Saint-ÃÂtienne (; Franco-Provençal: Sant-Etiève), also written St. Etienne, is a city and the prefecture of the Loire département, in eastern-central France, in the Massif Central, southwest of Lyon, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region.
Saint-ÃÂtienne is the thirteenth most populated commune in France and the second most populated commune in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. Its metropolis (métropole), Saint-ÃÂtienne Métropole, is the second most populous regional metropolis after Lyon. The commune is also at the heart of a vast metropolitan area with 406,868 inhabitants (2020), the eighteenth largest in France by population, comprising 105 communes. Its inhabitants are known as Stéphanois (masculine) and Stéphanoises (feminine).
Long known as the French city of the "weapon, cycle and ribbon" and a major coal mining centre, Saint-ÃÂtienne is currently engaged in a vast urban renewal program aimed at leading the transition from the industrial city inherited from the 19th century to the "design capital" of the 21st century. This approach was recognised with the entry of Saint-ÃÂtienne into the UNESCO Creative Cities network in 2010. The city is currently undergoing renewal, with the installation of the Châteaucreux business district, the âÂÂSteelâ retail complex and the manufacturing creative district.
The city is known for its football club AS Saint-ÃÂtienne, which has won the Ligue 1 title ten times.
Named after Saint Stephen, the city first appears in the historical record in the Middle Ages as (after the River Furan, a tributary of the Loire). At the close of the 12th century St ÃÂtienne was a parish of the Pays de Gier belonging to the abbey of Valbenoîte. In the 13th century, it was a small borough around the church dedicated to Saint Stephen. On the upper reaches of the Furan, near the Way of St. James, the Abbey of Valbenoîte had been founded by the Cistercians in 1222. At the beginning of the 15th century Charles VII permitted the town to erect fortifications. In the late 15th century, it was a fortified village defended by walls built around the original nucleus.
From the 16th century, Saint-ÃÂtienne developed an arms manufacturing industry and became a market town. It was this which accounted for the town's importance, although it also became a centre for the manufacture of ribbons and passementerie starting in the 17th century.
Later, it became a mining centre of the Loire coal mining basin. The Hôtel de Ville (City Hall) was completed in 1830.
In the first half of the 19th century, it was only a chief town of an arrondissement in the ' of the Loire, with a population of 33,064 in 1832. The concentration of industry prompted these numbers to rise rapidly to 110,000 by about 1880. It was this growing importance of Saint-ÃÂtienne that led to its being made seat of the prefecture and the departmental administration on 25 July 1855, when it became the chief town in the ' and seat of the prefect, replacing Montbrison, which was reduced to the status of chief town of an . Saint-ÃÂtienne absorbed the commune of Valbenoîte and several other neighbouring localities on 31 March 1855.
During the repression of January and February 1894, the police conducted raids targeting the anarchists living there, without much success.
The population data in the table and graph below refer to the commune of Saint-ÃÂtienne proper, in its geography at the given years. The commune of Saint-ÃÂtienne absorbed the former communes of Beaubrun, Montaud, Outre-Furent and Valbenoîte in 1855, ceded Planfoy in 1863, merged with the exclave Saint-Victor-sur-Loire and with Terrenoire in 1969 and Rochetaillée in 1973.
Saint-ÃÂtienne became a popular stop for automobile travelers in the early 20th century.
In 1998, Saint-ÃÂtienne set up a design , the largest of its kind in France. It lasts around two weeks. A landmark in the history of the importance ascribed to design in Saint-ÃÂtienne was the inauguration of La Cité du design on the site of the former arms factory in 2009.
The city also launched the Massenet Festivals, (the composer Jules Massenet hailed from the area) devoted mainly to perform Massenet's operas. In 2000, the city was named one of the French Towns and Lands of Art and History. On 22 November 2010, it was nominated as "City of Design" as part of UNESCO's Creative Cities Network.
Saint-ÃÂtienne has four museums:
Saint-ÃÂtienne has 38 Monuments historiques, 6 buildings labeled architecture contemporaine remarquable (remarkable contemporary architecture), 2 sites classés (classified sites) and 5 sites patrimoniaux remarquables (remarkable heritage sites).
The climate is temperate at the weather station due to its low altitude, but Saint-ÃÂtienne itself is much higher, above 530 m (1,739 ft) in the centre, as well as even above 700 m (2,297 ft) in the southern parts of the city. Saint-ÃÂtienne is very close to a warm-summer humid continental climate (Köppen: Dfb); it is generally one of the snowiest cities in France, with an average of 85 cm (2.79 ft) of snow accumulation per year.
The city's football club AS Saint-ÃÂtienne has won the Ligue 1 title a joint-record ten times, achieving most of their success in the 1970s. The British indie-dance band Saint Etienne named themselves after the club.
Saint-ÃÂtienne has a number of sports stadiums, the largest being Stade Geoffroy-Guichard used for football and Stade Henri-Lux for athletics. St. ÃÂtienne was the capital of the French bicycle industry. The bicycle wheel manufacturer Mavic is based in the city and frame manufacturers Motobécane and Vitus are also based here. The city often hosts a stage of the Tour de France.
Saint-ÃÂtienne resident Thierry Gueorgiou is a world champion in orienteering. The local rugby union team is CA Saint-ÃÂtienne Loire Sud Rugby.
The nearest airport is Saint-ÃÂtienneâÂÂBouthéon Airport which is located in Andrézieux-Bouthéon, north-northwest of Saint-ÃÂtienne. As of 2024, there are no scheduled services to and from the airport, although there are occasional holiday charters, mainly to Mediterranean destinations. The nearest major airport is LyonâÂÂSaint-Exupéry Airport which is located to north east of the city centre.
The main railway station is Saint-ÃÂtienne-Châteaucreux station, which offers high-speed services to Paris and Lyon (Saint-ÃÂtienneâÂÂLyon railway), as well as connects to several regional lines. There are four other railway stations in Saint-ÃÂtienne (Bellevue, Carnot, La Terrasse and Le Clapier) with local services.
Saint-ÃÂtienne is also notable for its tramway (Saint-ÃÂtienne tramway) â which uniquely with Lille, it kept throughout the 20th century â and its trolleybus system (Saint-ÃÂtienne trolleybus system) â which is one of only three such systems currently operating in France.
Bus and tram transport is regulated and provided by the Société de Transports de l'Agglomération Stéphanoise (STAS), a public transport executive organisation.
The bicycle sharing system Vélivert with 280 short term renting bicycles has been available since June 2010.
Saint-ÃÂtienne was the birthplace of:
It was also the place where Andrei Kivilev died.
Saint-ÃÂtienne is twinned with: