Mâcon
Mâcon, historically anglicised as Mascon, is a city in east-central France. It is the prefecture of the department of Saône-et-Loire in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. Mâcon is home to near 34,000 residents, who are referred to in French as Mâconnais. The city gave its name to the nearby vineyards and wine AOC.
Geography
The city lies on the western bank of the river Saône, between Bresse in the east and the Beaujolais hills in the south. Mâcon is the southernmost city in the department of Saône-et-Loire and the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. It is north of Lyon and from Paris. The climate is temperate with a slight continental tendency.Climate
Mâcon features an oceanic climate, with warm summers, slightly too cool to be called humid subtropical. Winters are relatively cold by French standards, but milder and rainier than north of Mâcon. Most precipitation is in spring and autumn.History
Ancient and Medieval eras
The agglomeration of Mâcon originates from the establishment of an oppidum and of a river port by the Celts from the Aedui, probably at the beginning of the first century BC. Known then under the name of Matisco, the town developed significantly during the age of the Roman Empire. This is demonstrated by the large Roman hoard known as the Mâcon Treasure that was discovered in the town in 1764, the remains of which is in the British Museum. During the 4th century, the town was fortified.During the Middle Ages, Mâcon was the administrative center of a county belonging to the Duchy of Burgundy at the extremity of the bridge over the Saône leading to the Bresse territory belonging to the Duchy of Savoy. The town controlled access to present-day Lamartinien Valley, where the southern end of the Côte de Bourgogne joins the first foothills of the Beaujolais hills, opening the way to the rich plains of the Loire.
The town is strategically built: it was a possible entrance into the kingdom for the Swiss or German mercenaries during the French Wars of Religion. On 3 June 1564, Charles IX from Chalon, stopped in the town during his Royal Tour of France, accompanied by the Court and the nobles of his kingdom, including his brother the Duke of Anjou, Henry of Navarre, the cardinals of Bourbon and Lorraine. He was welcomed by the Queen Jeanne III of Navarre, nicknamed the "Queen of Protestants", and 1,500 Huguenots.
The Hôtel de Ville was completed in 1751.
Revolutionary and Imperial eras
On 21 October 1790, the matriarch of a prominent local family gave birth to a son who remains highly visible in his hometown, the Romantic poet and historian Alphonse de Lamartine.In 1790, the Revolutionary government designated Mâcon as the capital of Saône-et-Loire, a newly created département within the radical restructuring of national administration.
In 1814, the town was invaded by Austrian troops and then liberated twice by French troops before being permanently occupied until the fall of the Empire. After Napoléon's return and the subsequent Hundred Days, Mâcon and the Mâconnais were again captured by the Austrians.
Second World War
During World War II, Mâcon was the northernmost town in the unoccupied zone libre between Paris and Lyon. On 11 November 1942, following Operation Anton, nearly eight hundred German soldiers settled in the city after crossing the demarcation line. From that date onwards, the Resistance was present in Mâcon. In April 1944, Jewish doctor Léon Israël was assassinated by the Milice.The town was liberated on 4 September 1944 as part of Operation Dragoon by troops who had landed in Provence.
File:Quai Mâcon 04-2003.jpg|thumb|700px|center|Photograph of the city of Mâcon taken from Saint-Laurent-sur-Saône, on the other side of the Saône river
Sights
- The Old Saint-Vincent in the town centre
- Mâcon Cathedral in the town centre
- Museum of Fine Arts
- Hôtel de Senecé
- Saint-Clément Catholic Church in the district of Saint-Clément
- Church Saint-Pierre, Place Saint-Pierre, opposite the town hall
- The Municipal Olympic Pool of Mâcon
- The Maison des Vins or Maison Mâconnaise des Vins, on De-Lattre de Tassigny Avenue.
- The Quai Lamartine, the Vallon des Rigollettes, the Physical Activity Training Course and the Marina: many places suitable for walking and relaxing.
