Intercommunality Creusot-Montceau INSEE/Postal code 71153 /71200 Local time Tuesday 4:10 AM | Time zone CET (UTC+1) Area 18.11 km² Population 23,793 (2007) | |
Region Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Weather 6°C, Wind N at 11 km/h, 82% Humidity Points of interest Château de la Verrerie, Chemin de Fer Creusot, Le Parc des Combes | ||
Le Creusot ([lə kʁøzo]) is a commune in the Saône-et-Loire department in the region of Bourgogne in eastern France.
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Map of 71200 Le Creusot, France
The inhabitants are known as Creusotins. Formerly a mining town, its economy is now dominated by metallurgical companies such as ArcelorMittal, Schneider Electric, and Alstom.
Since the 1990s, the town has been developing its tourism credentials. Its main attraction is the Parc des Combes. A replica of the Creusot steam hammer has been built as a tourist attraction in a square at the entrance to the town from the east.
Le Creusot is also the second educational centre of the Bourgogne (after Dijon), with its IUT and the Condorcet university centre.
History
In 1836, iron ore mines and forges around Le Creusot were bought by Adolphe Schneider and his brother Eugène Schneider. They developed a business in steel, railways, armaments, and shipbuilding. The Schneider empire developed much of the town itself, until it was much reduced in the second half of the twentieth century. It eventually became known as Schneider Electric. The special alloys for the TGV trains were manufactured in Le Creusot.
Transport
About 5 km (3.11 mi) south-east of town centre is the Gare du Creusot TGV, a train station on the LGV Sud-Est line, which links the area to Paris, Lyon and beyond with high-speed rail.
Sights
Personalities
Twin towns — Sister cities
Le Creusot is twinned with: