Vienne (; ) is a town in southeastern France, located south of Lyon, at the confluence of the Gère and the Rhône. It is the fourth-largest commune in the Isère department, of which it is a subprefecture alongside La Tour-du-Pin. Vienne was a major centre of the Roman Empire under the Latin name Vienna.

Vienne was the capital of the Allobroges, a Gallic people, before its conquest by the Romans. Transformed into a Roman colony in 47 BC under Julius Caesar, it became a major urban centre, ideally located along the Rhône, then a major axis of communication. Emperor Augustus banished Herod the Great's son, the ethnarch Herod Archelaus to Vienne in 6 AD.

As Vienne was a Roman provincial capital, remains of Roman constructions are still widespread across it. The city was also an important early bishopric in Christian Gaul. Its most famous bishop was Avitus of Vienne. At the Council of Vienne, which was convened there in October 1311, Pope Clement V abolished the order of the Knights Templar. During the Middle Ages, Vienne was part of the Kingdom of Provence, part of the Holy Roman Empire; on the opposite bank of the Rhône was Kingdom of France, which made the city strategically important.

The town is now a regional commercial and industrial centre, known regionally for its Saturday market. A Roman temple, circus pyramid and theatre (where the annual Jazz à Vienne is held), as well as museums (archaeological, textile industry) and notable Catholic buildings, make tourism an important part of the town's economy.

History

Roman Vienne

The oppidum of the Allobroges became a Roman colony about 47 BC under Julius Caesar, but the Allobroges managed to expel the Romans; the exiles then founded the colony of Lugdunum (today's Lyon). During the early Empire, Vienna (as the Romans called it—not to be confused with today's Vienna, then known as Vindobona) regained all its former privileges as a Roman colony. In 260 Postumus was proclaimed Emperor here of a short-lived Gallo-Roman Empire. Later it became a provincial capital of the Dioecesis Viennensis.

Vienne became the seat of the vicar of prefects after the creation of regional dioceses, of which the date is still controversial. Regional dioceses were created during the First Tetrarchy, 293–305, or possibly later as some recent studies suggest in 313, but no later than the Verona List, which is securely dated to June 314.

On the bank of the Gère are traces of the ramparts of the old Roman city, and on Mont Pipet (east of the town) are the remains of a Roman theatre, while the thirteenth-century castle built on Mont Salomon on the orders of Archbishop is said to have been built on the site of a former Roman fort. Several ancient aqueducts remain in the Gère valley and parts of Roman roads are preserved (in particular in the city park).

Two important Roman monuments still stand at Vienne. One is the Early Imperial Temple of Augustus and Livia, a rectangular peripteral building of the Corinthian order, erected by the emperor Claudius, which owes its survival, like the Maison Carrée at Nîmes, to being converted to a church soon after the Theodosian decrees and later rededicated as "Notre Dame de Vie". During the Revolutionary Reign of Terror it was used for the local Festival of Reason. The other is the Plan de l'Aiguille, a truncated pyramid resting on a portico with four arches, from the Roman circus. Legends from the 13th century mention Pontius Pilate's death in Vienne. Later legends held that the pyramid was either the tomb of Herod Archelaus or of Pontius Pilate.

The vestiges of a temple to Cybèle were discovered in 1945 when a new hospital was built on Mount Salomon and the Ancien Hôpital in the center of town was torn down. Subsequent archaeological research conducted in 1965 permitted detailed reconstruction of the floor plan for the temple as well as the surrounding forum and established that the temple was constructed in the first century AD.

Christian Vienne

thumb|upright|Léonard Périer, Virgin and Child, colossal statue overlooking Vienne from the Pipet hill

The provincial capital was an important early seat of a bishop and the legendary first bishop is said to have been Crescens, a disciple of Paul. There were Christians here in 177 when the churches of Vienne and Lyon addressed a letter to those of Asia and Phrygia, and mention is made of Sanctus, a deacon of Vienne (Eusebius of Caesarea, Church History). The first historical bishop was Verus, who was present at the Council of Arles (314). About 450, Vienne's bishops became archbishops, several of whom played an important cultural role, e.g. Mamertus, who established Rogation pilgrimages, and the poet, Avitus (498–518). Vienne's archbishops and those of Lyon disputed the title of "Primate of All the Gauls" based on the dates of founding of the cities compared to the dates of founding of the bishoprics.

Industrial era

thumb|On the right, the [[equestrian facility|manège (1886) of the former cavalry regiment in the Saint-Germain neighbourhood, now a concert hall]]

Train stations were built in Vienne in 1855 and in Estressin in 1875 providing freight transport to the textile and metallurgy industries, which took advantage of the water power in the Gère valley.

In 1875, the State signed a contract with Vienne for the establishment of a cavalry regiment, necessitating the construction of a barracks from 1882 to 1886 in what became known as the Quartier Saint-Germain in 1887. When the last military regiment was disbanded in 1990, the former barracks was transformed into a business center, with some of the buildings conserved, such as the riding academy, which became a concert hall in 2018.

