Beaucroissant

Beaucroissant
Coat of arms
Beaucroissant
Location within Rhône-Alpes region Beaucroissant
Coordinates:
Country	France
Region	Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Department	Isère
Arrondissement	Grenoble
Canton	Rives
Intercommunality	Bièvre Est
Government
• Mayor (2011–2020)	Georges Sivet
Area1	11.18 km2 (4.32 sq mi)
Population (2012)2	1,522
• Density	140/km2 (350/sq mi)
INSEE/Postal code	38030 / 38140
Elevation	332–753 m (1,089–2,470 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. 2 Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once.

Beaucroissant is a French commune in the Isère department in the Rhône-Alpes region of south-eastern France.

The inhabitants of the commune are known as Manants or Manantes.

Geography

Beaucroissant is located some 32 km south by south-east of Bourgoin-Jallieu and 25 km north-west of Grenoble. Access to the commune is by the D1085 road from La Frette in the north-west which passes through the commune just north of the village and continues east to Moirans. The D519 comes from Izeaux in the west and passes through the commune turning north to join the A48 autoroute at Exit 15px 9 . A railway from Le Grand-Lemps passes through the commune with a station in the village and continues north-east to Rives. Apart from the village there is the hamlet of Le Mollard. Apart from the large urban area of the village and Le Mollard the commune is mainly farmland.

Mapping

A list of online mapping systems can be displayed by clicking on the coordinates (latitude and longitude) in the top right hand corner of this article.

Toponymy

Beaucroissant appears as Beaucroißant on the 1750 Cassini Map and as Beaucroissant on the 1790 version.

History

The Beaucroissant Fair, painting by Théodore Ravanat collection of the Musée dauphinois

The commune is famous for its annual fair which has continued since 1219 due to the pilgrimage of Our Lady of Parménie. The history of the village and the Fair is linked with the Parménie hill that dominates the commune with its 749-metre altitude.

The origin of the Beaucroissant fair dates back to 14 September 1219 when the Saint Laurent lake (above the Bourg d'Oisans) overflowed causing a terrible flood that inundated Grenoble and had many victims. Starting from 14 September 1220, organised by the bishop of Grenoble, survivors commemorated this event with a pilgrimage to Parménie. They were so numerous that a village was needed to accommodate them. The assembly attracted many merchants so the Fair of Beaucroissant was begun.

Heraldry

The official status of the blazon remains to be determined. Blazon: Party per bend sinister, at 1 Azure a cow's head caboshed Argent; at 2 Vert a horse's head Argent; in chief Gules, a crescent Argent from which spread nine rays the same.

Administration

List of Successive Mayors

From	To	Name	Party	Position
2008	2011	Pierre Fouque
2011	2020	Georges Civet

(Not all data is known)

Demography

In 2012 the commune had 1,522 inhabitants. The evolution of the number of inhabitants is known from the population censuses conducted in the commune since 1793. From the 21st century, a census of communes with fewer than 10,000 inhabitants is held every five years, unlike larger communes that have a sample survey every year.

Population Change (See database)

1793	1800	1806	1821	1831	1836	1841	1846	1851
627	721	725	836	816	405	925	926	926

1856	1861	1866	1872	1876	1881	1886	1891	1896
868	869	867	831	875	888	889	848	832

1901	1906	1911	1921	1926	1931	1936	1946	1954
836	834	763	710	720	739	653	653	705

1962	1968	1975	1982	1990	1999	2007	2012	-
752	725	1,003	1,052	1,195	1,247	1,390	1,522	-

Sources : Ldh/EHESS/Cassini until 1962, INSEE database from 1968 (population without double counting and municipal population from 2006)

Population of Beaucroissant

Economy

The Beaucroissant Fair, which takes place twice a year, is the main economy of the commune. In 2015 it took place on 25 and 26 April and on 11, 12, and 13 September together with the cattle fair on Friday 11 September.

Sites and Monuments

• A Composite Church contains two items that are registered as historical objects:
  • A Bronze Bell (1548)
  • A Reliquary-Monstrance (17th century)
• The Priory of Our Lady of Parménie was a Chartreuse of women in the 13th century. It was burnt down in the 15th century, rebuilt in the 17th century, burnt down in 1944, then restored.

See also

• Communes of the Isère department