Grenoble (Arpitan: Grasanòbol) is a city and commune in south-east France, situated at the foot of the Alps, at the confluence of the Drac into the Isère River. Located in the Rhône-Alpes région, Grenoble is the préfecture (capital) of the département of Isère. Population of the city (commune) of Grenoble at the 1999 census was 153,317 inhabitants (157,900 inhabitants as of February 2004 estimates). Population of the whole metropolitan area (in French: aire urbaine) at the 1999 census was 514,559 inhabitants.
GeographyGrenoble is surrounded by mountains: to the north the Chartreuse, to the west the Vercors, and to the east the Belledonne range. As such, it is often visited by the Tour de France and is often called the 'capital of the Alps'. The city is mainly built on the alluvial plain of the river Isere, at an altitude of around 214 meters. Mountain sports give to the city an important touristic interest: twenty ski stations surround the city (the nearest being Le Sappey-en-Chartreuse), some 15 minutes drive away.
The city sits in a valley bottom, with serious issues of air quality due to the large number of cars, garbage burning plants, chemical plants, paper mills and even nuclear test labs. Radiation detectors can be observed at regular intervals along the Drac river.
Historically both Grenoble and the surrounding areas were the site of mining and heavy industry. Abandoned mills and factories can be found in even the smallest villages.
The trash burning plant in Meylan, one of the city's most prosperous areas, is currently being investigated for polluting the environment with Dioxin. A similar plant in Savoie was found to have been doing just that after decades of cover-ups.
The Vercors Plateau continues to be contaminated by fallout from Chernobyl.
Grenoble may be accessed by plane from Saint-Exupéry International Airport, Lyon (circa 1 hour), Geneva Cointrin International Airport (circa 90 minutes) or Saint-Geoirs Airport (circa 30 min). Daily direct flights from Luton, Gatwick (easyJet), Stansted (Ryanair) ; Weekly flights from Warsaw (Centralwings) ; Flights from Gatwick (British Airways), Bristol (easyJet), Stockholm (FlyNordic) to Grenoble. It is roughly 3 hours by train on the TGV from Paris Gare de Lyon. Within Grenoble there is a comprehensive bus and tram service, run by Semitag. There are 26 bus lines and 3 tram lines, serving all of greater Grenoble.
The city center is famous for its complex one way system, the grid-lock of which adds to the local air pollution. The motorway system into the city is particularly poorly designed, often leading to tailbacks miles long. In summer, pollution alerts further increase congestion by reducing speed limits.
Main sights La BastilleThe Bastille, an ancient series of fortifications, sits on the mountainside overlooking Grenoble, and is visible from all over the city at distance. The Bastille is one of Grenoble's most visited tourist attractions, and is a good vantage point for viewing the town below and the surrounding mountains.
Although the Bastille was begun in the Middle Ages, later years saw extensive additions including a semi-underground defense network. The Bastille has been credited as the most extensive example of 19th century fortifications in all of France, and held an important strategic point on the Alpine frontier.
Since 1934, the Bastille has been the destination of what locals call a 'téléphérique', a system of egg-shaped cable cars ('Les Bulles') that provide riders with an excellent view over the Isère River.
Alternatively, many locals do their 'footing' or morning jogs up the mountain. Though for those who would opt for the 'Bulles', a round trip costs €5.95.
Education and research in the city Secondary levelThe presence of a large international community through both foreign students and foreign researchers has prompted the creation of an international school more than a decade ago: the CSI Europole formerly situated downtown in the Lycée International Stendhal, across from the Maison du Tourisme. Since 2003 the CSI has moved to the CSI Europole, near the train station. Originally only four language sections were available: German, Spanish, Italian and English but it also has a Portuguese and an Arabic section. It is now one of France's best secondary education centers.
University levelBy three Bulls of 12 May, 27 May, and 30 September 1339 the University of Grenoble was founded by Pope Benedict XII.
On 25 July 1339, the Dauphin Humbert II (the counts of Dauphiné bore the title of Dauphin) drew up a charter of the privileges granted to the students at Grenoble, promulgated measures to attract them, and stipulated that the university should give instruction in civil and canon law, medicine, and the arts.
A curious ordinance issued 10 May 1340 by Humbert II commanded the destruction of all the forges in the vicinity of Grenoble lest they should produce an irreparable famine of wood and charcoal. Humbert may have wished that life should be frugal where university was established. Finally on 1 August 1340, he declared that the superior court of justice of Dauphiné (conseil delphinal), which he removed from Saint-Marcellin to Grenoble, should be composed of seven counsellors, four whom might be chosen from among the professors at Grenoble. Humbert's projects do not appear to have been completely realized. The university lacked resources, indeed arts and medicine were not taught, and even the chairs of law seem scarcely to have survived the reign of Humbert II. At all events, when Louis XI created the University of Valence in 1452, he declared that no institution of the kind existed at that time in Dauphiné.
This first attempt at a university had foundered, but it was re-established on sound footing in 1542 by Francois de Bourbon, Count of Saint-Pol, great-uncle of Henry IV of France, and the royal governor of the Dauphiné province. The Italian jurist Gribaldi, the Portuguese jurist Govea, and the French jurist Pierre Lorioz, called Petrus Orioli (Pierre de Loriol)of a family originally of Pernes Les Fontaines, attracted many students thither, but the orthodoxy of these professors was suspected. This was one of the reasons which, in April, 1565, led Charles IX of France to unite the University of Grenoble to that of Valence, for which in 1567 Bishop Montluc, well known as a diplomat and powerful at court, was able to obtain the noted jurist Cujas. The citizens of Grenoble protested and sent delegates to Paris, but the edict of union between the universities was strengthened by the circumstance that at the very time when Charles IX published his edict, Govea and Loriol were compelled to institute a suite against the town of Grenoble in order to secure the payment of their arrears of salary.
Equally ineffectual were the efforts for the renewal of the university frequently made by the town in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Napoleon I, on 1 November, 1805, re-established the faculty of law of Grenoble. Since 1896 the different faculties of Grenoble form the University of Grenoble.
It is worth mentioning that under the current system there is little filtering of University entrance. Consequently there are enormous drop out rates in the first and second years. The schools where filtering is applied are called Grandes Écoles, the graduates of which retain most of the top positions in French Society.
Grenoble is now a major scientific center, especially in the fields of physics, computer science and applied mathematics: Joseph Fourier University (UJF) is one of the leading French scientific universities while Grenoble Institute of Technology (INPG) trains each year more than 1,000 engineers in high-tech areas. In fact, many fundamental and applied scientific research laboratories are conjointly managed by Joseph Fourier University, Grenoble Institute of Technology and the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS). Numerous other scientific laboratories are managed solely or in collaboration by CNRS and the French National Institute for Research in Computer Science and Control (INRIA).
In or near the city also include the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF), the Institut Laue-Langevin (ILL) and one of the Commissariat à l'Énergie Atomique (CEA) main research facility.
The recent development of Minatec, a centre for innovation in micro & nanotechnology only increases the position of Grenoble as one of the European scientific centers.
An IEP is located here, the Institut d'études politiques de Grenoble, as well as an internationally ranked business school, the Grenoble École de Management (Grenoble-EM).
MiscellaneousGrenoble was the birthplace of:
