Villefranche-sur-Saône

A general view of Villefranche-sur-Saône

Coat of arms

Villefranche-sur-Saône

Location within Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region

Villefranche-sur-Saône

Coordinates: 45°59′00″N 4°43′00″E / 45.9833°N 4.7167°ECoordinates: 45°59′00″N 4°43′00″E / 45.9833°N 4.7167°E

Country

Villefranche-sur-Saône

Canton

Villefranche-sur-Saône

Intercommunality

Villefranche-Beaujolais-Saône

Government

• Mayor

Bernard Perrut (UMP)

Area¹

9.48 km² (3.66 sq mi)

Population (2011)²

35,640

• Density

3,800/km² (9,700/sq mi)

Time zone

CET (UTC+1)

• Summer (DST)

CEST (UTC+2)

INSEE/Postal code

69264 /69400

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.

Villefranche-sur-Saône (French pronunciation: [vilfʁɑ̃ʃ syʁ son]; Arpitan: Velafranche) is a commune in the Rhône department in eastern France.

It lies 1 mile (1.6 km) west of the Saône River, and is around 25 kilometres (16 mi)north of Lyon. The inhabitants of the town are called Caladois.

The popular French singers Coralie Clément and Benjamin Biolay, as well as football player hopeful Grégory Bettiol and actor and cellist Maurice Baquet were born in Villefranche-sur-Saône.

Villefranche-sur-Saône was founded in 1212 by Guichard IV, count of Beaujeu (Arpitan: Bôjor/Biôjœr), and became in the 14th century the capital of the Beaujolais (Arpitan: Biôjolês) province. It endured three sieges in the 15th and 16th centuries. The town walls were taken down early in the 19th century.

Industries include wine-trading, metallurgy, textiles, and chemicals.

The Autoroute du Sud (the principal road from Paris to the south of France) is adjacent to the east of the town, running alongside the Saône.

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Wikipedia