Pont-de-Cheruy, Isere, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France

Pont-de-Chéruy is a French commune located in the department of Isère in the region Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. Pont de Chéruy is a town in the north of Isère. Covering an area of 251 hectares, the town created in 1867, by imperial decree of Napoleon III. Member of the Lyon-Saint-Exupéry en Dauphiné community of municipalities, this municipality is one of the four central cities of the small urban unit of Charvieu-Chavagneux, in the eastern part of the Lyon urban area. The many services it offers to the population of the agglomeration make it an essential and very lively municipality. The proximity of Lyon-Saint-Exupéry international airport (15 min) gives the image of a must-see city for the entire region.

Pont de Chéruy owes its name to the bridge spanning the river “La Bourbre”, the driving force of which is at the origin of industrial and agricultural activities (wire drawing, weaving). The town is located on one of the three routes taken by pilgrims to get to Saint Jacques de Compostel. Charged with History, it keeps testimonies of its past. The river “Bourbre” offers a natural asset to the city, a pleasant place to walk along the banks and is a site particularly appreciated by anglers.

History
The heart of the village was located in the hamlet of Constantin. There were then 805 inhabitants.

Antiquity
A wooden toll bridge and a fortress were first built by the Romans. They were located at the crossroads of three ancient routes: Via publica Vetus or Strata Lugduni from Lyon to Geneva, Via publica or Strata Sancti Ecegendi from Vienne (Isère) to Saint-Claude (Jura) and a route from Trévoux to Aosta via Crémieu. There are remains from this period, including the bases of a small amphitheater and dwellings.

Middle Ages
With the fall of the Roman Empire, the Franks took control of the province. In the Middle Ages, a hospital was built by the Hospitallers of Malta.

Pons Charizii is on an ancient Latin map that is located at Verna Castle.

Its inhabitants knew the eventful history of Chavanoz, passing from the counts of Forez to the archbishopric of Lyon (1173) then to a baron of La Tour-du-Pin who ceded them to the lords of Anthon from 1316 to 1704 (houses of ‘Anthon, from Geneva, from Saluces, from Barthenay).

The bridge saw passing in 1430 the armies of the Prince of Orange Louis I rout after the battle of Anthon, those of the Baron of Adrets in 1562, of Lesdiguieres in 1589, then a few weeks later those of the Duke of Savoy. In 1564, Catherine de Médicis and Charles IX fleeing the plague which ravaged Lyon crossed the bridge to go to Crémieu.

Modern and contemporary
In 1704, Chavanoz became an independent seigneury; the first municipal election took place in Chavanoz onNovember 13, 1790. The bridge is often subjected to the rushing waves of the river it crossed. It was rebuilt in wood in 1689, then in stone in 1729 for the sum of 12,000 pounds. A flood destroyed it in 1856 then was replaced in 1864 by a wooden footbridge. A few years later, a new stone bridge replaced it at the current location.

PM Bourrit, a Protestant pastor, recounts his visit to “Pont de Chéry” in 1807: “… the approach is charming, its houses partly hidden by a wood of poplars and varnishes (alders) seem prettier. We cross the bridge over the Bourbre and arrive in a fairly large square, barred at sunset by trees and the river which turns the mills. We often see fleets of little ducks playing on silvery waves… ”

In 1861, Baron Raverat wrote: “very pretty village, with well cultivated surroundings. Pontchéry is full of life, thanks to a small river on which a large number of mills are established… ”

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After the destruction of the bridge and the construction of a temporary footbridge, the inhabitants of the Hameau du Constantine began to ask for the creation of an independent municipality. A petition was signed and addressed to the prefect in 1856.

The birth of the new commune is decided by an imperial decree of Napoleon III of July 24, 1867 by dismemberment of Tignieu-Jameyzieu, Chavanoz and Charvieu despite certain reactions from them. However, oddly enough, the population of Charvieu increased considerably between the censuses of 1866 and 1872.

It was definitively recognized as a municipality in the canton of Meyzieu on October 18, 1868, day when the first municipal council was held. Around 1840, there were twenty factories on the Bourbre, including two factories for lines and straws out of the three existing in France. In 1824, Duchavany created the first gold or silver plated copper wire drawing (100 workers in 1850).

In 1849 Grammont built a workshop and steel rolling son (143 workers in 1881. In 1889, the company began producing electrical conductors. This attracted from the beginning of xx th century many foreign workers of various nationalities Pont-de-Chéruy and Charvieu then took the nickname of Tower of Babel in Isère.

The xx th century saw changes continue: shops, schools technical and general education, gym, retirement home, cinema, library, restaurants schools, nurseries and leisure areas.

The city will keep this population of the most cosmopolitan of the department: white Russians fleeing the revolution of 1917; Armenians survivors of the 1915 genocide, Greeks hostile to the dictatorship of Metaxàs, Italians, Poles, North Africans… its factories Tréfimétaux, Phœnix (manufactured rubber) and Gindre (wire drawing), being important sources of employment, as well as the nuclear power plants of Bugey, a few kilometers away.

Historical and cultural heritage
Different urban structures and monuments are part of the culture and heritage of Pont-de-Chéruy

Chateau Grammont
The municipal park and its castle provide a green and pleasant space for walkers and residents of the “La Résidence du Parc” housing center. It is the place where many events are organized by the various local associations but also a site appreciated by families and especially children who benefit from the presence of games.

Places and monuments
Sainte-Blandine parish church
Monument to the dead:
This monument to the dead, of classical style, is a commemorative pillar in the form of a quadrangular column surmounted by a rooster with open wings
Château Grammont and its park, property of the town hall.
Spanish statue “Creativity”

The market
The farmers’ market on Thursday at the usual times, on the market square. The Sunday morning market is open again. All the fairgrounds are present (fruits / vegetables / textiles…).

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