Bourg Saint Maurice

Bourg Saint Maurice (French pronunciation: [buʁ sɛ̃ mɔʁis, - moʁ-] ; Arpitan: Bôrg-Sant-Mori or simply Le Bôrg), popularly known as Bourg, is a commune in the Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France. Located on the Italian border south of Chamonix-Mont-Blanc, it had a population of 7,252 as of 2018. It serves as a transport hub for the Paradiski ski area, with direct rail travel from London and Amsterdam during the winter.

Bourg Saint Maurice
Bôrg-Sant-Mori (Arpitan)
A general view of Bourg Saint Maurice
A general view of Bourg Saint Maurice
Coat of arms of Bourg Saint Maurice
Location of Bourg Saint Maurice
Bourg Saint Maurice is located in France
Bourg Saint Maurice
Bourg Saint Maurice
Bourg Saint Maurice is located in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Bourg Saint Maurice
Bourg Saint Maurice
Coordinates: 45°37′03″N 6°46′10″E
CountryFrance
RegionAuvergne-Rhône-Alpes
DepartmentSavoie
ArrondissementAlbertville
CantonBourg Saint Maurice
Government
  Mayor (20202026) Guillaume Desrues[1]
Area
1
179.07 km2 (69.14 sq mi)
Population
 (Jan. 2020)[2]
7,160
  Density40/km2 (100/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
  Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code
73054 /73700
Elevation744–3,823 m (2,441–12,543 ft)
(avg. 815 m or 2,674 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

History

Bergintrum was a place on the Gallic side of the pass of the Alpes Graiae, lying on the road marked in the Antonine Itinerary between Mediolanum (modern Milan) and Vienna (modern Vienne, Isère). Jean-Baptiste Bourguignon d'Anville (Notice, etc.) placed it between Axima (modern Aime) and Alpis Graia. The distance from Bergintrum to Axima, marked viiii M. P. The Alpis Graia, is usually identified with a settlement at the watershed on the Pass of the Little Saint Bernard, which divides the waters that flow to the Isère on the French side from those that flow to the Dora Baltea on the Italian side. This is the place D'Anville calls L'Hôpital, on the authority of a manuscript map of the country. D'Anville first proposed the identification of Bergintrum with Bourg Saint Maurice; although he acknowledged that xii, the distance in the Table between Bergintrum and Alpis Graia, does not fit the distance between Bourg Saint Maurice and L'Hôpital, which is less. Modern scholarship confirms the identification.[3] In the course of the French Revolution, Bourg Saint Maurice was briefly renamed Nargue-Sarde between 1794 and 1815.

Geography

Arc en Ciel funicular railway

Located in the arrondissement of Albertville in the Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, Bourg Saint Maurice is the last town along the Tarentaise Valley in the heart of the French Alps.

Transport

TGVs at Bourg Saint Maurice railway station

Bourg-Saint-Maurice station is linked to the TGV network, and has services direct from London (Eurostar) and Amsterdam (Thalys) in the winter. The Arc en Ciel funicular railway links the town to the Arc 1600 ski area.

Climate

Located in the far east of France, Bourg Saint Maurice is right on the boundary between the warm-summer humid continental climate (Dfb) and the oceanic climate (Cfb) under the Köppen system. Winters are long, cold, with at least five months of below-freezing temperatures, especially at night. Summers are usually warm and stormy.

