Saint-Étienne is a city in eastern central France. It is located in the Massif Central, 60 km (37.28 mi) southwest of Lyon in the Rhône-Alpes region, along the trunk road that connects Toulouse with Lyon. Saint-Étienne is the capital of the Loire département and has a population of approximately 178,500 in the city itself expanding to over 317,000 in the metropolitan area.
Saint-Étienne became a popular stop for automobile travelers in the early 20th century (sometimes referred to as The Golden Age of Travel. In 1990 Saint-Étienne set up a design biennale – the largest of its kind in France. It lasts around two weeks and takes place in November. The next convention is in 2010. A landmark in the history of the importance ascribed to design in Saint-Étienne 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.
From the 16th century, Saint-Étienne 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. During the French revolution, Saint-Étienne was briefly renamed Armeville – ‘arms town’ – because of this activity.
Later, it became a coal mining centre, and more recently, has been known for its bicycle industry.
In the first half of the 19th century, it was only a chief town of an arrondissement in the département 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-Étienne 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 département and seat of the prefect, replacing Montbrison, which was reduced to the status of chief town of an arrondissement. Saint-Étienne absorbed the commune of Valbenoîte and several other neighbouring localities on 31 March 1855.
