Grenoble

Grenoble [gʁəˈnɔbl] is a city in southeastern France, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, capital of the Isère department and known as the capital of the French Alps. With 159 855 inhabitants it is the center of an urban agglomeration of 664 832 inhabitants, the second in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region after Lyon.

The history of the city spans a period of more than 2,000 years. Grenoble was from the XI century the capital of Dauphiné. During the 19th and 20th centuries experienced a period of great economic expansion, represented in the celebration of the X Winter Olympic Games in 1968. It is currently an important scientific and technological center in Europe. It is also home to institutions of national recognition, such as the Grenoble Museum.

Geography

Location

Grenoble is located roughly in the center of the French Alps, between the Vercors massif (to the southwest), Belledonne (to the east) and Chartreuse (to the north).

Built at the confluence of the Isère and Drac rivers, on a large plain at an average height of 214 meters. The city is dominated by the Bastille, an ancient defensive fortress located 476 meters, accessible by the Grenoble Bastille Cable Car from the city center.

Climatology

The climate of Grenoble and its agglomeration is somewhat atypical, with one of the highest temperature variations in France. In winter the temperature can be quite low (usually -5º minimum) and in summer the city suffers some of the highest temperatures in the country (up to more than 32º). The surrounding mountains form a large depression in which the Foehn effect is common in summer.

Average weather parameters of Grenoble-St Geoirs (1981–2010)
Month	Ene.	Feb.	Mar.	Open up.	May.	Jun.	Jul.	Ago.	Sep.	Oct.	Nov.	Dec.	Annual
Temp. max. abs. (°C)	17.3	20.7	25.3	28.0	31.3	37.0	38.3	39.5	33.6	28.1	24.8	19.5	39.5
Average temperature (°C)	5.9	7.8	12.0	15.3	19.9	23.8	26.9	26.4	21.8	16.9	10.2	6.4	16.2
Temp. medium (°C)	-1.2	-0.4	2.0	4.4	8.9	12.0	14.2	14.0	10.9	7.8	2.7	-0.1	6.3
Temp. min. abs. (°C)	-27.1	-19.4	-18.2	-7.9	-2.3	2.1	4.8	3.8	-1.2	-5.3	-10.9	-20.2	-27.1
Total precipitation (mm)	61.3	51.6	66.3	83.0	104.1	75.2	59.3	67.2	105.7	105.8	87.7	67.1	934.3
Precipitation days (≥ 1 mm)	9.4	8.0	9.4	9.7	11.0	8.5	6.2	7.4	7.7	10.1	9.6	9.5	106.4
Days of snowfall (≥ 1 mm)	7.7	6.0	4.5	2.1	0.1	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.1	2.6	4.9	28.0
Hours of sun	95.0	111.7	169.8	183.0	219.2	255.4	289.8	255.5	193.1	137.5	84.5	71.6	2065.9
Relative humidity (%)	83	80	76	73	75	74	70	72	79	83	84	84	77.8
Source No. 1: Météo France
Source No. 2: Infoclimat.fr (humidity, snowy days 1961–1990)

History

The city of Grenoble has been known by other names over time, such as Cularo, a name collected in a letter from the year 43 B.C. C, and Gratianopolis, after 381 AD. C., when the emperor Graciano endowed the city with a bishopric. After the fall of the Roman Empire, the city was part of the first kingdom of Burgundy, until it was conquered by Clotario. Later it became the possession of the Counts of Vienne, in the Dauphiné (Dauphiné) region. Grenoble was the capital of this, which became a province of France from 1349, when the last count of Dauphine sold the county to France.

Day of the Texas (Museum of the French Revolution)

June 7, 1788, was a day of demonstrations and riots. It is known as the Day of the Tiles (Journée des tuiles), because the people threw tiles at the soldiers when the news broke of the dissolution of the Parliament of the Dauphiné province by King Louis XVI. Texas Day was followed by the July 21 meeting at Vizille, near Grenoble. This meeting is considered as a prelude to the French Revolution.

