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Guilherand-Granges (Municipality, Ardèche, France)

Last modified: 2012-12-22 by ivan sache
Keywords: ardeche | guilherand-granges |
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[Flag of Guilherand-Granges]

Flag of Guilherand-Granges - Image by Olivier Touzeau, 2 September 2011


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Presentation of Guilherand-Granges

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


Flag of Guilherand-Granges

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