Bourg de Péage

Geography

Bourg-de-Péage is located 20 kilometres (12 mi) from Valence, prefecture of Drôme, 82 kilometres (51 mi) away from Lyon, 195 kilometres (121 mi) from Marseille and 473 kilometres (294 mi) from Paris.

Hydrography

Bourg-de-Péage is separated from its sister town of Romans-sur-Isère by the Isère River.

Road network

Bourg de Péage is accessible from several autoroutes: A7 autoroute,  14  and  15 ; A49 autoroute,  6 , as well as several secondary roads: N532/E713 in the direction of Grenoble -  6 , Romans-west/Bourg-de-Péage, D538 in the direction of Bourg-de-Péage.

Railway network

The commune has access to two stations: The Gare de Romans - Bourg-de-Péage, as well as by the TGV Valence-Rhone-Alps-South.

Air

The nearest three airports are: Lyon–Saint-Exupéry Airport (1 hour 20 mins by car), the Grenoble–Isère Airport (55 min by car), Valence-Chabeuil Airport: (15 min by car).

Public transport

The commune of Bourg-de-Péage is served by the Citéa bus network.

History

The development of the town was due to the presence of a bridge, across the Isère, built by the monks of the Abbey Saint Bernard of Vienne, in 1033. They perceived a right of passage of this bridge. If the inhabitants of the jurisdiction of the current canton were exempt, with the exception of the days of major fairs, foreigners were however taxed at a premium. Similarly, the Isère boatmen had to pay a tribute for their oars. This activity didn't slow the settlement of the habitat, and the hamlet of Pizançon (commune of Chatuzange-le-Goubet), which originally stood at the end of the bridge, saw its population grow rapidly.

Since the Middle Ages, the stone bridge was lined with three buildings: At the south stood a tower with a door at the base, near which stood the pontoneer's house; in the north a chapel, known as Notre-Dame-du-Pont, and a small hospital then faced on each side of the roadway. The bridge was repeatedly damaged by the violent floods of the Isère. The tower, which proudly displayed the arms of the town of Romans and the Dauphiné, disappeared in the 17th century. On several occasions, destroyed arch bridges were replaced by wooden decks. In the 18th century work was undertaken for the reconstruction of the structure, completed in the century following its enlargement. However, the bridge would still endure fresh damage because on three occasions (in 1814, 1940 and 1944) its second arch was destroyed. When peace returned, it still retained the scar.

If Romans had acquired a great reputation with luxury shoe, Bourg-de-Péage owes its own to felt hats. Succeeding a solid tradition of hosiery under the Ancien Régime, mainly manufacturing women's underwear, felt headwear was introduced around 1810 by workers from Cognin in Isère. In 1811, three workshops were reported, and half a century later, this activity employed more than 400 workers divided into 16 workshops.

The felt was obtained from domestic rabbit hair, which was the subject of many processes, carried out by workers in difficult conditions of humidity, such as blowing or fulling. In the surrounding countryside, there were many workers collecting rabbit hair, and their activity was sometimes perpetuated in the name of localities. However, the installation of the railway line to Romans in 1864 put an end to the local origin of the raw material, since cheaper Australian rabbit hair was then preferred.

These imports thus caused hundreds of job losses in the countryside.

In 1883, an unprecedented crisis occurred for milliners due to the protectionist attitude of some countries where production flowed. The difficulties overcome, the activity grew further still until 1929 when it reached its apogee. At that time, the Mossant business, which was the pioneer of péageoise millinery, employed more than 1,200 workers, and many other workshops produced alongside the quality headwear of Mossant.

However, from 1930, the fashion of "bare heads" and the lack of exports caused a rapid decline of the headwear, although some workshops continued to operate until 1985.

Political trends and results

2014 municipal elections in Drôme

Twin towns

Bourg-de-Péage is twinned with:

Demography

In 2012, the commune had 10,169 inhabitants. The evolution of the number of inhabitants is known through the population censuses carried out in the town since 1793. From the 21st century, the communes with more than 10,000 inhabitants have a census take place every year as a result of a sample survey, unlike the other communes which have a real census every five years.

Education

Bourg-de-Péage depends on the Academy of Grenoble. The commune has several schools: Three kindergartens and four primary schools, including one private; two collèges, with one private. A school bus route was implemented by the municipality, for the schoolchildren of the commune.

Worship

The parish of Sainte Claire in Dauphiné includes the Catholic communities of Romans-sur-Isère, Bourg-de-Péage, Pizançon and Granges-lès-Beaumont.

Sport

Cultural events and festivities

The Rendez-vous de la magie:

Street entertainments, introductory workshops, amateur competition of magic, entertainments in schools and public places, etc.: For one week, it is the entire city which lives to the rhythm of the magic. The festival closes in beauty with the organization of three evenings, hosted by professional magicians of international scope, bringing together more than 1,500 spectators.

The Salon des picturales:

The pictorial exhibition gathers approximately 130 artists or enthusiasts. They can share their experiences and their achievements without ulterior motives. Here, there is no competition, selection or award: This was the guideline desired by its initiator, the painter Pierre Palué. Since 1975, the pictorial constitutes a meeting which is still highly anticipated by art lovers. This Péageois exhibition represents a unique opportunity to discover or rediscover the artistic talent within the territory. Thus, each month of October, during the 10 days of the pictorial, over 1,500 visitors come to admire the works on display.

Businesses and shops

The Pascalis bakery is the oldest bakery in Bourg-de-Péage and dates from the 19th century. Its speciality is the famous pogne of Romans.

Places and monuments

Personalities linked to the commune

Specialities