- The Theater of Mâcon close to the Maison des vins, Droits de l'Homme esplanade.
- Château Saint-Jean, in the old commune of Saint-Jean-le-Priche annexed to Mâcon in 1972
- Château des Perrières, on a hill overlooking the town
Parks and gardens
Transport
Mâcon is connected to neighbouring major cities through various routes:- Roads:
- * A6 motorway
- * A40 Motorway
- * A406 Motorway
- * Route nationale 6
- * RCEA which allows a direct traffic flow from Annemasse to Nantes or Bordeaux
- * The François Mitterrand Bridge is the second work of construction connecting Mâcon to the left bank of the Saône River
- Railway Infrastructures:
- * Gare de Mâcon Loché TGV
- * Gare de Mâcon-Ville
- River infrastructures:
- * The Saône river which allows access to the Mediterranean Sea via the Rhône River
Public transport
On the evening of 30 June 2009, the Mâcon Bus services ceased operation. This was due to the public service delegation contract between the SITUM and the Mâcon Bus company, operating the network since 1987, not being renewed at the last call for bids. So since 1 July 2009, the company CarPostal Mâcon has been providing city transport services on the network renamed Tréma.
The network Tréma, restructured on 31 August 2009, made the following bid:
- urban lines going through Mâcon, Crêches-sur-Saône, Sancé, Saint-Laurent-sur-Saône, central Charnay-lès-Mâcon and Mâcon Loché TGV train station on a regular basis.
- a transport service requested by TrémA'Fil to operate in the other communes of the SITUM area, to increase the frequency of the less busy regular lines and to offer a service for each city stop in the morning before the beginning of services for scheduled lines and in the evening after the end of the services.
- school lines named TrémA'Scol.
Air transport
The nearest airports are Lyon–Saint-Exupéry Airport, located south and Geneva Airport, located to the east of Mâcon.Administration
Mâcon is a member of the Mâconnais Beaujolais Agglomération, and also its seat.| Term | Name | Party | Position |
| March 1953 – March 1977 | Louis Escande | DVD | |
| March 1977– March 2001 | Michel Antoine Rognard | PS | |
| March 2001– | Jean-Patrick Courtois | UMP | Senator |
Education
Mâcon has five collèges and four lycées. These establishments are in the same area in the west of the city, with the exception of the collèges Schuman and Saint-Exupéry.- Collèges
- *Collège Louis Pasteur
- *Collège Bréart
- *Collège Schuman
- *Collège Saint-Exupéry
- *Collège Notre-Dame
- Lycées
- *Lycée Lamartine
- *Lycée René-Cassin
- *Lycée hôtelier Dumaine
- *Lycée Ozanam
Demography
The population data in the table and graph below refer to the commune of Mâcon proper, in its geography at the given years. The commune of Mâcon absorbed the former commune of Saint-Clément in 1856, Flacé-lès-Mâcon in 1964, Saint-Jean-le-Priche and Sennecé-lès-Mâcon in 1971 and Loché in 1972.
Associated districts and communes
Town centre
Mâcon's town center of extends from Place Gardon, in the north, to the Roundabout of Europe in the south, from Place de la Barre, in the west, to the banks along the Saône to the east.The quarters of the town's centre are varied:
- The center by the town hall is the town's shopping area. Most landmarks are in this conventional centre-ville including the Cathedral of Saint-Vincent, the Church of Saint Pierre and the town's two museums.
- The Saint-Antoine district is centred around the Place aux Herbes and the historic heart despite its relative distance from the town hall. This district covers the northern part of the town centre; it is crossed by the rue de Strasbourg and consists of narrow lanes. There is the prefecture of Saône-et-Loire and the old Saint-Vincent Cathedral.
- West lies the Square de la Paix, bordered by the Hôtel-Dieu, the Palais de Justice, Saint-Vincent Cathedral, plus the Vallon des Rigollettes and the Héritan district.