An overview of the history of the Bugey area

The name Bugey corresponds historically to the name of an administrative area, the « vicus » of Belley. Initially, this just included the diocese of Belley ; but subsequently, as the House of Savoie conquered other territories, the name of Bugey was applied to all the area between the rivers Rhône and Ain up to the Nantua area. At the end of the Ancien Régime (monarchy period), the Bugey bailiwick was a small « province » with a surface area of 92 square leagues (about 1980 km²).

Homo sapiens only appeared in the Lower Bugey area when the large glaciers receded during the Upper Palaeolithic period (20000 to 12000 BC ; see the Hotteaux cave in Rossillon) when the conditions in the Bugey became suitable for human settlement.

From the Azilian (Mesolithic) and Neolithic periods we have axes and other polished stone tools, the tangled skeleton of the Culoz man and numerous cup stones.

The population of the area prior to the Roman period consisted of tribes from the north, such as the Sequans and the Helvetians, and tribes from the south such as the Ambarrians and the Allobrogians.

But the Bugey really started to have historical significance in 58 BC at the beginning of the Roman conquest of France by Julius Caesar's army.
The Bugey area progressed very considerably during the Roman period, as is witnessed by the high density of Gallo-Roman establishments and the remarkable development of Roman roads. This can be explained by its strategic situation on the road to Italy and close to Lyon, which was then the capital of Gaul.
It was also during this period that the town of Belley was founded, probably during the century when Augustus was the Emperor. The commercial links between Belley and the capital of Gaul were then made easier by having two direct transport routes between these two towns. There was first of all the water route, by the River Rhône, but also a land route, because Belley was on the Roman road from Lyon to Geneva, on the right bank of the Rhône, going through Lagnieu, Briord, Cordon, Belley and Seyssel. This advantageous geographical situation has been of lasting help to the Bugey area.

After the fall of the Roman Empire, the deep valleys of the Bugey were passed through by the Alamands and the Burgondians. The Christian presence was established under the Burgondians and then the Francs, by the setting up of a bishopric in Belley in the 5th or 6th centuries. A century later, after falling into the hands of the Francs, the Bugey offered refuge in its mountains to the Saracens defeated by Charles Martel (734). The « oz » and « az » suffixes of village names (Culoz, Contrevoz, Ordonnaz...). are said to have come from the presence of these people. After the stabilizing administration of Charlemagne came the anarchy of Lotharingia, which rapidly led to a feudal situation.

From the 9th century, the Bugey area passed successively belonged to the second Burgundian Kingdom and the Holy Roman Empire. The feudal system, which was already firmly installed, got an even stronger hold on the area, and in the 12th century, taking advantage of an anarchic situation, lay and religious chiefs became independent: thus the Bishops of Belley acquired a considerable number of territories and villages.

The Conzieu church, which is a listed Historic Monument (11th and 12th centuries)

During the 12th century, the population of the Bugey area increased rapidly, reaching quite a high density. Many priories and monasteries were set up, such as the Abbey of St Sulpice (1130), and the Carthusian monasteries of Portes (1115), Arvières (1132), and Pierre Châtel (1383)... In 1077, Count Amédée II of Maurienne received the confirmation of his rights to the lordship over the Bugey area from the Holy Roman Emperor, Henri IV. The House of Savoie hence skilfully extended the scope of its domination and acquired the power which it is known to have possessed. After ten centuries of destruction, the Bugey area, annexed to the County of Savoie, finally lived through a period of unaccustomed peace under the control of moderate and well-intentioned princes. It is in this way that Belley and its region were drawn into the orbit of the House of Savoie, where they remained peacefully (apart from a brief French invasion from 1536 to 1559) until the signing of the Treaty of Lyon in 1601, by which the Bugey was returned to France.

The town of Belley in the 17th century

The 17th century was a relatively difficult period for the Upper Bugey area (conflicts between « Gris » from Bugey and « Cuanais » from the Comté) and financially burdensome for all of France which had to pay for the Sun King's extravagant living in Versailles...

During the 18th century the first industries started up in the Bugey area, mainly in the textiles field. The intelligentsia of Belley started coming up with new ideas, those of the philosophers and the physiocrats. At the beginning of the revolutionary period, the barrister Jean-Anthelme Brillat-Savarin was a deputy of the Third Estate in the Assemblée Constituante where he represented the Belley area. he participated in the heated debates concerning the creation of the Department of the Ain on 25th January 1790. He also wrote the famous book « La Physiologie du Goût » (« The Physiology of taste »)! The Bugey area was affected by the stormy revolutionary period, and neither castles nor religious buildings were spared (Albitte). The Napoleonic style of organization finished setting up the Administration of the department of the Ain, making Belley a sub-prefecture on 17th February 1800. After the heavy losses in terms of men and money caused by the Napoleonic wars, the Bugey area benefited a little from the agricultural revolution, but considerably more from the industrial revolution, which changed the face of Europe during the 19th century.

Anthelme Brillat-Savarin Engraving by Lambert early 19th century

The First and Second World Wars remain deeply etched in the memories of Bugey people. Peyrieu had one of the first war memorials in France, thanks to the generosity of an American lady, Mrs HOFF. After the 22nd June 1940 armistice, the demarcation line, which was close by, put the Bugey area in free France. « The army of shadows », organized starting from 1942 by General Delestraint, brings us memories of commotions and martyrdoms. The Val d'Enfer monument situated in the commune of Cerdon, and inaugurated on the 29th July 1951, is a tribute to the 700 members of the Resistance from the ain who gave their lives to save others...