Mercury (Savoie)

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Mercury
Mercury Coat of Arms
Mercury (France)
Mercury
region Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Department Savoie
Arrondissement Albertville
Canton Albertville-1
Community association Arlysere
Coordinates 45 ° 41 ′  N , 6 ° 20 ′  E Coordinates: 45 ° 41 ′  N , 6 ° 20 ′  E
height 359–2,040 m
surface 22.33 km 2
Residents 3,088 (January 1, 2017)
Population density 138 inhabitants / km 2
Post Code 73200
INSEE code 73154
Website www.mairie-mercury.com

View of Mercury with the church

Mercury is a French commune with 3,088 inhabitants (as of January 1 2017) in the department of Savoie in the region of Auvergne Rhône-Alpes . It belongs to the canton of Albertville-1 in the Albertville arrondissement .

geography

location

Mercury is at 550  m near Albertville , 34 km east-northeast of the prefecture of Chambéry and 60 km south-southeast of the city of Geneva (both as the crow flies). The village extends in the north-west of the Savoie department, on the eastern flank of the Bauges massif and above the Isère river . Mercury is surrounded by the neighboring communities

topography

The area of ​​the 22.33 km 2 large municipal area includes the eastern and southern slopes of a ridge that extends on the eastern flank of the Bauges massif from the 2062  m high Dent de Cons in north-south direction to the 1841  m high La Belle Étoile moves. The watershed of this mountain range marks the north-western boundary of the municipality, so that the municipality floor near the Dent-de-Cons summit reaches its highest point at 2040  m . At the foot of this mountain range, the communal soil changes into a gently reliefed terrain, which is replaced a few kilometers further southeast by the flat alluvial plain of the Isère. Several small streams drain this area towards the Isère, of which the Ruisseau de Pottier in the northeast and the Ruisseau des Trois Nants in the southwest form the remaining municipal boundaries. The Ruisseau d'Évreux flows parallel to the foot of the mountain range and, with a small depression, separates the mountain range from a separate elevation, the 650  m high Colline de Château-Vieux above the Albertville valley plain. The municipality lies within the Regional Nature Park Massif des Bauges (French: Parc naturel régional du Massif des Bauges ).

The mountain flanks in particular are densely forested, so trees make up the largest proportion of land cover in the municipality with 52%. Another 26% is taken up by agricultural land, followed by 7% urban development and 7% rock formations.

Community structure

In addition to the historic center of Mercury and Chevron, the community includes many larger and smaller hamlet settlements and farms, including from northeast to southwest:

  • Chevronnet ( 565  m ) in the northeast at the intersection of the streets of Allondaz, Pallud, Albertville and Mercury,
  • La Frasse ( 630  m ) in the north at the foot of the Dent de Cons ,
  • Les Hérys ( 550  m ), Le Cruet ( 545  m ) and La Soffaz ( 586  m ) at the eastern foot of La Belle Étoile ,
  • Le Chosal ( 468  m ) and Le Villard ( 421  m ) on a slight elevation above the settlement area of ​​Albertville,
  • Charaville ( 414  m ) and Les François ( 394  m ) in the depression of the Ruisseau d'Évreux ,
  • La Forêt ( 420  m ) and Gémilly ( 488  m ) south of the town center.

history

The existence of the parish of Mercury has been documented since the High Middle Ages , when all parishes of the Tarentaise and the central Isèretal were first mentioned in 1170 , including an Ecclesia de Mercurio . Their name equality with the Roman god Mercurius is explained by the fact that it is very likely that there was originally a temple of Mercury nearby. In the 13th century the spelling Mercuriez was used, from the 18th century the double community Mercury et Gemily appeared . Until 1965 the parish was officially called Mercury-Gémilly .

The lands of the parish belonged to the possession of the Lords of Chevron, one of the four already in the early days of the House of Savoy existing Baronnien . The Chevron reign first appeared in the documents before the parish in 1132 as Cabridunum and in 1149 as Baronnia Chabriduni . The ending -dunum suggests a Celtic origin with the possible archetype Gabrodunum . A short time later, the form Chivron , which is more similar to the current name, was used (1216 and 1410).

Population development

1954 1962 1968 1975 1982 1990 1999 2006 2017
1263 1297 1370 1620 2037 2154 2330 2649 3088

With 3,088 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2017), Mercury is one of the medium-sized communities in the Savoie department. After the population declined in the first decades of the 20th century (1 511 inhabitants were counted in 1901), a population increase has been recorded again since the mid-1930s, which continues to this day. The locals of Mercury are called Chevronnais (es) in French .

Attractions

Chevron Castle
  • neo-Romanesque church of the chair of St. Peter ( Église de la Chaire-de-Saint-Pierre ) from 1834
  • Chevron Castle, castle complex from 1355, alterations from the 17th century, monument historique since 1982 and now privately owned. It replaced the recently burnt down castle complex on the opposite elevation, Colline de Château-Vieux .
  • Fort Tamié, fortress from 1876

Personalities

  • Nikolaus II. (990 / 995–1061), Pope, probably born at Chevron Castle
  • Jean-Baptiste Miège (English: John Baptist Miège , 1815-1884), Bishop of Messina and Apostolic Vicar in Kansas and the Indian territories

Economy and Infrastructure

Mercury is still a predominantly wine-growing and agricultural village, the pastures of which are used for livestock farming . In addition, fruit growing determines the landscape. Today there are also numerous local small businesses. In the meantime, the village has also developed into a residential community, so that the need for settlement space has led to a decline in agriculture. Many workers are commuters who go to work in the larger towns in the area, especially in the Albertville area.

The village is located away from the major thoroughfares in a network of departmental roads that connect the various hamlets with the neighboring villages. The D104 rises from the town center to the 958  m high Col de Tamié and allows access to the interior of the Bauges massif. In the neighboring village of Gilly there is access to the Tarentaise via Route nationale 90 and a connection to the regional motorway network via the A430 motorway. The Saint-Pierre-d'Albigny – Bourg-Saint-Maurice railway runs through the Isère Valley and has a larger train station in Albertville. The airports in the region are Chambéry-Savoie (63 km away) and Geneva (90 km).

education

Mercury has a state pre-school ( école maternelle ) and two primary schools ( école primaire ).

Web links

Commons : Mercury  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ 2006 data from CORINE Land Cover , available e.g. B. at www.statistiques.developpement-durable.gouv.fr ( Memento of the original from March 24, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.statistiques.developpement-durable.gouv.fr
  2. ^ JJ Vernier: Dictionnaire topographique du département de la Savoie . Imprimerie Savoisienne, 1896, p. 315, 498 (French, online on BNF [accessed January 19, 2014]).
  3. ↑ a b Mercury - notice communale. In: cassini.ehess.fr. Retrieved on May 14, 2015 (French, INSEE population from 1968 ).
  4. ↑ A. Gros: Dictionnaire étymologique des noms de lieu de la Savoie . Belley, Imprimerie Aimé Chaduc, 1937, p. 122 f . (French, limited preview in Google Book Search).
  5. ↑ French Statistics Institute ( www.insee.fr )
  6. ↑ Château de Chevron in the Base Mérimée of the French Ministry of Culture (French)
  7. ^ Complete dossier on Mercury. In: INSEE . Retrieved May 14, 2015 (French).