|
Ain ((:ɛ̃); Arpitan: ''En'') is a department named after the Ain River on the eastern edge of France. Being part of the region Rhône-Alpes and bordered by the rivers Saône and Rhône, the department of Ain enjoys a privileged geographic situation. It has an excellent transport network (TGV, highways) and benefits from the proximity to the international airports of Lyon and Geneva. Ain is composed of four geographically different areas (Bresse, Dombes, Bugey and Pays de Gex) which – each with its own characteristics – contribute to the diversity and the dynamic economic development of the department. In the Bresse agriculture and agro-industry are dominated by the cultivation of cereals, cattle breeding, milk and cheese production as well as poultry farming. In the Dombes, pisciculture assumes greater importance as does wine making in the Bugey. The high diversification of the department's industry is accompanied by a strong presence of the plastics sector in and around Oyonnax (so-called "Plastics Valley"). Due to its diverse industrial character and the cooperation of small and medium enterprises, Ain ranks among the departments with the fastest-growing economy in the country. Its unemployment rate lies far beneath the national and regional average. Besides the export-oriented SME's, several large enterprises, with a prominent position on national and international markets, have settled in the department. Although looking ahead, Ain attaches nevertheless great importance to its historical and cultural heritage as illustrated by its gastronomy (restaurant of Georges Blanc in Vonnas), its annual poultry competitions in the Bresse ("the three glorious") and its tourism (346 classified monuments such as the famous church of Brou in Bourg-en-Bresse, 14 museums of France, eco-tourism and ski tourism). == History == The first inhabitants settled in the territory of today's Ain about 15000 BC. The menhir of Pierrefiche in Simandre-sur-Suran dates from the mid-Neolithic era, in the fourth or third millennium BC; it is the sole standing stone in Burgundy.〔Menhir de Pierrefiche.〕 The late-second century BC Calendar of Coligny bears the longest surviving Gaulish inscription. In the year 58 BC Julius Caesar's military action against the Helvetians advancing through Gaul on the territory of today's Ain marked the beginning of the Gallic Wars. Under the Merovingians, the four historic regions of the modern département belonged to the Kingdom of Burgundy. In the beginning of the 6th century AD the diocese of Belley (''Bellicum'') was created, the first bishropric in the region. Abbeys of the order of Saint Benedict were established in the valleys. In 843 the Treaty of Verdun assigned the territories that comprise the Ain to the kingdom of Lothar I (Lotharingia). The first big fiefdoms ("seigneuries") emerge between 895 and 900 in Bâgé-le-Châtel, which formed the nucleus of the ''pays'' of Bresse, and in Coligny. Numerous castles were erected in a low rolling terrain that was not otherwise easily defended. In the 12th century the Romanesque architecture prospered. In the 11th century the Counts of Savoy and Valromey settled in the region of Belley. In 1272, when Sibylle de Bâgé, sole heir, married Amadeus V, Count of Savoy, they added the Bresse to their domains, and – by the Treaties of Paris in 1355 – the territories of Dauphiné and Gex on the right bank of the Rhône. In the beginning of the 15th century almost the whole region of Ain is united under the house of Savoy. New monasteries are founded in the cities, churches are constructed or reshaped according to the Gothic style of architecture. In the beginning of the 16th century – the Duchy of Savoy was at the peak of its power – Ain was inherited by Margaret of Habsburg, the widow of Philibert II, Duke of Savoy. In Brou she erected a church and a monastery in late-Gothic style. Bourg-en-Bresse became a bishop's see. After Margaret's death Francis I of France, a nephew of the Dukes of Savoy, claimed the Duchy for himself and conquered it in 1536; however, following a treaty concluded in 1559 Savoy, including the territory of Ain, was restored to the Duke of Savoy who immediately started fortifying it; when shortly thereafter, Henri IV reconquered the region, the citadel of Bourg remained impregnable. The Treaty of Lyon of 17 January 1601 ends finally the conflict. Ain now belonged to Burgundy. In the 17th century sculpture, painting and literature prosper. During the 18th century streets and small industries emerge. On 28 March 1762 the Count of Eu, son of the Duke of Maine, cedes the region of Dombes to Louis XV. In 1790, during the French Revolution, the departments of Ain and Léman are created. Ain is subdivided into nine districts, 49 cantons and 501 communes. The Revolution does not claim many victims in the department, but it destroys numerous valuable historical monuments. During the first French Consulate (1802) the districts are abolished. The Congress of Vienna dissolves the department of Léman and assigns the arrondissement Gex to the department of Ain. During the French Revolution and the First Empire a large number of churches were destroyed, but in 1823 the diocese of Belley is refounded. The Curé of Ars becomes famous. During the Second Empire numerous churches are reconstructed, agriculture changes profoundly, and the railway expands. Due to its distance from the frontline the department is spared the destruction of World War I (1914–1918). However, the majority of the vineyards can no longer be cultivated and disappear. Industrialization of the department starts in Oyonnax and Bellegarde. Construction of the Barrage de Génissiat starts in 1937. World War II (1939–1945) vehemently strikes the department of Ain and takes its toll: 600 people are deported, half of them do not return. The monument of the Maquis in Cerdon, the memorial of the children of Izieu and the museum of the resistance and deportation in Nantua commemorate this tragic era. In the second half of the 20th century the industrialization of the department proceeds, favored by a narrow street and railway network. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Ain」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|