Saint-Martin-d'Hères

Saint-Martin-d'Hères (French pronunciation: [sɛ̃ maʁtɛ̃ dɛʁ]; Arpitan: Sant-Martin-d’Èra) is a commune in the Isère department in southeastern France.^[3] Part of the Grenoble urban unit (agglomeration),^[4] it is the largest suburb of the city of Grenoble and is adjacent to it on the east.

Saint-Martin-d'Hères
Commune
The church of Saint-Martin
Flag Coat of arms
Location of Saint-Martin-d'Hères
Saint-Martin-d'Hères Show map of France Saint-Martin-d'Hères Show map of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Coordinates: 45°10′02″N 5°45′55″E
Country	France
Region	Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Department	Isère
Arrondissement	Grenoble
Canton	Saint-Martin-d'Hères
Intercommunality	Grenoble-Alpes Métropole
Government
• Mayor (2020–2026)	David Queiros[1]
Area 1	9.26 km2 (3.58 sq mi)
Population  (2022)[2]	38,022
• Density	4,100/km2 (11,000/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	38421 /38400
Elevation	206–610 m (676–2,001 ft) (avg. 234 m or 768 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

History

The Hôtel de Ville

The commune was created around 1100 where the church of St. Martin was located. During the Middle Ages it was administered at some points by the lords of the Castle of Gières, and at other times by the bishop of Grenoble, who had religious and seigniorial disputes with the former.^[5][6] The city remained a mostly rural area, until the 19th century, when it saw its first industrial developments with the opening of roads and railways. In the 1950s and the 1960s the city saw a "new era" with a significant demographic expansion caused by the installation of the University of Grenoble.^[5]

The city is limited at the north by the Isère. It is located in an area historically prone to flooding by it and by the Mogne and Sonnant streams, though the floods stopped since the construction of dykes and the channelization of the Mogne and Sonnant streams.^[7]

The Hôtel de Ville is a former factory which was converted in 1981.^[8]

Population

Historical population

Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1793 618 —     1800 771 +3.21% 1806 616 −3.67% 1821 760 +1.41% 1831 726 −0.46% 1836 825 +2.59% 1841 1,107 +6.06% 1846 1,078 −0.53% 1851 1,040 −0.72% 1856 1,070 +0.57% 1861 1,066 −0.07% 1866 1,280 +3.73% 1872 1,325 +0.58% 1876 1,470 +2.63% 1881 1,546 +1.01% 1886 1,710 +2.04% 1891 1,641 −0.82% 1896 1,781 +1.65%	Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1901 1,776 −0.06% 1906 1,874 +1.08% 1911 1,988 +1.19% 1921 2,508 +2.35% 1926 3,256 +5.36% 1931 4,656 +7.42% 1936 5,633 +3.88% 1946 5,944 +0.54% 1954 6,839 +1.77% 1962 14,453 +9.80% 1968 33,605 +15.10% 1975 38,052 +1.79% 1982 35,188 −1.11% 1990 34,341 −0.30% 1999 35,777 +0.46% 2007 35,502 −0.10% 2012 38,105 +1.43% 2017 38,487 +0.20%
Source: EHESS[9] and INSEE (1968-2017)[10]

Education

Saint-Martin-d'Hères is the home of the Université Grenoble Alpes main campus "Domaine Universitaire de Grenoble", a center of higher education in the region. The university features the Centre universitaire d'études françaises (CUEF). The CUEF offers second language instruction in French, and attracts students from a variety of foreign countries. Several universities in the United States sponsor study-abroad programs affiliated with the CUEF.

Notable people

• Chloé Aurard, ice hockey player
• Suzanne Balguerie, soprano; died here
• Yoann Bonato, rally driver
• Cristobal Huet, ice hockey player
• Aurélien Panis, racing driver
• Tristan Vautier, racing driver
• Olivier Véran, politician

Sights

• Arboretum Robert Ruffier-Lanche

See also

• Communes of the Isère department