Cluses | |
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Coordinates: 46°03′40″N6°34′46″E / 46.0611°N 6.5794°E | |
Country | France |
Region | Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes |
Department | Haute-Savoie |
Arrondissement | Bonneville |
Canton | Cluses |
Government | |
• Mayor (2020–2026) | Jean-Philippe Mas [1] |
Area 1 | 10.45 km2 (4.03 sq mi) |
Population (2021) [2] | 17,164 |
• Density | 1,600/km2 (4,300/sq mi) |
Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
INSEE/Postal code | 74081 /74300 |
Elevation | 470–1,175 m (1,542–3,855 ft) (avg. 485 m or 1,591 ft) |
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. |
Cluses (French pronunciation: [klyz] ; Arpitan : Clluses) is a commune in the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in southeastern France.
Citizens are known as Clusiens. The commune is situated in the Arve Valley, on the river which bears the same name. Cluses is known for its Alpine setting and (during the first part of the 20th century) its watch-making industry.
The town is located in the Arve Valley, in the region Faucigny. Situated between Geneva and Chamonix, Cluses is located near a number of popular ski slopes.
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Source: EHESS [3] and INSEE (1968-2017) [4] |
During the Roman era, a bridge, Pont Vieux was built across the Arve River. Travelers crossing the bridge soon stimulated trade in the area, and the first village was born at the center of the "cluse" (a narrow valley), situated between the mountains and the Arve River. Cluses became an independent commune on 4 May 1310. The Baron Hughes of Faucigny had an important role in the town's evolution as an independent commune.
In 1720, Claude-Joseph Balladoud introduced clockmaking in the Arve Valley, previously a farming community. Soon, family-owned workrooms and cottage industries emerged, supplying the main clock-making centres of Geneva. In 1848, the "École Royale d'Horlogerie" (Royal school of clockmaking) was created, and precision clock manufacturing in the Arve Valley soon became a mainstay of the town.
On 20 June 1844 all of the town's wooden chalet-style buildings were destroyed in a fire. The town was rebuilt with new architecture in the style of Turin, Italy (which was the capital of Sardinia-Savoy at the time). This style is still represented in Cluses today, making the city particularly noteworthy in the region Haute-Savoie.
At the beginning of the 20th century, farming was still the most important commercial actitivity in Cluses, but eventually the watch and clock-making industries emerged as the dominant trade, and Cluses' reputation in the field soon attracted other precision manufacturing industries. For many years Cluses served as the location of the factory and headquarters of the famous Mitchell Reel company, who in 1948 introduced the world's first modern spinning reel for sportfishing. In 1984, after building nearly 25 million fishing reels, low-cost labor competition from Asia forced the company to manufacture its products outside France. The company still exists however, and its corporate headquarters are now located in the nearby community of Marignier, France.
Today, Cluses is a favorite tourist and winter sports destination. Watchmaking now accounts for only a small part of Cluses' industry, though the town continues to serve as a high-tech centre for precision engineering and design of advanced technical products. Somfy S.A., a manufacturer of controls and motors for awnings, roller shutters, window coverings, and projection screens, is the largest company still located in the city.
The commune has a railway station, Cluses, on the La Roche-sur-Foron–Saint-Gervais-les-Bains-Le Fayet line.
Sardagne, Centre-ville (downtown), Messy, the Ewües I and II, the Noiret, Marzan, Ponthior, Curzeilles, St Vincent, and Saint Nicolas.
Haute-Savoie is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of Southeastern France, bordering both Switzerland and Italy. Its prefecture is Annecy. To the north is Lake Geneva; to the south and southeast are Mont Blanc and the Aravis mountain range.
Faucigny is a commune in the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France.
The following is a list of the 279 communes of the French department of Haute-Savoie.
Annecy is the prefecture and largest city of the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of Southeastern France. It lies on the northern tip of Lake Annecy, 35 kilometres (22 mi) south of Geneva, Switzerland.
Annemasse is a commune in the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in Eastern France. Even though it covers a relatively small territory, it is Haute-Savoie's second most populous commune after the prefecture Annecy, with 36,250 residents as of 2018.
Ville-la-Grand is a commune in the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France. The commune consists of the main town Ville-la-Grand and the small villages Crêt and Marsaz.
Sallanches is a commune in the Haute-Savoie department of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of France. Located close to the Mont Blanc massif, many visitors pass through the town en route to well-known alpine resorts such as Chamonix, Megève and Saint-Gervais-les-Bains. In 2018, the commune had a population of 16,508, and its urban area had 46,128 inhabitants.
The arrondissement of Bonneville is an arrondissement of France in the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. It has 60 communes. Its population is 186,945 (2016), and its area is 1,558.2 km2 (601.6 sq mi).
Arâches-la-Frasse is commune in the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France.
The Arve Valley is an alpine valley located in the French Haute-Savoie department. The namesake of the valley is the river at the bottom: the Arve. The valley as a whole makes up the majority of Faucigny, one of the Natural Regions of France, and one of six that make up the Savoie region.
Sixt-Fer-à-Cheval is a commune in the Haute-Savoie department within the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in southeastern France. It is located at the end of the Giffre Valley.
Saint-Pierre-en-Faucigny is a commune in the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in Eastern France.
Étrembières is a commune in the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France.
Taninges is a commune in the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France.
Le Reposoir is a commune in the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France.
Entremont-le-Vieux is a commune in the Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in Southeastern France. In 2019, it had a population of 644.
The Albanais is a small Savoyard region situated between Lake Annecy and Lac du Bourget, at the entrance to the Parc naturel régional du Massif des Bauges. Located in the French departments of Savoie and Haute-Savoie, its principal city is Rumilly. The name Albanais comes from the Latin Albinnum, which is derived from the names of the tribes Albii whose presence is attested to in the toponymy of places such as Albens, Alby, and Albigny.
The canton of Bonneville is a canton in the central part of the Haute-Savoie department in Southeastern France. Its seat is Bonneville. Its borders were modified at the canton reorganisation that came into effect in March 2015. Since then, it elects two members of the Departmental Council of Haute-Savoie.
Pont Vieux is a bridge at Cluses, a commune in the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in southeastern France. It spans the river Arve.
The Route nationale 205 is a Route nationale of France that is located entirely within the Department of Haute-Savoie. It starts off from the France–Switzerland border in the commune of Gaillard which is adjacent to Geneva; and ends at Chamonix, at the French side of the Mont Blanc Tunnel. It is also nicknamed the Route blanche due to its snowiness, and shares the title with the A40 autoroute, also nicknamed the Autoroute blanche.