In 1925, Grenoble hosted an international exhibition on hydroelectric power and tourism, which attracted a million people for six months. During World War II, the city was occupied by the Italian army in 1942, and then by the German army in September 1943. It was liberated on August 22, 1944 by the United States Army. In 1956, the Commissariat for Atomic Energy was established in the former Grenoble artillery polygon. It hosted the 1968 Winter Olympic Games. On November 1, 1970, a fire in a nightclub caused the death of 144 young people in what was one of the most serious accidents in contemporary French history.

Administration

Grenoble is the bureau centralisateur of four cantons. It is part of the Grenoble-Alpes Métropole metropolis, which brings together 49 communes, with 443,000 inhabitants.

City Hall

The municipal council is made up of 59 councilors, elected by universal suffrage every six years. Since 2014, the mayor has been Éric Piolle (EELV).

Higher education

The Grenoble agglomeration is one of the largest centers of higher education in France, hosting more than 54,000 students, spread across three universities and numerous schools of engineers and grandes écoles.

Universities

Campus Building

• Grenoble Alpes University (UGA)

Higher education establishments

• Institut polytechnique de Grenoble (INPG)
• Institut d'études politiques de Grenoble
• École nationale supérieure d'architecture de Grenoble
• École supérieure d'informatique (Supinfo)
• École supérieure d'art de Grenoble
• Grenoble École de Management (GEM)
• Grenoble Universe Science Observatory

Demographics

Economy

Originally its economy was based on the manufacture of gloves. In the 19th century its economy diversified, including mining, cement, paper industry, hydroelectric power and metallurgy. Its international profile grew when it was chosen to host the Winter Olympic Games in 1968.

ESRF synchrotron

Today Grenoble is one of the main European cities in terms of high technology, especially bio and nanotechnologies; it is a center of chemical and electronic industries, nuclear research with new laboratories of the Atomic Energy Commission (CEA). It is also the second French scientific research center after Paris, with 21,000 researchers.

Glénat Editions SA is headquartered in Grenoble.

Research and high technology

Scientific research is of paramount importance to Grenoble. Eight national research organizations (CEA, CNRS, CEMAGREF, CEN, INRA, INRIA, INSERM), four international research centers (European Molecular Biology Laboratory, European Synchrotron Radiation Facility, ILL, IRAM) and three centers are established in the city. industrial technicians (CETIM, CSTB, CTP). Nanotechnology research has a European scale through the Minatec center. In addition, the universities and the INP Grenoble have numerous research laboratories.

Transportation and communications

Tram de Grenoble

Toyota i-Road on a street

Grenoble is accessible by plane from Grenoble-Isère Airport and also from the nearby airports of Lyon Saint-Exupéry and Geneva International Airport.

By rail the city is frequently connected by TGV with Paris, sometimes with a stop at the Lyon Saint-Exupéry airport TGV station and less frequently with other destinations in France such as Lille and Nantes. In addition, TER services continuously connect Grenoble with other cities in the region such as Chambery, Annecy, Valence, Lyon and Geneva.

Road connections to the north, west and south are good, via motorways. To the east, a motorway connects with the Alpine valleys and Italy.

The TAG urban transport network is made up of five tram lines and forty-six bus lines. In addition, thanks to the fact that the city is essentially flat, the use of both personal and rental bicycles is very common. In 2014, the city and the Toyota car brand offered to rent seventy electric vehicles (Toyota i-Road). Thirty electric charging stations are installed in the city.

Sports

Grenoble Foot 38 is the city's football club. It works in the second category of national football, Ligue 2. Its stadium is the Stade des Alpes with a capacity of more than 20,000 spectators.

Football Club de Grenoble Rugby is the rugby club in the Pro D2 league. Grenoble métropole hockey 38 is the ice hockey club in the Magnus league.

Twinned cities