Population

Monuments

thumb|upright=1.32|The [[Roman temple (Temple d'Auguste et de Livie, Temple of Augustus and Livia) in Vienne]]

The two outstanding Roman remains in Vienne are the temple of Augustus and Livia, and the Plan de l'Aiguille or Pyramide, a truncated pyramid resting on a portico with four arches, which was associated with the city's Roman circus.

The early Romanesque church of Saint Peter belonged to an ancient Benedictine abbey and was rebuilt in the ninth century, with tall square piers and two ranges of windows in the tall aisles and a notable porch. It is one of France's oldest Christian buildings dating from the 5th century laid-out in the form of a basilica and having a large and well constructed nave. It also has a Romanesque tower and a sculptured South portal containing a statue of Saint Peter. Today, the building houses a lapidary museum that holds a Junon head and a statue of Tutela, the city's protective divinity.

The Gothic former cathedral of St Maurice was built between 1052 and 1533. It is a basilica, with three aisles and an apse, but no ambulatory or transepts. It is in length, wide and in height. The most striking portion is the west front, which rises majestically from a terrace overhanging the Rhône. Its sculptural decoration was badly damaged by the Protestants in 1562 during the Wars of Religion.

<gallery>

Place Pierre Semard.jpg|Claude Grange's Monument aux Morts in front of the Vienne train station

Vienne-cavea-du-haut.jpg|Vienne's Roman theatre

Notre Dame de Pipet.jpg|Pipet cemetery, Chemin des Aqueducs (D41), Notre Dame de Pipet

13e étape Tour de France 2022 à Vienne.ogg|the 13th stage of the 2022 Tour de France took the Chemin des Aqueducs into Vienne

Hôtel_de_ville_de_Vienne_avec_sa_fontaine_classée.jpg|The Hôtel de Ville

Gargoyles (Saint-André-le-bas, Vienne)_ii.jpg|16 of the Saint-André le Bas Abbey's chimerae

VcVienneStAndréLeBas2.jpg|Saint-André le Bas Abbey courtyard

Gère fisherman.jpg|The Gère River is a popular fishing spot.

Jeu de paume bus hub.jpg|Jeu du paume square (bus hub)

Vienne (avril 2009) 022.jpg|The Gallo-Roman Pyramid

Pontius_Pilatus_angebl_Grabmal_Vienne_(IZ_48-1867_S_266_JResch).jpg|Legend of the pyramid as Pontius Pilate's tomb

Watersports & Cruising in front of Notre-Dame de l'Isle.jpg|A river cruiser passing Notre Dame de l'Isle (South Vienne)

The Rhone at Vienne + Saint-Colombe.jpg|The banks of the river Rhône, in central Vienne

Rhône-Alpes (2009) 008.jpg|Château de la Batie on Mont Salomon towers over the Rhône and Estressin (north Vienne) with Collège Ponsard in the foreground

Morning fog on the Rhone at Vienne.jpg|View from Mont Salomon with the Pilat massif in the background (Sainte-Colombe on the right, Vienne (south) on the right, the medieval castle in the foreground)

Mont_Pipet..._in_the_summertime.jpg|Chapelle Notre-Dame-de-la-Salette de Pipet

</gallery>

Notable people

thumb|140px|Sculpture of St. [[Avitus of Vienne]]

  • Herod Archelaus (23 BC–c. 18 AD), ethnarch
  • Pontius Pilate (according to legend)
  • Pope Callixtus II (1065–1124), Archbishop of Vienne from 1088, Pope from 1119
  • Michael Servetus (1509–1553), savant, burned as a heretic
  • Nicolas Chorier (1612–1692), lawyer, historian, author
  • Jean-François Leriget de La Faye (1674–1731), diplomat, wealthy landowner, art collector, and poet
  • (1733–1814), archeologist, artist, curator
  • Jean-Baptiste-Charles Chabroud (1750–1816), lawyer and politician
  • Laurent Mourguet (1769–1884), puppeteer
  • François Ponsard (1814–1867), dramatist, poet, and author
  • Joseph Martin (explorer) (1848–1892), geologist, topographer, and explorer of Eastern Siberia
  • Louis Vialleton (1859–1929), zoologist and writer
  • Fernand Point (1897–1955), chef
  • Christophe Pourny (born 1962), antique restorer, and conservator

Twin towns – sister cities

Vienne is twinned with:

  • Albacete, Spain
  • Esslingen am Neckar, Germany
  • Greenwich, Connecticut, United States
  • Goris, Armenia
  • Neath Port Talbot, Wales, United Kingdom
  • Piotrków Trybunalski, Poland
  • Schiedam, Netherlands
  • Udine, Italy
  • Velenje, Slovenia

Climate

Notes

References

Bibliography

  • Livius.org: Roman Vienne – historical information and pictures
  • Official website (in French)