Apprieu

Apprieu
Commune
General View to the South-west
Coat of arms
Location of Apprieu
Apprieu Show map of France Apprieu Show map of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Coordinates: 45°24′04″N 5°29′31″E / 45.4011°N 5.4919°E / 45.4011; 5.4919
Country	France
Region	Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Department	Isère
Arrondissement	La Tour-du-Pin
Canton	Le Grand-Lemps
Intercommunality	Bièvre Est
Government
• Mayor (2020–2026)	Dominique Pallier^[1]
Area ¹	15.09 km² (5.83 sq mi)
Population (2021)^[2]	3,530
• Density	230/km² (610/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	38013 /38140
Elevation	371–773 m (1,217–2,536 ft)
¹ French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Apprieu (French pronunciation: [apʁijø]) is a commune in the Isère department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of southeastern France.

Geography

Apprieu is located some 60 km east by south-east of Vienne and 12 km north-west of Voiron stretching along the southern slope of a hill originating from a moraine of Alpine glaciers from the last ice age. Access to the commune is by road D520 from Colombe in the west passing through the town and continuing east to La Murette. The A48 autoroute passes through the southern tip of the commune but has no exit until Exit 9 just to the west of the commune. Apart from the town there are also the hamlets of Plan Bois in the north-east and Le Rivier in the south. The commune north of the town is heavily forested while to the south is mostly farmland with forests to a lesser extent.

The Fure river follows the eastern and southern borders of the commune then flows south to join the Morge river at Le Port.^[3]

Neighbouring communes and villages

^[3]

History

Apprieu, from the Latin Apprius - an anagram of "Priapus", the ancient god of fertility associated with the ancient city of Lampsacus near Troy.

Heraldry

Arms of Apprieu	Blazon: Party per Fesse, in first party per pale: 1 of Gules, a bee of Or; 2 of Gules, two keys the same posed saltirewise; in second Azure, a blast furnace proper masoned in Sable with open arch

Administration

List of Successive Mayors^[4]

From	To	Name
2001	2008	Bernard Vial
2008	2014	Georges Ferreri
2014	2026	Dominique Pallier

Demography

The inhabitants of the commune are known as Apprelans or Apprelanes in French.^[5]

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1793	1,297	—
1800	1,439	+1.50%
1806	1,555	+1.30%
1821	1,469	−0.38%
1831	1,480	+0.07%
1836	1,478	−0.03%
1841	1,480	+0.03%
1846	1,811	+4.12%
1851	1,861	+0.55%
1856	1,821	−0.43%
1861	1,764	−0.63%
1866	1,766	+0.02%
1872	1,761	−0.05%
1876	1,893	+1.82%
1881	1,879	−0.15%
1886	1,841	−0.41%
1891	1,777	−0.71%
1896	1,790	+0.15%

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1901	1,725	−0.74%
1906	1,724	−0.01%
1911	1,704	−0.23%
1921	1,500	−1.27%
1926	1,588	+1.15%
1931	1,604	+0.20%
1936	1,483	−1.56%
1946	1,493	+0.07%
1954	1,541	+0.40%
1962	1,448	−0.78%
1968	1,478	+0.34%
1975	1,539	+0.58%
1982	1,770	+2.02%
1990	2,426	+4.02%
1999	2,528	+0.46%
2007	2,987	+2.11%
2012	3,154	+1.09%
2017	3,313	+0.99%

Source: EHESS^[6] and INSEE^[7]

Sites and Monuments

The Forges of Bonpertuis (1859)

are registered as an historical monument.^[8]

Notable people linked to the commune

The Gourju family settled in Apprieu in 1842 to restart the old forges of Bonpertuis known since 1569 and probably much earlier in the Carthusian period. Alphonse Gourju (ironmaster from Rives), Renage, and Brignoud from the valley of Gresivaudan installed a remarkable puddling furnace at Bonpertuis which is well preserved today. The tradition of ironworking was continued by the Experton family.

Canadian biathlete Yolaine Oddou emigrated to Canada from Apprieu in 1999.