Feurs

Feurs
Commune
The church with a statue of Michel Combes in the foreground
Coat of arms
Location of Feurs
Feurs Show map of France Feurs Show map of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Coordinates: 45°44′30″N 4°13′36″E / 45.7417°N 4.2267°E / 45.7417; 4.2267
Country	France
Region	Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Department	Loire
Arrondissement	Montbrison
Canton	Feurs
Intercommunality	Forez-Est
Government
• Mayor (2022–2026)	Marianne Darfeuille^[1]
Area ¹	24.39 km² (9.42 sq mi)
Population (Jan. 2020)^[2]	8,352
• Density	340/km² (890/sq mi)
Demonym	Forézien·ne
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	42094 /42110
Elevation	327–366 m (1,073–1,201 ft) (avg. 345 m or 1,132 ft)
¹ French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Feurs (French pronunciation: [fœʁ] ^ⓘ; Arpitan: Fuèrs) is a commune in the department of Loire, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France.

History

Antiquity

The city was founded by the Romans. The name Feurs is a contraction of Segusiavorum Forum. With a forum^[3] the Gallo-Roman era, city was the capital of Ségusiaves as is indicated by Ptolemy and appears on the Tabula Peutingeriana. By extension, the city gave its name to Forez.

Vestiges of the ancient Roman city are located by the current post office. Archaeologists have unearthed a theater, sewers, milestones, inscriptions, statuettes and pottery that reflect the importance, at that time, of the Roman the town, located near important Roman roads.

Middle Ages

A church dedicated to St. Baudile is reported in 960. A second dedicated to the Virgin Mary appears in the texts in 1001. A Castle in Feurs is reported in 1246. In the Middle Ages, the city had no bridge over the Loire but there was a harbor(953) and another close to Randans (1060).

Remains of Roman Feurs
Feurs in the 1400s
Map of Feurs

Early modern age

Feurs with the Forez County is forfeited to the Constable of Bourbon along with his other possessions in 1523. It finally enters the royal domain in 1531. In 1542, the city is attached to the generality of Lyon, created by Henry II .

French Revolution

The French Revolution was very active in the town and the horrors of the guillotine marked its inhabitants. During the Revolution, the Revolutionary Court headed by Claude Javogues made many victims. The 80 victims of the Revolutionary Court were almost all executed at the site of the Chapel of the Martyrs. The chapel of the martyrs was erected later by Mayor Pierre-Marie Assier in 1826. It was for a short time capital of the Loire department in 1793-1795.

The town was on one of the first railways: line 3 of France Andrezieux - Roanne opened 1 August 1832 between Saint-Bonnet-les-Oules and Balbigny. This is in Feurs that from this section that are installed the workshops of the company that will build more locomotives under the orders of Régnié engineer.

The sites of archaeological interest are many but all are discovered during the various works in the municipality.

The city gave its name to the Forez province in which it is located.

Feurs was the capital of the Loire department from 1793 to 1795, during the French Revolution.

Geography

The river Lignon du Forez flows into the Loire in the commune.

Feurs is located in the Forez plain, between the Monts du Lyonnais to the East and the Monts du Forez to the West.

Economy

Over 300 small and medium enterprises are settled in Feurs and account for about 3200 jobs, distributed as follows: tertiary sector (1675), metal industry (1280), construction (267).

Leisure

The city offers an Olympic-size swimming pool and horse racetracks, as well as playing fields for soccer, rugby and basketball.

Inhabitant from Feurs can also easily access hiking trails towards the "Monts du Forez" or "Monts du Lyonnais".

Mayors

1855 - 1865 Auguste Broutin Parti de l'Ordre
1878 - 1881 C Pariat
1881 - 1891 Jean-Marie Nigay
1891 - 1896 Félix Nigay
1896 - 1900 Charles Dorian
1900 - 1904 Joseph Ory
1904 - 1908 Joannès Mollon
1908 - 1912 Joseph Ory
1912 - 1940 Antoine Drivet
1940 - 1944 Charles Maxime Geny
1953 - 1974 Félix Nigay
1974 - 1977 Maurice Desplaces
1977 - 2001 André Delorme
2001 - 2008 Benoît Gardet
2008 - 2022 Jean-Pierre Taite^[4]
2022 - Marianne Darfeuille

Population

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1793	2,600	—
1800	1,796	−5.15%
1806	1,837	+0.38%
1821	1,937	+0.35%
1831	2,240	+1.46%
1836	2,571	+2.79%
1841	2,646	+0.58%
1846	2,816	+1.25%
1851	2,943	+0.89%
1856	2,894	−0.34%
1861	2,823	−0.50%
1866	3,060	+1.63%
1872	3,048	−0.07%
1876	3,216	+1.35%
1881	3,249	+0.20%
1886	3,451	+1.21%
1891	3,492	+0.24%
1896	3,719	+1.27%

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1901	3,766	+0.25%
1906	3,983	+1.13%
1911	3,995	+0.06%
1921	3,956	−0.10%
1926	4,337	+1.86%
1931	4,561	+1.01%
1936	4,759	+0.85%
1946	5,194	+0.88%
1954	5,381	+0.44%
1962	6,272	+1.93%
1968	6,649	+0.98%
1975	8,017	+2.71%
1982	8,012	−0.01%
1990	7,803	−0.33%
1999	7,669	−0.19%
2007	7,376	−0.49%
2012	7,893	+1.36%
2017	8,173	+0.70%

Source: EHESS^[5] and INSEE (1968-2017)^[6]

Landmarks

Museum of Archaeology Assier, 3 rue Victor de Laprade
The Chapel of the Martyrs, built in memory of the victims guillotined during the Revolution of 1789. People were guillotined and shot there.
The "font that rains" fountain whose origin is lost in the mists of time. A source of carbonated water is mentioned by Auguste Broutin in his History of the town of Feurs and its surrounding book in the neighborhood of the way of four.
The Roman Forum instead of the position (remains)
The Jacquemart church Our Lady of Feurs

Twin towns

Feurs and the town of Olching in Bavaria, Germany, have been twin towns since August 1963, when a delegation of 24 Foréziens, led by the mayor Félix Nigay, visited their German counterparts for the first time.