Vif, Isère

Vif
Commune
A general view of Vif
Coat of arms
Location of Vif
Vif Show map of France Vif Show map of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Coordinates: 45°03′22″N 5°40′15″E
Country	France
Region	Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Department	Isère
Arrondissement	Grenoble
Canton	Le Pont-de-Claix
Intercommunality	Grenoble-Alpes Métropole
Government
• Mayor (2021–2026)	Guy Genet[1]
Area ^1	28.30 km^2 (10.93 sq mi)
Population  (2021)[2]	8,584
• Density	300/km^2 (790/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	38545 /38450
Elevation	277–1,263 m (909–4,144 ft) (avg. 312 m or 1,024 ft)
^1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km^2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Vif (French pronunciation: [vif] ^ⓘ) is a commune in the Isère department in southeastern France.^[3]

The town hosts the Champollion Museum, located in the former residence of the Champollion family.^[4] Closed for renovations, it reopened in June 2021.^[5]

Geography

Vif is situated in the Valley of Gresse, in the south of Grenoble, upon the north-east foothills of the Vercors. The town is crossed by the Gresse river (which come from Gresse-en-Vercors). Vif lies 16 km (10 mi) south of Grenoble, 65 km (40 mi) north-west of Gap and 65 km (40 mi) north-east of Valence.

Population

Historical population

Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1793 2,055 —     1800 2,021 −0.24% 1806 2,025 +0.03% 1821 2,257 +0.73% 1831 2,282 +0.11% 1836 2,362 +0.69% 1841 2,314 −0.41% 1846 2,426 +0.95% 1851 2,435 +0.07% 1856 2,353 −0.68% 1861 2,417 +0.54% 1866 2,043 −3.31% 1872 2,506 +3.46% 1876 2,925 +3.94% 1881 2,734 −1.34% 1886 2,821 +0.63% 1891 2,792 −0.21% 1896 2,617 −1.29%	Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1901 2,707 +0.68% 1906 2,589 −0.89% 1911 2,165 −3.51% 1921 2,007 −0.75% 1926 2,134 +1.23% 1931 2,080 −0.51% 1936 2,028 −0.51% 1946 2,071 +0.21% 1954 2,444 +2.09% 1962 3,057 +2.84% 1968 3,287 +1.22% 1975 3,593 +1.28% 1982 4,419 +3.00% 1990 5,788 +3.43% 1999 6,478 +1.26% 2007 8,050 +2.75% 2012 7,975 −0.19% 2017 8,532 +1.36%
Source: EHESS[6] and INSEE (1968-2017)[7]

Sights

The Champollion Museum

• Vif is the home of the Champollion Museum, settled in the former family house of Jacques-Joseph Champollion-Figeac and his wife Zoé Berriat.
• The city is the cradle of the French company Vicat, founded by Joseph Vicat (son of Louis Vicat). The first cement works was built in Genevrey-de-Vif in 1857.
• The town has two churches: Saint-Jean-Baptiste de Vif and Saint-Marie du Genevrey, which is one of the oldest medieval churches in Grenoble métropole.
• The actual town hall was an ancient monastery until 1792, then a silk mill managed by the Berriat family.

A general view of the Viaduct of Crozet

The "Line of Alps", a railway connecting Grenoble to Gap via the Alps, crosses the town territory on a 19th-century railway viaduct, the viaduct of Crozet (viaduc du Crozet).

Notable people

Jacques-Joseph Champollion-Figeac, brother of Jean-François

• Charles Le Goux de La Berchère (1647-1719), bishop
• Jacques-Joseph Champollion-Figeac (1778-1867), archaeologist, brother of Jean-François (Champollion le Jeune)
• Jean-François Champollion (1790-1832), philologist and orientalist, decipherer of Egyptian hieroglpyhs
• François-Jean Rochas [fr] Frenchy (1843-1894), first settler of today's Oliver Lee Memorial State Park (New Mexico)
• Yves de La Brière (1877-1941), French Jesuit born in Vif.

Twin towns – sister cities

Vif is twinned with:^[8]

• Rivalta di Torino, Italy, since 1985

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. 4 May 2022.
2. "Populations légales 2021" (in French). The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 28 December 2023.
3. Commune de Vif, INSEE
4. Base Mérimée: Propriété "Les Champollion", Ministère français de la Culture. (in French)
5. (in French) ledauphine.com, Dans trois ans, Vif aura son Musée Champollion.
6. Des villages de Cassini aux communes d'aujourd'hui: Commune data sheet Vif, EHESS (in French).
7. Population en historique depuis 1968, INSEE
8. "Annuaire des villes jumelées | AFCCRE". Archived from the original on 11 April 2021. Retrieved 1 June 2022.