Mâcon and the Saône River

Coordinates: 46°18′23″N 4°49′53″E / 46.30627150, 4.83133717

Commune of Mâcon Coat of arms of Mâcon
Location
Administration
Country	France
Region	Bourgogne
Department	Saône-et-Loire (préfecture)
Arrondissement	Mâcon
Canton	Chief town of 3 cantons
Intercommunality	Communauté d'Agglomération du Mâconnais Val de Saône (CAMVAL)
Mayor	Jean-Patrick Courtois (2001-2014)
Statistics
Elevation	167 m–347 m (avg. 175 m)
Land area¹	27.04 km²
Population² (2007)	36,068
- Density	1,335/km² (2007)
Miscellaneous
INSEE/Postal code	71270/ 71000
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.
2 Population sans doubles comptes: residents of multiple communes (e.g. students and military personnel) only counted once.

The bridge over the Saône: Tour de France peloton entering Mâcon July 2006.

Mâcon is a commune of France, préfecture (capital) of the Saône-et-Loire département, in the Bourgogne région.

Geography

Mâcon is located on the Saône River, north of Lyon. It has an area of 27.04 km². Average altitude: 175 m.

History

For the ecclesiastcial history, see Ancient Diocese of Mâcon

The foundation of ancient Matisco dates back to the 2nd century B.C. The city very soon became a busy crossroad. Border between the Kingdom of France and the Holy Roman Empire from 843 to 1600, Mâcon prospered thanks to the customs duties that were established. Mâcon was a Huguenot stronghold in the 16th century. In 1790, Mâcon became the capital of the "département of Saône-et-Loire" and saw the birth of one of its most famous inhabitants: Alphonse de Lamartine. The French Resistance was particularly active here during World War II and Mâcon was the first town in the French zone between Paris and Lyon.

Wine

Main article: Mâconnais

The area west and north of Mâcon produces well-known wines from the Chardonnay grape. The best known appellation of the Mâconnais is Pouilly-Fuissé.

Economy

The town also has foundries and plants that manufacture motorcycles, electrical equipment and clothing. The town is also a touristy place with its river bank (with the Saône river), its old center and notably the "Maison de Bois" which was built in the 15th century.

The Tour de France frequently passes through Mâcon on its way down from the Alps around the month of July.

Famous inhabitants

Mâcon was the birthplace of Alphonse de Lamartine (1790-1869), writer, poet and politician.

In popular culture

• The Baby of Mâcon is a 1993 film directed by Peter Greenaway.
• Mâcon is the hometown of petulant waitress Jessica (Cécile de France) in Avenue Montaigne, Danièle Thompson's 2006 film.

Twinned towns

• Neustadt an der Weinstrasse, Germany - since June 26, 1956
• Crewe and Nantwich, United Kingdom - since 1957
• Overijse, Belgium - since August 28, 1960
• Macon, Georgia, United States - since 1972
• Shumen, Bulgaria - since September 18, 2006
• Lecco, Italy - since May 12, 1973
• Alcazar de San Juan, Spain - since March 15, 1980
• Eger, Hungary - since May 11, 1985
• Pori, Finland - since May 11, 1990
• Santo Tirso, Portugal - since June 20, 1992

See also

• Ancient Diocese of Mâcon
• Burgundy wine

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Mâcon

• City council website and mirror site (in French)
• Tourist office website
• Virtual visit
• Mâcon library (in French)

v • d • e  Préfectures of départements of France Bourg-en-Bresse (Ain) • Laon (Aisne) • Moulins (Allier) • Digne-les-Bains (Alpes-de-Haute-Provence) • Gap (Hautes-Alpes) • Nice (Alpes-Maritimes) • Privas (Ardèche) • Charleville-Mézières (Ardennes) • Foix (Ariège) • Troyes (Aube) • Carcassonne (Aude) • Rodez (Aveyron) • Marseille (Bouches-du-Rhône) • Caen (Calvados) • Aurillac (Cantal) • Angoulême (Charente) • La Rochelle (Charente-Maritime) • Bourges (Cher) • Tulle (Corrèze) • Ajaccio (Corse-du-Sud) • Bastia (Haute-Corse) • Dijon (Côte-d'Or) • Saint-Brieuc (Côtes-d'Armor) • Guéret (Creuse) • Périgueux (Dordogne) • Besançon (Doubs) • Valence (Drôme) • Évreux (Eure) • Chartres (Eure-et-Loir) • Quimper (Finistère) • Nîmes (Gard) • Toulouse (Haute-Garonne) • Auch (Gers) • Bordeaux (Gironde) • Montpellier (Hérault) • Rennes (Ille-et-Vilaine) • Châteauroux (Indre) • Tours (Indre-et-Loire) • Grenoble (Isère) • Lons-le-Saunier (Jura) • Mont-de-Marsan (Landes) • Blois (Loir-et-Cher) • Saint-Étienne (Loire) • Le Puy-en-Velay (Haute-Loire) • Nantes (Loire-Atlantique) • Orléans (Loiret) • Cahors (Lot) • Agen (Lot-et-Garonne) • Mende (Lozère) • Angers (Maine-et-Loire) • Saint-Lô (Manche) • Châlons-en-Champagne (Marne) • Chaumont (Haute-Marne) - Laval (Mayenne) • Nancy (Meurthe-et-Moselle) • Bar-le-Duc (Meuse) • Vannes (Morbihan) • Metz (Moselle) • Nevers (Nièvre) • Lille (Nord) • Beauvais (Oise) • Alençon (Orne) • Arras (Pas-de-Calais) • Clermont-Ferrand (Puy-de-Dôme) • Pau (Pyrénées-Atlantiques) • Tarbes (Hautes-Pyrénées) • Perpignan (Pyrénées-Orientales) • Strasbourg (Bas-Rhin) • Colmar (Haut-Rhin) • Lyon (Rhône) • Vesoul (Haute-Saône) • Mâcon (Saône-et-Loire) • Le Mans (Sarthe) • Chambéry (Savoie) • Annecy (Haute-Savoie) • Paris (Paris) • Rouen (Seine-Maritime) • Melun (Seine-et-Marne) • Versailles (Yvelines) • Niort (Deux-Sèvres) • Amiens (Somme) • Albi (Tarn) • Montauban (Tarn-et-Garonne) • Toulon (Var) • Avignon (Vaucluse) • La Roche-sur-Yon (Vendée) • Poitiers (Vienne) • Limoges (Haute-Vienne) • Épinal (Vosges) • Auxerre (Yonne) • Belfort (Territoire de Belfort) • Évry (Essonne) • Nanterre (Hauts-de-Seine) • Bobigny (Seine-Saint-Denis) • Créteil (Val-de-Marne) • Cergy (Val-d'Oise) Overseas departments Cayenne (French Guiana) • Basse-Terre (Guadeloupe) • Fort-de-France (Martinique) • Saint-Denis (Réunion)