Vesoul
Vesoul | |||||||||
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Vesoul | |||||||||
Location within Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region Vesoul | |||||||||
Coordinates: 47°37′23″N 6°09′21″E / 47.6231°N 06.1558°ECoordinates: 47°37′23″N 6°09′21″E / 47.6231°N 06.1558°E | |||||||||
Country | France | ||||||||
Region | Bourgogne-Franche-Comté | ||||||||
Department | Haute-Saône | ||||||||
Arrondissement | Vesoul | ||||||||
Canton | Canton of Vesoul-Est and Canton of Vesoul-Ouest | ||||||||
Intercommunality | Urban community of Vesoul | ||||||||
Government | |||||||||
• Mayor (2012-2014) | Alain Chrétien | ||||||||
Area1 | 9.07 km2 (3.50 sq mi) | ||||||||
Population (2010)2 | 19,404 | ||||||||
• Density | 2,100/km2 (5,500/sq mi) | ||||||||
Time zone | CET (UTC+1) | ||||||||
• Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) | ||||||||
INSEE/Postal code | 70550 / 70000 | ||||||||
Elevation |
213–375 m (699–1,230 ft) (avg. 220 m or 720 ft) | ||||||||
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. 2 Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once. |
Vesoul (French pronunciation: [vəzul]) is a commune in the Haute-Saône department in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté located in eastern France.
It is the most populated municipality of the department with 15,920 inhabitants in 2009, and is the seventh largest city in Franche-Comté. The same year, the Urban community of Vesoul which covers 19 municipalities together had 34,055 inhabitants while the Urban area of Vesoul which includes 78 municipalities, had 59,244 inhabitants. Its urban area is the fifth largest Franche-Comté. Its inhabitants are known in French as Vésuliens. Nicknamed the "Nice of the East", the reputation of Vesoul-based primarily on the song "Vesoul" by Jacques Brel and the Vesoul International Film Festival of Asian Cinema. Its 16,000 inhabitants, account Vesoul 2000 students and 8000 licensed sport. The city has received many labels and names that reflect the investigation brings to life Vesoul common.
Built on top of the hill de la Motte, in the first millennium, the old medieval town of Castrum Vesulium, the city is gradually presented as European commercial and economic center with many traders and exchangers and European Jews. At the end of the Middle Ages, the city experienced a period of strong difficulties as plagues, epidemics, destruction ...
Main urban center of the department, Vesoul is also the capital of the logistics industry with the PSA Vesoul Plant and the seat of several institutions such as the Regional Centre for Restoration of Works of Art.
The town is the capital of the department.
Notable people
- Jean-Léon Gérôme
- Raymond Aubrac
- Édouard Belin
- Edwige Feuillère
- Charles Grandmougin
- Arthur Constantin Krebs
- Laurent Mangel
- Jean Pierre Marie Orchampt
- Robert Schurrer
- Stéphane Peterhansel
- Albert Cartier
- Abel Khaled
- Jean-Baptiste Humbert
- Alain Joyandet
- Yves Krattinger
- Mickaël Ravaux
- Jean-Xavier Bureau de Pusy
- Georges Cogniot
- Théodule-Armand Ribot
- Albert Mathiez
- Jean Peyrière
- Julien Casoli
- Amédée Simon Dominique Thierry
- Affo Erassa
- Jean Compagnon
- Cédric Si Mohamed
- Katty Piejos
- Vincent Luis
- Frédéric Vichot
- Pascal Dagnan-Bouveret
- Jean-Michel Nicollier
- Pape Mamadou Diouf
- Roger Munier
- Jean-Joseph Gaume
History
Vesoul is first mentioned in a document dated 899. That document speaks about an elevation with a fortified watchtower. The document speaks about "Castrum Vesulium". Castrum is a fortification, and "Vesulium" has the syllable ves which meant hill or mountain in a language that was spoken before the Celts. Today, there is a castle that forms the centre of the city. The first houses were built inside the walls of the castle. Newcomers who found no place settled outside the city walls, on the flanks of the hill. Growing wine was popular. In 1814, after the fall of the empire, a buffer state was created, with Vesoul as capital. The principality was that of Free County, of the Vosges and of Porrentruy.
Today, one of the main factories of PSA Peugeot Citroën is near Vesoul.
