Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne (; or Sant-Jian-de-Môrièna; ) is a subprefecture of the Savoie department, in the region of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes (formerly Rhône-Alpes), Southeastern France. In 2018, it had a population of 7,683.
It lies in the Maurienne, the valley of the river Arc. It was also an Episcopal See of Savoy during the Ancien Régime and again from 1825 to 1966. Its original name was simply Maurienne, or Moriana in Italian and Latin.
Geography
Location
Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne is located at the confluence of the Arc, a river which has shaped the Maurienne Valley, and the which descends the Arves Valley (Col de la Croix de Fer).
The neighbouring communes of Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne are Saint-Julien-Mont-Denis, Jarrier, Hermillon, Villargondran, Albiez-le-Jeune, Albiez-Montrond, Saint-Pancrace and Pontamafrey-Montpascal.
Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne is close to: Albertville (59 Km), Chambery (72 Km), Grenoble (103 Km), Turin (137 Km), and Lyon (174 Km).
Climate
The climate is the alpine type because of the presence of the Alpine Massif.
Lines of communication and transport
Roads
Route nationale 6 (RN 6) A43 autoroute Col de la Croix de Fer
Railway
Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne is on the route of the future Lyon-Turin rail link. Homes, businesses, the current railway station and the rescue centre are affected by this project. The Lyon Turin Railway company (LTF) which manages the construction projects plans to build new railway station in the Sous-le-Bourg neighborhood, serving both the historic line and the new Lyon-Turin line. Geological and topographical investigations are underway. This project promises to be even more complex than that of the Channel Tunnel.
Public transport
The town of Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne is equipped with a network of public transport run by the .
Air
A heliport is available for the helicopter of the gendarmerie whose base is located in Modane.
Urbanism
Urban morphology
La Bastille, les Chaudannes and les Clapeys are the three main quarters.
Housing
The total number of dwellings in the commune is 4,240. Among such housing, 87.9% are principal residences, 5.4% are secondary homes and 6.7% are vacant dwellings. These accommodations have a share of 17.5% as individual houses, 79.3% as apartments and finally only 3.2% as dwellings of another type. The number of residents who own their homes is 37.9%. This is lower than the national average which adds up to nearly 55.3%. The number of tenants is 56.7% throughout the housing which is higher than the national average of 39.8%. It may be noted also that 5.4% of the inhabitants of the commune are people who are housed for free while at the level of the whole of the France the percentage is 4.9%. Still on all of the municipality housing, 3.5% are studios, 11.5% are two-room housing, 28.4% have three, 34.5% of dwellings have four rooms, and 22.1% of dwellings have five rooms or more.
Development projects
Toponymy
Locality named after John the Baptist, the precursor, son of Zechariah and Saint Elizabeth, cousin of Jesus, beheaded in 31 AD at the request of the Princess Salome.
Latin name: Mauriana
History
Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne has been the capital of the Maurienne Valley since the 6th century. After Saint Thècle reported from Alexandria (Egypt) the relics of St. John the Baptist which are the three fingers represented on the arms of the city, as well as on the Opinel knife blades, the town was raised to the rank of diocese by Guntram, grandson of Clovis I.
In 753, Grifo went to Italy to join the King of the Lombards, Aistulf, the most powerful opponent of his half-brother, the King of the Franks, Pepin the Short, but he was killed at Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne by the men of Pepin.
The oldest possessions of the Counts of Savoy were the counties of Maurienne, Savoy proper (the district between Arc, Isère, and the middle course of the Rhone), and Belley, with Bugey as its chief town.
The Duchy of Savoy, which had been a French-speaking province under the sovereignty of the Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont, was invaded by Revolutionary France, but restored to Piedmont in 1815. It became part of France in 1859, after the Second Italian War of Independence.
The Aix-les-Bains—Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne railway line opened in 1857.
In the early 1900s, the technological advances of Swiss hydroelectric power were originally the subject of intense stock market speculation on hydroelectric companies, which benefitted the Maurienne Valley with industrial facilities, while tourism took off.