Balbigny
Encyclopedia
Balbigny is a commune
in the Loire
department in central France
.
During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, before the Loire was channelled, Balbigny was a village of boatmen, known for flat bottomed boats known as Rambertes which were used to transport the coal
mined at Saint-Étienne
. The loaded Rambertes arrived from Saint-Rambert
and stopped off at Balbigny where the boat crews were changed, taking the boats to the next change-over point at Roanne
. All this changed in August 1832 with the arrival of the third oldest railway line in France which connected Andrézieux-Bouthéon
with Roanne, passing Balbigny en route. An extension of the rail network in 1913 saw Balbigny connected with Saint-Germain-Laval
and Régny
. The coal was therefore transported by rail, but the railway also gave farmers in the district access to a wider range of markets for their produce.
The road bridge crossing the Loire was destroyed in 1940 in order to hold back advancing German troops, and a ferry service was introduced to permit the river to be crossed. The bridge was rebuilt in 1950 and continues in existence in 2010.
Communes of France
The commune is the lowest level of administrative division in the French Republic. French communes are roughly equivalent to incorporated municipalities or villages in the United States or Gemeinden in Germany...
in the Loire
Loire
Loire is an administrative department in the east-central part of France occupying the River Loire's upper reaches.-History:Loire was created in 1793 when after just 3½ years the young Rhône-et-Loire department was split into two. This was a response to counter-Revolutionary activities in Lyon...
department in central France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.
History
Balbigny owes its name to a Roman general named Balbinius who based himself here in order to conduct a war. Nothing survives from this period. The earliest identified traces of Balbigny date from 1090.During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, before the Loire was channelled, Balbigny was a village of boatmen, known for flat bottomed boats known as Rambertes which were used to transport the coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
mined at Saint-Étienne
Saint-Étienne
Saint-Étienne is a city in eastern central France. It is located in the Massif Central, southwest of Lyon in the Rhône-Alpes region, along the trunk road that connects Toulouse with Lyon...
. The loaded Rambertes arrived from Saint-Rambert
Saint-Just-Saint-Rambert
Saint-Just-Saint-Rambert is a commune in the Loire department in central France.-References:*...
and stopped off at Balbigny where the boat crews were changed, taking the boats to the next change-over point at Roanne
Roanne
Roanne is a commune in the Loire department in central France.It is located northwest of Lyon on the Loire River.-Economy:...
. All this changed in August 1832 with the arrival of the third oldest railway line in France which connected Andrézieux-Bouthéon
Andrézieux-Bouthéon
Andrézieux-Bouthéon is a commune of the Loire department in central France.-See also:* Saint-Étienne - Bouthéon Airport* Furan River* ASF Andrézieux* HEF Groupe*Communes of the Loire department...
with Roanne, passing Balbigny en route. An extension of the rail network in 1913 saw Balbigny connected with Saint-Germain-Laval
Saint-Germain-Laval, Loire
Saint-Germain-Laval is a commune in the Loire department in central France.The North American explorer Daniel Greysolon, Sieur du Lhut was born in Saint-Germain-Laval.-Geography:...
and Régny
Régny
Régny is a commune in the Loire department in central France....
. The coal was therefore transported by rail, but the railway also gave farmers in the district access to a wider range of markets for their produce.
The road bridge crossing the Loire was destroyed in 1940 in order to hold back advancing German troops, and a ferry service was introduced to permit the river to be crossed. The bridge was rebuilt in 1950 and continues in existence in 2010.
See also
- Communes of the Loire department