Bourg-en-Bresse

France

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Bourg-en-Bresse, town, capital of Ain département, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes région, eastern France. It lies on the Reyssouze River, west of Geneva, Switzerland. It is the main centre for the Bresse-Dombes lowlands, west of the Jura.

Its market dates from the 11th century. A franchise charter was granted in 1250, and in the early 15th century it was made the chief city of Bresse by the dukes of Savoy. Bourg-en-Bresse passed to France in 1601. The Brou Church is a Late Gothic masterpiece raised by Margaret of Austria in memory of her husband, Philip IV (the Fair) of Savoy, in fulfillment of a vow made by his mother, Margaret of Bourbon. Notre-Dame Church was built mainly in the 16th century (nave, choir, stalls). The Ain Museum is housed in the former Brou Priory.

Bourg’s location amid an agricultural region is reflected in its food-processing industries and the importance of its cattle market. Metalworking and manufacturing also contribute to the economy. The town is the département’s administrative and commercial centre, and it has a branch of the University of Lyon. Pop. (1999) 40,666; (2014 est.) 40,967.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Michael Ray.

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Bresse

region, France

Written and fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

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Bresse, natural region of eastern France, embracing parts of the Ain and Saône-et-Loire départements. It extends for 60 miles (100 km) from the Dombes region in the south to the Doubs River in the north, and for 20 miles (32 km) from the Jura in the east to the Saône River (west), toward which it gradually slopes. A moderately prosperous agricultural area, it is renowned for its poultry, especially its chicken.

The Antigny, Sainte-Croix, and Coligny families and the lords of Vienne were powerful landowners in the north until displaced by the dukes of Burgundy. Upon the death of Charles the Bold (1477), Bresse passed, with the rest of Burgundy, to the French crown. The southern part of the region, where after 1272 the house of Savoy superseded smaller nobles in power, became the province of Bresse, with Bourges as its capital in the 15th century; it was ceded to France under the Treaty of Lyons (1601). The whole of Bresse was later attached to the French military gouvernement of Burgundy and today is part of the Rhône-Alpes région.

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