 1939), ice skating|ice skater, 10 times French champion, 5 times European champion, 4 times vice-champion of Europe and 1 time World champion (1960).
Jean De Gaulle, grandson of the Charles De Gaulle|General De Gaulle.
André Diethelm, Minister of war under the Charles De Gaulle|General De Gaulle's first government.
Louis Jourdan, painter.
Jean-Yves Mariotte, architect and paleograph.
Daniel Morelon, cycling|cyclist.
Jean-Luc Tissot, basketball player.
Jérôme Monnet, basketball player.
Paul Filliat, cycling|cyclist.

Twin towns

Bourg-en-Bresse is twinned with:
Bad Kreuznach, Germany
Aylesbury, United Kingdom

Additionally, it has established partnerships with:
San Severo, Italy
Parma, Italy
Namur (city)|Namur, Belgium
Córdoba, Spain|Córdoba, Spain

External link and reference

(in French)

This "Travel Guide" section is drawn from the Wikipedia article "Bourg-en-Bresse". We hope you will edit and improve it. It is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.