Fourchambault

Commune in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, France

Coat of arms

Location of Fourchambault

(2020–2026) Alain Herteloup^[1]Area

4.55 km² (1.76 sq mi)Population

(2021)^[2]

4,037 • Density890/km² (2,300/sq mi)Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET) • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)INSEE/Postal code

58117 /58600

Elevation162–181 m (531–594 ft)¹ French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Fourchambault (French pronunciation: [fuʁʃɑ̃bo]) is a commune in the Nièvre department in central France.^[3]

Geography

Fourchambault lies on the right, eastern bank of the river Loire, about 7 km northwest of Nevers. Fourchambault station has rail connections to Nevers, Cosne-sur-Loire and Paris. The A77 autoroute (Montargis–Nevers) passes east of the town.

Demographics

Historical population
Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1968	6,279	—
1975	6,625	+0.77%
1982	5,850	−1.76%
1990	5,037	−1.85%
1999	4,828	−0.47%
2007	4,711	−0.31%
2012	4,787	+0.32%
2017	4,229	−2.45%
Source: INSEE^[4]

Industrial history

In 1819 Boigues & Fils, iron merchant in Paris, and M. Labbé, decided to find a new site on the Loire for their iron foundry to which it would be easier to transport coal, and decided on Fourchambault. A dock was built for cargo boats, and the Loire provided water for the steam engines.^[5] Construction of the factory at Fourchambault began in 1821. The Charbonnières Raveaux and Cramain furnaces became annexes to the new building, and Boigues & Fils collected several furnaces from Nivernais and Berry. Manufacturing began in 1822. Almost 3,000 workers from the surrounding countryside were employed in the cast iron foundry.^[6]

The Société de Commentry, Fourchambault et Decazeville was formed in 1853 through a merger of the Fourchambault foundry, Imphy (Nièvre) steelworks, Montluçon (Allier) foundry and Commentry (Allier) colliery.^[7] In 1954 the company was renamed the Société métallurgique d'Imphy. In 1968 it was merged with the Société des forges et aciéries du Creusot, which in 1971 became Creusot-Loire.^[7] The combined company was in turn absorbed by Creusot-Loire (Saône-et-Loire) in 1971. The Creusot-Loire group was liquidated in December 1984.^[6]

References

^ "Répertoire national des élus: les maires". data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises (in French). 2 December 2020.
^ "Populations légales 2021". The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 28 December 2023.
^ INSEE commune file
^ Population en historique depuis 1968, INSEE
^ Dassé 2006, p. 2.
^ ^a ^b Dassé 2006, p. 3.
^ ^a ^b Société de Commentry - Fourchambault – industrie.lu.

Sources

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Fourchambault.

Dassé, Pauline (2006), Société de Commentry, Fourchambault et Decazeville (59 Aq Et 1996 064 - 36 Mi) Inventaire Des Archives Photographiques (PDF) (in French), Centre Des Archives du Monde du Travail, retrieved 3 August 2017
"Société de Commentry - Fourchambault", industrie.lu (in French), retrieved 2 August 2017