Vienne (Isère)

Vienne

Coat of arms

Vienne

Location within Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region

Vienne

Coordinates: 45°31′27″N 4°52′41″E / 45.5242°N 4.8781°ECoordinates: 45°31′27″N 4°52′41″E / 45.5242°N 4.8781°E

Country

Pays Viennois

Government

• Mayor (2014–2020)

Thierry Kovacs (UMP)

Area¹

22.65 km² (8.75 sq mi)

Population (2012)²

29,077

• Density

1,300/km² (3,300/sq mi)

Time zone

CET (UTC+1)

• Summer (DST)

CEST (UTC+2)

INSEE/Postal code

38544 / 38200

Elevation

140–404 m (459–1,325 ft)
(avg. 169 m or 554 ft)

¹ French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

²Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once.

¹ French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Vienne (French pronunciation: [vjɛn]) is a commune in southeastern France, located 32 kilometres (20 mi) south of Lyon, on the river Rhône. It is only the fourth largest city in the Isère department, of which it is a subprefecture, but was a major center of the Roman empire.

Before the arrival of the Roman armies, Vienne was the capital city of the Allobroges, a Gallic people. Transformed into a Roman colony in 47 BCE under Julius Caesar, Vienne became a major urban center, ideally located along the Rhône, then a major axis of communication. It was to Vienne in 7 CE that Augustus banished King Herod Archelaus, so the Herodian family may have had land there. The town later became a Roman provincial capital. Numerous remains of Roman constructions are still visible in modern Vienne. The town was also an important early bishopric in Christian Gaul. Its most famous bishop was Avitus of Vienne. At the Council of Vienne, convened there in October 1311, Pope Clement V abolished the order of the Knights Templar. During the Middle Ages, Vienne was part of the kingdom of Provence, dependent on the Holy Roman Empire, while the opposite bank of the Rhône was French territory, thus making it a strategic position.

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Wikipedia