Last modified: 2012-12-22 by ivan sache
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Flag of Guilherand-Granges - Image by Olivier Touzeau, 2 September 2011
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The municipality of Guilherand-Granges (10,893 inhabitants in 2009, therefore the 3rd most populated town in the department of Ardèche; 655 ha) is located west of Valence, across river Rhône.
The two settlements of Guilherand and Granges emerged in the 13th
century.
Guilherand was mentioned for the first time, as Guillaran, in 1214.
The village was subsequently known as Sancta Eulalia (1275), for its
patron saint, and Guilharandus (1431). This was a rural village, while
Granges, whose name appears fixed in the 18th century as Les Granges
(The Barns), was a place of trade located on the bank of the Rhône,
close to the bridge leading to Valence. Accordingly, the village,
renamed Granges-ls-Valence (near Valence) grown bigger than
Guilherand in the 20th century. Originally known as Guilherand, the
municipality was renamed Guilherand-Granges by Decree of 13 December
1991, published on 19 December 1991 in the French official gazette.
The ruins of the castle of Crussol, located on the territory of the
neighbouring municipality of Saint-Péray, were purchased in 1984 by the municipality of Guilherand-Granges from the Duchess of Uzès. Built in the 11th century on a rocky spur watching the valley of Rhône, the citadel was ruined by the Protestants in 1574 and rebuilt short after.
Fiercely disputed by the Catholic and Protestant bands, the castle was
burned down on 2 February 1580. To prevent its further use as a
military stronghold, the King of France ordered in 1622 to demolish
the castle.
The restoration of the ruins started in 1997. The foundations of the
87 houses build inside the citadel in the 12th century have been
excavated.
Source: Municipal website
Ivan Sache, 19 June 2012
The flag of Guilherand-Granges (photo, May 2011) is white with the logo of the
municipality in the middle.
The logo features a green "G", probably borrowed from the municipal
arms, "Or two 'Gs' vert affronty", a blue stripe symbolizing the Rhône and a yellow-orange disk, probably representing both the sun and the geographical location of the town. The name of the town is written in blue capital letters under the emblem, with the motto "ma ville" ("my
town") in green cursive letters.
Ivan Sache, 19 June 2012