Charvieu

Sister cities

• Nole
• Korosten

History

Charvieu and Chavagneux were separate communities until the merge on 1 May 1961. Charvieu was originally known as Chalveu in the 13th century, derived from calvus, meaning "the bald". Chavagneux was originally known as Chavaigneu in the 11th century, derived from capannacum, a Gallo-Roman name derived from capanna, meaning "hut". The first human presence in Charvieu and Chavagneux were the Celts, who regularly passed through as shown by ancient roads. During the Middle Ages, pilgrims from the Provence and the Dauphiné on their way to see the relics of Saint Claude also travelled through the area, along where the churches of Charvieu and Chavagneux were built. Teamsters from the Provence and Languedoc often made use of the routes to circumvent customs checkpoints to reach Franche-Comté, Lorraine, Alsace, and Germany. Historically, French kings also travelled through Charvieu and Chavagneux to visit the Dauphiné. In early 1590, during the French Wars of Religion, a company of François de Bonne, Duke of Lesdiguières defeated a Lyonnais force between Charvieu and Pont de Chéruis. A rudimentary census of the commune was first held in 1646, by order of Dauphine de Roman as part of a parcellaire (cadastral survey), showing two-thirds of the population were peasants. The 1702 census through Crémieu authorities also noted that fog generated by the marshes of the Bourbre was negatively affecting the health of farmers, coupled with the widespread grain farming yielding little harvest. Shortly before the French Revolution the final Lord of Chavagneux and Charvieu was Dupont de Chavagneux. The communities were subsequently made part of the , within the short-lived Canton of Villette-d'Anthon. Amidst dechristianization efforts, Chavagneaux officials, including the mayor Doitier,…