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Bellegarde-sur-Valserine

Bèlagouârda  (Arpitan)
Part of Valserhône
Former Bellegarde-sur-Valserine Town Hall and current Valserhône Town Hall
Former Bellegarde-sur-Valserine Town Hall and current Valserhône Town Hall
Coat of arms of Bellegarde-sur-Valserine
Coat of arms
Bellegarde-sur-Valserine is located in France
Bellegarde-sur-Valserine
Bellegarde-sur-Valserine
Location in France
Bellegarde-sur-Valserine is located in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Bellegarde-sur-Valserine
Bellegarde-sur-Valserine
Location in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Country France
Region Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Department Ain
Arrondissement Nantua
Canton Bellegarde-sur-Valserine
Commune Valserhône
Area
1
15 km2 (6 sq mi)
Population
 (2021)
11,268
 • Density 751/km2 (1,950/sq mi)
Time zone UTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST) UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Postal code
01200
Elevation 330–1,542 m (1,083–5,059 ft)
(avg. 485 m or 1,591 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Bellegarde-sur-Valserine (French pronunciation: [bɛlɡaʁd syʁ valsəʁin], literally Bellegarde on Valserine; Arpitan: Bèlagouârda) is a former commune in the Ain department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in Eastern France. On 1 January 2019, it was merged into the new commune of Valserhône.

Geography

Bellegarde is located at the confluence of the Valserine and the Rhône.

At this spot, the water of the two rivers runs underground; it was possible to cross both of them easily. Since the inception of the Génissiat Dam at Injoux-Génissiat, the level of the Rhône was raised several metres and the Perte du Rhône submerged. A smaller, similar feature, the Pertes de la Valserine, on the former border with Lancrans, is still visible.

Bellegarde lies in a valley dominated by the Plateau of Retord on the west and the massif of the Grand Crêt d'Eau and the Vuache on the east. The passage created by the Rhône is the principal access to the area around Gex and the north of Lake Geneva. Since 1 January 2019, Bellegarde belongs to a new commune, with Lancrans and Châtillon-en-Michaille, named Valserhône.

Climate

Bellegarde is under the influence of both an oceanic climate (notable precipitations in quantity and frequency) and a warm-summer humid continental climate (cold winters and warm to hot summers).

Transport

Bellegarde station has rail connections to Paris, Lyon, Annemasse, Geneva, Chambéry and several regional destinations. It lies on the Lyon–Geneva railway.

Population

Historical population
Year Pop. ±% p.a.
2006 11,497 —    
2011 11,630 +0.23%
2015 11,809 +0.38%
2021 11,268 −0.78%
Source: INSEE

Twin towns — sister cities

Bellegarde-sur-Valserine is twinned with:

  • Italy Saint-Christophe, Aosta Valley, Italy (2000)
  • Germany Bretten, Germany (2001)
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