Climate data for Bourg Saint Maurice (1991−2020 normals, extremes 1946−present)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 16.0
(60.8)
21.5
(70.7)
25.6
(78.1)
28.6
(83.5)
33.8
(92.8)
37.6
(99.7)
38.4
(101.1)
37.4
(99.3)
33.1
(91.6)
28.7
(83.7)
23.5
(74.3)
17.6
(63.7)
38.4
(101.1)
Average high °C (°F) 5.7
(42.3)
7.8
(46.0)
12.8
(55.0)
16.2
(61.2)
20.4
(68.7)
24.5
(76.1)
26.7
(80.1)
26.4
(79.5)
21.9
(71.4)
16.9
(62.4)
10.2
(50.4)
5.7
(42.3)
16.3
(61.3)
Daily mean °C (°F) 1.2
(34.2)
2.5
(36.5)
6.7
(44.1)
10.1
(50.2)
14.2
(57.6)
17.8
(64.0)
19.8
(67.6)
19.5
(67.1)
15.6
(60.1)
11.3
(52.3)
5.6
(42.1)
1.7
(35.1)
10.5
(50.9)
Average low °C (°F) −3.2
(26.2)
−2.8
(27.0)
0.7
(33.3)
4.1
(39.4)
7.9
(46.2)
11.2
(52.2)
12.9
(55.2)
12.6
(54.7)
9.3
(48.7)
5.7
(42.3)
1.1
(34.0)
−2.2
(28.0)
4.8
(40.6)
Record low °C (°F) −21.3
(−6.3)
−19.6
(−3.3)
−15.1
(4.8)
−7.5
(18.5)
−2.3
(27.9)
0.4
(32.7)
2.9
(37.2)
2.9
(37.2)
−1.2
(29.8)
−6.0
(21.2)
−13.2
(8.2)
−18.1
(−0.6)
−21.3
(−6.3)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 100.8
(3.97)
75.9
(2.99)
73.8
(2.91)
57.3
(2.26)
83.2
(3.28)
82.0
(3.23)
81.2
(3.20)
78.4
(3.09)
67.7
(2.67)
77.7
(3.06)
83.9
(3.30)
113.7
(4.48)
975.6
(38.41)
Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm) 8.9 8.3 8.3 7.6 10.9 10.8 9.5 9.2 8.3 9.3 9.2 9.6 110.0
Mean monthly sunshine hours 109.6 122.0 169.5 176.3 200.0 226.0 249.4 231.6 188.9 142.5 99.2 93.9 2,008.8
Source: Météo-France[4]

Population

Historical population
YearPop.±% p.a.
19683,931    
19754,748+2.73%
19825,839+3.00%
19906,056+0.46%
19996,747+1.21%
20077,681+1.63%
20127,741+0.16%
20177,302−1.16%
Source: INSEE[5]

Landmarks

Ouvrage Chatelard is a lesser work (petit ouvrage) of the Maginot Line's Alpine extension, the Alpine Line, also known as the Little Maginot Line. Begun in 1938, the ouvrage consists of one infantry block about one kilometre north-east of the town, in the village of Le Chatelard. A short gallery with cross galleries extends into the rock, with an emergency exit and ventilation shaft halfway back. The ouvrage was incomplete in 1940, under the command of Sub-Lieutenant Bochaton.[6]

Religious sites

The Catholic church of St Maurice is on Grande Rue in the centre of town, the Protestant church is on Avenue Maréchal Leclerc to the south.

Economy

Bourg Saint Maurice provides accommodation and a transport hub for the Paradiski ski area.[7]

Notable people

The French ski mountaineer Bertrand Blanc was born in Bourg Saint Maurice on 29 October 1973. It is also the birthplace of French politician Hervé Gaymard (31 May 1960).

See also

References

  1. "Répertoire national des élus: les maires" (in French). data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises. 13 September 2022.
  2. "Populations légales 2020". The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 29 December 2022.
  3. Richard Talbert, Barrington Atlas of the Greek and Roman World, (ISBN 0-691-03169-X), Map 17.
  4. "Fiche Climatologique Statistiques 1991-2020 et records" (PDF) (in French). Météo-France. Retrieved 4 September 2022.
  5. Population en historique depuis 1968, INSEE
  6. Puelinckx, Jean; Aublet, Jean-Louis; Mainguin, Sylvie (2010). "Chatelard (po de)". Index de la Ligne Maginot (in French). fortiff.be. Retrieved 10 February 2010.
  7. "Bourg St Maurice skiing holidays | ski apartments". Peak Retreats.
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