Ambérieu-en-Bugey (; ) is a commune in the Ain department, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, France. With 14,288 inhabitants (2020), it is one of the largest towns of the historical region of Bugey.
It is the largest town in the arrondissement of Belley and the seat of the canton of Ambérieu-en-Bugey which consists of 18 communes. Its urban area has 17,301 inhabitants (2020). The town was officially simply called Ambérieu until 31 March 1955 when it became Ambérieu-en-Bugey.
The town is known for being an important railway junction (around Ambérieu station), but also for winning the Croix de guerre 1939-1945 with citation at the Liberation.
Geography Location Ambérieu-en-Bugey is 50 km northeast of Lyon, 30 km south of Bourg-en-Bresse, 73 km northwest of Aix-les-Bains, 76 km southeast of Mâcon and 104 km west of Geneva, Switzerland.
The town is in the commune's western part, on the right bank of the river Albarine, which forms most of the commune's southern border. It is surrounded by the communes of Saint-Denis-en-Bugey, and Bettant. Its expansion is due to demographic expansion with two new housing areas on the eastern side of the town where there is plenty of land (near Bettant).
Ambérieu-en-Bugey is located at the foot of the western foothills of the Jura mountains of Bugey and opens onto the plain of Ain at the mouth of the gorge of Albarine.
Climate Ambérieu features an "oceanic climate" (Cfb) under the Köppen system.
However, the city contains significant seasonal differences between the warm to hot summers and the cool to cold winters. Both temperatures above for the summer months and winter air frosts are common.
Its record low of decisively indicates its continental influence, as well as its record high of .
Weather Data for Ambérieu-en-Bugey
Topography and geology The commune is at an altitude between 237 m and 753 m.
The sub-soil has been an important economic activity in the Ambérieu region in the 19th century until the first half of the 20th century. For example, the extraction of lignite (used in particular for heating) was an important activity in Ambérieu during the First World War.
Ambérieu-en-Bugey reflects the characteristics of Bugey in geological terms: the region is composed of a folded mountain relief, partly karstified, which is the southern extension of the Jura mountains. The dating of the limestone of Bugey is between the Jurassic (for the anticlines) and the Cretaceous (for the synclines). The folds are easily visible in outcrops and cliffs.Notices on BRGM Maps Nos.651 (Bourg-en-Bresse) , 676 (Saint-Rambert-en-Bugey) , 652 (Nantua) , and 700 (Belley) .
Hydrography There are several rivers in Ambérieu-en-Bugey. Besides the Albarine which flows through Ambérieu-en-Bugey, . two streams which are themselves tributaries of the Albarine flow into the commune: the Seymard (15.5 km long . and the Foulon . (3.4 km long).
Channels of communication and transport
Rail
Ambérieu station is located at the junction of the Mâcon-Ambérieu line and the Lyon-Geneva line and is served by many TER trains to Lyon, Bourg-en-Bresse, Mâcon, Dijon, Besançon, Strasbourg, Culoz, Geneva, Aix-les-Bains, and Chambery.
Railway history The railway has served the commune since 1856, making the town an important railway junction and the railway station, "one of the largest connection centres in France". Some lines which are now extinct (e.g. the Ambérieu-Montalieu-Vercieu line) created a great deal of rail activity at Ambérieu-en-Bugey; these activities have been illustrated in the collections of the Railway Museum since 1987.
In the 1930s the railway junction, sometimes called the "Ambérieu Star" had 247 locomotives stationed at the depot. The town then had about 6,500 inhabitants and the compagnie des chemins de fer de Paris à Lyon et à la Méditerranée employed about 2,150 railway workers.Historical Railway Museum of Ambérieu-en-Bugey , consulted on 27 June 2011 .
On 7 June 1944 an operation was organized by resistance railway workers and maquisards to disable 52 locomotives and much other equipment. This action reduced the capacity of this strategic site and reduced the communications of the German army so avoiding bombing by the Allies on the site. A monument near the Ambérieu-en-Bugey station recalls this feat of arms.
Air transport
Aerial activity has been present in Ambérieu-en-Bugey since the beginning of the 20th century. For example, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry made his first flight in July 1912 at the civil aerodrome of Bellievre.
Ambérieu-en-Bugey Air Base was built during the Second World War as a temporary airfield by the United States Air Force XII Engineer Command in August 1944. Named the "Colonel Chambonnet Base", today it is a supply and repair centre for electronic equipment aboard aircraft, ground communications detection equipment, navigation aids, and a manufacturing centre for simple equipment.
There is also a civilian aerodrome near Ambérieu-en-Bugey called the Ambérieu aerodrome but it is located in the neighbouring communes of Château-Gaillard and Ambronay.
Air history
Many flight schools have been located at Ambérieu-en-Bugey: the Bressane Aviation School, founded in 1909 by Mignot and Harding, which was associated with the Société Aérienne de Lyon-Bron. In 1912 it took the name Deperdussin-SPAD and was directed by the pilot René Vidart. There is also the Louis-Mouthier flight school which was opened in 1911. In 1915 the Military flight school of Ambérieu was established. Finally, in 1928, the Caudron flight school moved from Le Crotoy in the Somme to Ambérieu-en-Bugey. This school trained Jean Mermoz and René Fonck.