Geography
Vesoul is located in the center of the Haute-Saône and is equidistant from the other cities of the department. It is located at the intersection of highways Road 19 and Road 57, the SNCF Paris-Basel. It is to 48 kilometres (30 mi) of Besançon, 82 kilometres (51 mi) of Epinal, 30 kilometres (19 mi) of Luxeuil-les-Bains, 32 kilometres (20 mi) of Lure, 64 kilometres (40 mi) of Belfort, 59 kilometres (37 mi) of Gray and 105 kilometres (65 mi) of Dijon .
The largest city near Vesoul is Besançon. As the crow flies, Vesoul is 315 kilometres (196 mi) of the capital Paris, 485 kilometres (301 mi) of Marseille, 230 kilometres (140 mi) of Lyon, 578 kilometres (359 mi) of Toulouse, 445 kilometres (277 mi) of Nice, 585 kilometres (364 mi) of Nantes, 160 kilometres (99 mi) of Strasbourg, 480 kilometres (300 mi) of Montpellier, 605 kilometres (376 mi) of Bordeaux, and 404 kilometres (251 mi) of Lille, 3.
Culture and heritage
Monuments and tourist attractions
- Vieux Vesoul (Old Vesoul) (buildings from the 15th, 16th and 18th centuries and Garret Museum)
- Site of Vesoul's Motte
- Site of the Sabot de Frotey
- Lake of Vesoul - Vaivre
- Vesoul-Vaivre Vélo-rail
- Convent of the Ursulines (17th century)
- St. George's Church, Vesoul
- Gare de Vesoul
- PSA Vesoul Plant
- Synagogue of Vesoul
- Musée Georges-Garret
- Notre-Dame-de-la-Motte
Paul Morel Hospital
Paul Morel Hospital is an ancient hospital.
Heritage
Festival
Library
The first public library of Vesoul opened in 1771. The abbé (abbot) Bardenet, superior of the Saint-Esprit hospital in Besançon, gave his book collection to the town. There were 1772 books. The collections became a lot larger with the Revolution. At that time, the revolutionaries (people who led the French Revolution) took the books from the monasteries of the town (capucins) and even of the region (Luxeuil and Faverney monasteries). Around 20,000 books were added to the library this way, including some 11th century manuscripts. The Mayor's office was responsible for keeping the books.
In 1981, the municipality decided to build a new building to encourage the public to read. The library was recently equipped with computers. There are around 200 manuscripts and 150 incunables.
Administration
Mayors
Twin towns
- Gerlingen, Germany, since 1964
Administrative division
Areas
Neighborhoods
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Sectors :
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Commercial areas :
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Industrial areas :
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Spaces :
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Notable People
- Jean-Michel Nicolier ( 1 July 1966– 20/21 November 1991), French volunteer in the Croatian War of Independence who was killed in the Vukovar massacre
Demography
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Source: INSEE,[1] Ehess[2] |
Media
Vesoul is also the name of a song by Jacques Brel from 1968, a fast paced waltz during the recording of which Brel famously yelled «Chauffe, Marcel, chauffe!» ("heat up, Marcel, heat up!") at his accordionist, Marcel Azzola.
The town is also mentioned facetiously in the satirical rap Fous ta cagoule by Michael Youn.[3]
Sport
- Vesoul Haute-Saône, football club
- Stade René Hologne
- Cercle de Judo de Vesoul, Judo club with a competitors section
Education
Vesoul has schools of higher education. The city has 1,200 students divided between an IUT, an IUFM, an Institute of Nursing Training, a School of Management and Commerce and BTS.
A Council of Student Life (CVE), led by the Officer in charge of Higher Education, was established in 2011. It offers activities to stimulate student life. In all, Vesoul has 10,000 students.
All schools and studies in Vesoul
Kindergarten
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Primary School
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Public College
Private College
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General and Technical High School
Vocational College
Apprentice Training Centre
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Studies senior
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Awards
- Vesoul inaugurated the first Cyber Base France in 1999
- Voted "most athletic city of France" in 2001
- Labeled "Child Friendly City" by UNICEF in 2006. This label was renewed in 2009.
- Labeled "friendly and inclusive City" in 2010
- Labeled "Cities and villages in bloom" and has 3 flowers
- Labeled "QualiTri Collection" in 2012
- Vesoul is the second city in France to obtain ISO 14001 certification
See also
References
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Vesoul. |
- Official website (French)
- Proxoo.com – Site about the city center (French)