Seyssel (Ain)
Seyssel is a commune in the French department of Ain, in the Rhône -Alpes. It is the capital of the canton of the arrondissement Belley Seyssel.
Geography
Seyssel is located on 258 m above sea level. Level, about 25 kilometers west of the town of Annecy (air line). The market town extends on the west bank of the Rhone River opposite of Seyssel in the Haute- Savoie, in the broad valley floor between the Grand Colombier in the west and the Montagne des Princes in the east.
The area of 2.40 square kilometers municipal area includes a portion of the Rhone Valley. The eastern boundary runs along the Rhône, which flows here in a wide Talniederung from north to south and narrows sharply in the range of Seyssel. Both below and above Seyssel the Rhône jammed ( Barrage de Seyssel ). From the course of the River Rhone, the municipality's area extends westward across the flat Talniederung and the adjacent slopes on a plateau that precedes the Jurafuß. Due to the short side valleys of the rivers Rhône this plateau is subdivided. With 332 m above sea level. M. is achieved the highest elevation of Seyssel here.
To Seyssel addition to the actual center also includes several hamlets settlements and farmsteads, including:
- Morez (310 m above sea level. M. ) in a Seitentälchen the Rhône
- Les Séchalets (280 m above sea level. M. ) on the western flank of the Rhône
Neighboring communities of Seyssel are Corbonod the west and north, the east, and Seyssel Anglefort in the south.
History
The area around Seyssel was already inhabited during the Roman period. Near the hamlet Vens east of the Rhone on the bottom of today's Seyssel (Haute- Savoie) there was the Gallo-Roman estate Condate. From this period, numerous wall foundations and the traces of a Roman road have been preserved.
For the first time the village is mentioned in 1096 under the name Saisel. Later, the names Saysel ( 1155 ), Saysellum ( 1273), Saxaillo ( 1282), Sayssel ( 1293 ) published, and in 1345 the present name is handed down Seyssel.
Since the 11th century Seyssel was under the Counts of Savoy, who founded a castle here. In the 13th century it received certain liberties and developed into a major port and trading center on the Rhône. With the construction of the first bridge at that time Seyssel became a regionally important market town. In 1601 came the western part of the town in France. The division of Seyssel was finally settled in 1760 by a treaty between France and Savoy. The smaller, located west of the Rhone part remained with France, while the eastern part came to Savoy.
Attractions
The church of Saint -François- de-Sales was consecrated in 1901. In Seyssel there was in the late Middle Ages, three monasteries, which are now, however, supplied secularized and other purposes. The Augustinian monastery (14th century) now houses a school, the Capuchin monastery was built in the 14th century in the former castle of the Counts of Savoy, and the Bernardine convent from the 17th century is now in private ownership. In the old town several houses from the 16th to 18th centuries have been preserved, including the House of François de Bonivard. On the suspension bridge built in 1838, connecting the two Seyssel, the monumental statue of Notre- Dame-du -Rhône. In 1987, a new bridge over the Rhône, south of Seyssel opened.
Population
With 933 inhabitants (as of 1 January 2011) Seyssel is one of the small communities of the department of Ain. After reaching a high of Population mid-1970s, a significant decrease was registered in the subsequent time period. In recent years, however, population growth was recorded again.
Economy and infrastructure
Seyssel has long been an embossed by agriculture and the retail community. In the vicinity of Seyssel there are larger wine regions. In the valley of the Rhone south of the village, a small commercial and industrial zone in which factories of various industries settled developed in recent decades. Many workers are also commuters who engage in the larger towns in the vicinity of their work.
The village region has a quite well developed. It lies on the road from Belley to Saint -Julien -en- Genevois. Other regional road links exist with Bellegarde- sur -Valserine, Rumilly and Aix -les- Bains. The nearest links to the A40 motorway is located at a distance of around 17 kilometers. Seyssel has a station on the railway line Lyon -Genève.