Road transport The commune is traversed by the A42 autoroute. The exit for the commune is: No. 8 Ambérieu-en-Bugey in the direction of Geneva.
In addition, several departmental roads serve the commune: the D1075 (formerly National Highway 75) which connects Bourg-en-Bresse to Sisteron, the D1504 (the old national road 504) which connects Ambérieu-en-Bugey to the commune of Le Bourget-du-Lac, and the D904 (the old road known as the "Valley of the Saone").
In 2017 there were 6,403 households in Ambérieu-en-Bugey; 84.8% of households owned at least one car and 31.8% of all households had at least two cars.
Buses Since 4 January 2010, a network of three bus lines has been established to replace the Ambar'bus service. The new network is called TAM (Transport Network Ambarrois) and links its timetables to the schedules of TER Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. The network operates from 5:40 a.m. to 8:46 p.m. and carries 208 passengers per day.Town of Ambérieu-en-Bugey - Municipal Council of 26 April 2010, Town Hall of Ambérieu-en-Bugey, consulted on 23 June 2010, .
Housing In 2017 the total number of dwellings in the municipality was 7,217 (against 5,949 in 2007). Among these units, 88.7% were primary residences, second homes 1.7%, and 9.6% were vacant housing.
These units were split between 42.9% houses and 56.7% apartments. The proportion of residents owning their own homes was 42.7%.
Toponymy
Ambérieu is mentioned in the form Ambariacus in 843 then Ambayreu in 1240.
The second element -acus represents a suffix of Gallic origin *-āko(n) which is usually written as acum in Latin. This is a locative suffix which later will designate villae in Gallo-Roman. It has generally evolved phonetically as -ieu in the region. The first element designates the Gauls ( Celtic people ) of Ambarri whose name meant "living on both (*amb) sides of the Saone (Arar, the Saône)" or was a Gallic anthroponym Ambarrius. Ambérieux-en-Dombes, Ambérieux, Ambérac, and Ambeyrac are similar topographical formations.
History Toponymy The name Ambérieu derives from the Ambarri tribe who inhabited the modern day Ain department.
Antiquity A number of archaeological discoveries relating to antiquity have been made in Ambérieu-en-Bugey: in 1839 or 1840 a child's sarcophagus was found in the commune; a document dated 1856 reports the discovery of numerous coins dating from the Roman Empire; the remains of a villa were unearthed in 1940 in the Saint-Germain district; in the same neighbourhood, in the area of the ruins of the castle of Saint-Germain, an archaeological level was uncovered which contained barbarian tombs and also a chapel dating from the Middle Ages.
Middle Ages In the Middle Ages Ambérieu belonged to Bugey which, like Vaud, was acquired by Amadeus VI of Savoy, after signing the Treaty of Paris with France in 1355 which set the limits of the Duchy of Savoy and the Dauphiné. The city lay on the line of defence against France of the Duchy of Savoy. A series of fortifications were built to protect Savoy. Allymes Castle, the fortification of Brédevent, the Saint-Germain Castle, and the tower of Saint-Denis were parts of this line of defence in the Bugey possessions of the Duke of Savoy. Pérouges, a city of Savoy located on the plains played a commercial role at the border with France until the Treaty of Lyon.
Renaissance Related article: Treaty of Lyon (1601).
On 17 January 1601 the Treaty of Lyon rejoined Bugey and therefore Ambérieu to France. This treaty between the Duke Charles Emmanuel I of Savoy and King Henry IV of France also unified France with Bresse, Bugey (at the time explicitly distinguished from Valromey), and the Pays de Gex.
World War II
Marcel Demia and the Resistance of Ain In late 1941 Henri Romans-Petit was engaged in the French Hope network in Saint-Etienne. During Christmas an independent resistance fighter, Marcel Demia a Market gardener and Horticulturalist from the Ambérieu-en-Bugey commune went there to visit his parents. The two men meet and exchanged views on the situation. Their shared commitment motivated Henri Romans-Petit to create a Resistance organization in the department of Ain. Marcel Demia spoke of some young resistance fighters who he placed on isolated farms and the difficulties encountered in his organization. Henri Romans-Petit arrived in Ain in 1942 and began to help the resistance fighters of the STO and his host. Ambérieu-en-Bugey today has a street called Marcel Demia.
Liberation of the town The town was liberated on 3 September 1944 by troops who landed in Provence.Stéphane Simonnet, Atlas of the Liberation of France, Autrement, Paris, 1994, reprinted 2004, p 35. Known for the actions of its resistance, particularly from the Maquis de l'Ain et du Haut-Jura the town was nicknamed "The Rebel Ambérieu" and was decorated with the Croix de guerre 1939-1945 with citation.
New name On 31 March 1955 Ambérieu was renamed Ambérieu-en-Bugey.
Heraldry
Politics and administration
The town has between 10,000 and 20,000 inhabitants and the town council is composed of 33 members: the mayor, nine deputies, and 23 councilors.The Municipal Council, Ambérieu-en-Bugey town website , consulted on 27 June 2011
Since 2014, Daniel Fabre has been the mayor of Ambérieu-en-Bugey. He was re-elected in the 2020 municipal elections for the 2020-2026 tenure.
List of Successive Mayors of Ambérieu-en-BugeyList of Mayors of France