Le Creusot

This article is about the town. For the cookware, see Le Creuset.

Le Creusot (pronounced [lə kʁøzo]) is a commune and industrial town in the Saône-et-Loire department, region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, eastern France.

Le Creusot
Commune
Steel factory
Coat of arms
Location of Le Creusot
Le Creusot Show map of France Le Creusot Show map of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté
Coordinates: 46°48′05″N 4°26′28″E
Country	France
Region	Bourgogne-Franche-Comté
Department	Saône-et-Loire
Arrondissement	Autun
Canton	Le Creusot-1 and 2
Intercommunality	CU Creusot Montceau
Government
• Mayor (2020–2026)	David Marti[1]
Area 1	18.11 km2 (6.99 sq mi)
Population  (2022)[2]	20,536
• Density	1,100/km2 (2,900/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	71153 /71200
Elevation	316–516 m (1,037–1,693 ft) (avg. 347 m or 1,138 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

The inhabitants are known as Creusotins. Formerly a mining town, its economy is now dominated by metallurgical companies such as ArcelorMittal, Schneider Electric, and Alstom.

Since the 1990s, the town has been developing its tourism credentials. Its main attraction is the Parc des Combes. The Creusot steam hammer is exposed as a tourist attraction in a square at the entrance to the town from the south.

Le Creusot is also the second educational centre of the Bourgogne (after Dijon), with its IUT and the Condorcet university centre.

History

In 1836, iron ore mines and forges around Le Creusot were bought by Adolphe Schneider and his brother Eugène. They developed a business in steel, railways, armaments, and shipbuilding. The Schneider empire developed much of the town itself, until it was much reduced in the second half of the twentieth century. It eventually became known as Schneider Electric. The steel forgings for the French nuclear power plants as well as the special alloys for the TGV trains were manufactured in Le Creusot.

On 17 October 1942 the Schneider factory was targeted by the RAF in a daylight raid designated Operation Robinson.

Population

Historical population

Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1793 1,545 —     1800 1,145 −4.19% 1806 1,332 +2.55% 1821 1,218 −0.59% 1831 1,334 +0.91% 1836 2,700 +15.14% 1841 4,012 +8.24% 1846 6,303 +9.46% 1851 8,083 +5.10% 1856 13,390 +10.62% 1861 16,094 +3.75% 1866 23,872 +8.20% 1872 22,890 −0.70% 1876 26,432 +3.66% 1881 28,125 +1.25% 1886 27,301 −0.59% 1891 28,635 +0.96% 1896 32,034 +2.27%	Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1901 30,584 −0.92% 1906 33,437 +1.80% 1911 35,587 +1.25% 1921 38,396 +0.76% 1926 32,419 −3.33% 1931 32,034 −0.24% 1936 29,417 −1.69% 1946 24,106 −1.97% 1954 28,663 +2.19% 1962 33,737 +2.06% 1968 34,102 +0.18% 1975 33,366 −0.31% 1982 32,149 −0.53% 1990 28,909 −1.32% 1999 26,283 −1.05% 2007 23,793 −1.24% 2012 22,574 −1.05% 2017 21,630 −0.85%
Source: EHESS[3] and INSEE (1968–2017)[4]

Transport

About 5 km (3 mi) south-east of town centre is the Le Creusot TGV station, a train station on the LGV Sud-Est line, which links the area to Paris, Lyon and beyond with high-speed rail. Le Creusot station is closer to the city centre, and is served by regional trains towards Nevers, Montchanin and Dijon.

Sights

• Le pilon – 1877 steam hammer invented by François Bourdon

Le pilon

• Château de la Verrerie – Originally the Cristallerie royale of Queen Marie-Antoinette

Personalities

• André Billardon (b. 1940), mayor
• Christian Bobin (b. 1951), writer
• François Bourdon (1797–1875), engineer and inventor of the steam hammer le pilon
• Fr. Bruno Cadoré (b. 1954), Dominican priest and current Master of the Order
• Mathilde Carré (1908–2007), French Resistance agent during World War II, who turned double agent
• Marie-Pierre Casey (b. 1937), actress
• Jovan Deroko (1912–1941), Serbian Chetnik fighter during World War II
• Sébastien Grax (b. 1984), footballer
• Claudie Haigneré (b. 1957), astronaut
• Catherine Lépront (1951–2012), writer
• Adolphe Schneider (1802–1845), mine owner and entrepreneur
• Eugène Schneider (1805–1875), mine owner and entrepreneur
• Lucien Sergi (b. 1971), former professional footballer
• Anthony da Silva (b. 1980), footballer
• Mickaël Vendetta (b. 1987), Internet celebrity
• John "Iron-Mad" Wilkinson (1728 – 1808), advised Le Creusot on the development of its iron industry
• Marie-Alice Yahé (b. 1984), female rugby player
• Deng Xiaoping (1904–1997), Chinese leader who briefly worked at the Le Creusot Iron and Steel Plant in the 1920s

International relations

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in France

Le Creusot is twinned with:

• Ghimbav, Romania
• Blieskastel, Germany
• Rumia, Poland

Climate

Climate data for Le Creusot-Saint-Symphorien-de-Marmagne, elevation 349 m (1,145 ft), (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1974–present)
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Record high °C (°F)	17.0 (62.6)	21.0 (69.8)	25.0 (77.0)	29.0 (84.2)	32.0 (89.6)	38.0 (100.4)	42.0 (107.6)	40.0 (104.0)	37.0 (98.6)	29.1 (84.4)	22.6 (72.7)	18.0 (64.4)	42.0 (107.6)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)	6.3 (43.3)	8.0 (46.4)	12.5 (54.5)	16.0 (60.8)	19.8 (67.6)	23.9 (75.0)	26.3 (79.3)	26.0 (78.8)	21.6 (70.9)	16.3 (61.3)	10.2 (50.4)	6.9 (44.4)	16.1 (61.0)
Daily mean °C (°F)	3.1 (37.6)	4.0 (39.2)	7.3 (45.1)	10.3 (50.5)	14.1 (57.4)	17.8 (64.0)	19.8 (67.6)	19.4 (66.9)	15.6 (60.1)	11.7 (53.1)	6.5 (43.7)	3.8 (38.8)	11.1 (52.0)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)	0.0 (32.0)	0.0 (32.0)	2.2 (36.0)	4.6 (40.3)	8.4 (47.1)	11.6 (52.9)	13.2 (55.8)	12.9 (55.2)	9.7 (49.5)	7.0 (44.6)	2.9 (37.2)	0.7 (33.3)	6.1 (43.0)
Record low °C (°F)	−22.0 (−7.6)	−22.0 (−7.6)	−12.5 (9.5)	−6.0 (21.2)	−3.5 (25.7)	1.5 (34.7)	2.0 (35.6)	3.0 (37.4)	−2.0 (28.4)	−6.5 (20.3)	−11.5 (11.3)	−17.0 (1.4)	−22.0 (−7.6)
Average precipitation mm (inches)	91.1 (3.59)	74.3 (2.93)	72.2 (2.84)	73.5 (2.89)	90.1 (3.55)	69.7 (2.74)	69.1 (2.72)	67.6 (2.66)	70.6 (2.78)	87.3 (3.44)	106.4 (4.19)	102.5 (4.04)	974.4 (38.36)
Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm)	13.1	11.4	10.8	10.8	11.7	9.4	9.0	8.3	9.0	11.7	13.3	14.3	132.8
Source: Meteociel[5]

See also

• Communes of the Saône-et-Loire department
• Le Creusot Commune