Beaucroissant

Beaucroissant
Commune
Beaucroissant during the foire de Beaucroissant event, in 2007
Coat of arms
Location of Beaucroissant
Beaucroissant Show map of France Beaucroissant Show map of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Coordinates: 45°20′29″N 5°28′15″E
Country	France
Region	Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Department	Isère
Arrondissement	Grenoble
Canton	Tullins
Intercommunality	Bièvre Est
Government
• Mayor (2020–2026)	Antoine Reboul[1]
Area ^1	11.18 km^2 (4.32 sq mi)
Population  (2021)[2]	1,896
• Density	170/km^2 (440/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
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 km^2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Beaucroissant (French pronunciation: [bokʁwasɑ̃]) is a commune in the Isère department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of south-eastern France.^[3]

The inhabitants of the commune are known as Manants or Manantes.^[4]

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  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.^[5][6]

Toponymy

Beaucroissant appears as Beaucroißant on the 1750 Cassini Map^[7] and as Beaucroissant on the 1790 version.^[8]

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.^[9] 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

Arms of Beaucroissant

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^[10]

From	To	Name
2008	2011	Pierre Fouque
2011	2020	Georges Civet
2020	2026	Antoine Reboul

Demography

In 2017 the commune had 1,725 inhabitants.

Historical population

Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1793 627 —     1800 721 +2.02% 1806 725 +0.09% 1821 836 +0.95% 1831 816 −0.24% 1836 405 −13.07% 1841 925 +17.96% 1846 926 +0.02% 1851 926 +0.00% 1856 868 −1.29% 1861 869 +0.02% 1866 867 −0.05% 1872 831 −0.70% 1876 875 +1.30% 1881 888 +0.30% 1886 889 +0.02% 1891 848 −0.94% 1896 832 −0.38%	Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1901 836 +0.10% 1906 834 −0.05% 1911 763 −1.76% 1921 710 −0.72% 1926 720 +0.28% 1931 739 +0.52% 1936 653 −2.44% 1946 653 +0.00% 1954 705 +0.96% 1962 752 +0.81% 1968 762 +0.22% 1975 1,041 +4.56% 1982 1,091 +0.67% 1990 1,236 +1.57% 1999 1,288 +0.46% 2007 1,435 +1.36% 2012 1,567 +1.78% 2017 1,725 +1.94%
Source: EHESS[11] and INSEE[12]

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)^[13]
  • A Reliquary-Monstrance (17th century)^[14]
• 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

References

1. "Répertoire national des élus: les maires" (in French). data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises. 13 September 2022.
2. "Populations légales 2021" (in French). The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 28 December 2023.
3. INSEE commune file
4. Inhabitants of Isère (in French)
5. Beaucroissant on Google Maps
6. Beaucroissant on the Géoportail from National Geographic Institute (IGN) website (in French)
7. Beaucroißant on the 1750 Cassini Map
8. Beaucroissant on the 1790 Cassini Map
9. Beaucroissant official website (in French)
10. List of Mayors of France (in French)
11. Des villages de Cassini aux communes d'aujourd'hui: Commune data sheet Beaucroissant, EHESS (in French).
12. Population en historique depuis 1968, INSEE
13. Ministry of Culture, Palissy PM38000016 Bronze bell (in French)
14. Ministry of Culture, Palissy PM38000015 Reliquary-Monstrance (in French)