Villeurbanne

Sister cities

• El Eulma
• Bat Yam
• Mahilyow
• Vilnius
• Abovyan
• Altenburg
• Khabarovsk
• Abanilla

History

The current location of downtown Villeurbanne is known to have been inhabited as far back as 6000 BC. Its current name comes from a Gallo-Roman farming area, established at about the same time as Lyon (then Lugdunum) and known as the Villa Urbana ("town house"). It would then become Urbanum, then Villa Urbane and, ultimately, Villeurbanne. Villeurbanne has belonged to the kingdom of France since 1349. It was then separated from La Guillotière (A former city lately incorporated into Lyon as the 3rd, 6th, 7th and 8th Arrondissement) by the river La Rize, a former branch of the Rhône River. Until the 19th century, the city was merely a patchwork of distinct villages separated by fields and undeveloped land. These villages have mostly survived, and nowadays form the neighborhoods of Charpennes, Cusset, Croix-Luizet, Maisons-Neuves, etc. With the industrial era, Villeurbanne's economy soared: the textile industry was the first to bloom, followed by mechanical and chemical ones. The factories lured in numerous immigrants, most notably from Italy. Transforming from a rural community to an industrial town, Villeurbanne underwent a tremendous demographic boom in the late 1920s. From 3,000 inhabitants in 1928, its population rocketed to 82,000 in 1931. Mayor Lazare Goujon (elected 1924) engaged the city in a vast public works initiative. Arguably the most visible heritage of this program is the , a housing complex made up of two Art Deco towers and annex smaller buildings, lining up along the Avenue Henri Barbusse. These structures built between 1924 and 1934 are the work of architect Môrice Leroux, with a contribution of Tony Garnier. They are one of the most notable Art Deco structures in France and the 19-story twin towers have become an emblem of the city. The Hôtel de…

Most-observed species

• Great Tit

  Parus major Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  5,151
• Eurasian Blackbird

  Turdus merula Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  4,898
• European Robin

  Erithacus rubecula (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  4,269
• Common Wood-Pigeon

  Columba palumbus Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  4,114
• Eurasian Magpie

  Pica pica (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  3,732
• Carrion Crow

  Corvus corone Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  3,681
• House Sparrow

  Passer domesticus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  3,603
• Eurasian Blue Tit

  Cyanistes caeruleus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  3,509

Most recent

• M 3.3 — 2025-05-06
  8 km W of Chapareillan, France
• M 3.4 — 2013-04-06
  1 km SSW of Poisy, France
• M 2.5 — 2008-06-02
  1 km W of Épagny, France
• M 2.5 — 2008-02-25
  1 km ESE of Domène, France
• M 3 — 2008-01-05
  2 km N of Saint-Quentin-Fallavier, France
• M 2.5 — 2007-10-18
  3 km SE of Arlanc, France