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GRENOBLE

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Originally appearing in Volume V12, Page 580 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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GRENOBLE  , the

ancient capital of the
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Dauphine in S.E . France, and now the chief
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town of the Isere department, 75 M. by
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rail from Lyons, 381 m. from
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Chambery and 852 m. from
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Gap . Pop . (1906), town, 58,641; commune, 73,022 . It is one of the most beautifully situated, and also one of the most strongly fortified, cities in
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Europe . Built at a height of 702 ft. on both banks of the
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river Isere just above its junction with the Drac, the town occupies a considerable plain at the south-western end of the fertile Graisivaudan valley . To the north rise the mountains of the Grande Chartreuse, to the east the range of Belle-donne, and to the south those of Taillefer and the Moucherotte, the higher summits of these ranges being partly covered with snow . From the Jardin de Ville and the quays of the banks of the Isere the
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summit of Mont Blanc itself is visible . The greater
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part of the town rises on the
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left
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bank of the Isere, which is bordered by broad quays . The older portion has the tortuous and narrow streets usual in towns that have been confined within fortifications, but in
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modern times these hindrances have been demolished . The newer portion of the town has wide thorough-fares and buildings of the modern French type, solid but not picturesque . The
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original town (of but small extent) was built on the right bank of the Isere at the
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southern
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foot of the Mont Rachais, now covered by a succession of fortresses that rise picturesquely on the slope of that hill to a very considerable height (885 ft. above the town) .

Grenoble is the seat of a bishopric which was founded in the 4th

century, and now comprises the department of the Isere—formerly a suffragan of Vienne it now forms part of the ecclesiastical province of Lyons . The most remarkable
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building in the town is the Palais de Justice, erected (
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late 15th century to 16th century) on the site of the old palace of the Parlement of the Dauphine . Opposite is the most noteworthy church of the city, that of St Andre (13th century), formerly the
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chapel of the dauphins of the Viennois: in it is the 17th century monument of Bayard (1476–1524), the chevalier sans pear et sans reproche, which was removed hither in 1822; but it is uncertain whose bones are therein . The
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cathedral church of Notre Dame is a heavy building, dating in part from the 11th century . The church of St Laurent, on the right bank of the Isere, is the
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oldest in the city (I1th century) and has a remarkable crypt, dating from Merovingian times . The town hall is a mainly modern building, constructed on the site of the palace of the dauphins, while the prefecture is entirely modern . The town library contains a considerable collection of paintings, mainly of the modern French school, but is more remarkable for its very rich collection of
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MSS . (700o) and printed books (250,000 vols.) which in
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great part belonged till 1793 to the monastery of the Grande Chartreuse . The natural
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history museum houses rich collections of various kinds, which contain (inter cilia) numerous
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geological specimens from the neighbouring districts of the Dauphine and Savoy . The university, revived in modern times after a long abeyance, occupies a modern building, as does also the hospital, though founded as far back as the r5th century . There are numerous societies in the town, including the Academie Delphinale (founded in 1972), and many charitable institutions . The
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staple industry of Grenoble is the manufacture of kid gloves, most of the so-called gants Jouvin being made here—they are named after the reviver of the
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art, X .

Jouvin (1800-1844) . There are about 8o

glove factories, which employ 18,5oo persons (of whom 15,000 are
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women), the
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annual output being about 800,000 dozen pairs of gloves . Among other articles produced at Grenoble are artificial cements,
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liqueurs,
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straw hats and carved furniture . Grenoble occupies the site of Cularo, a
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village of the Allobroges, which only became of importance when fortified by Diocletian and Maximian at the end of the 3rd century . Its
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present name is a corruption of Gratianopolis, a title assumed probably in honour of Gratian (4th century), who raised it to the rank of a civitas . After passing under the power of the Burgundians (c . 440) and the Franks (532) it became part of the
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kingdom of Provence (879-1032) . On the break-up of that kingdom a long struggle for supremacy ensued between the bishops of the city and the
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counts of Albon, the latter finally winning the day in the 12th century, and taking the title of Dauphins of the Viennois in the 13th century . In 1349 Grenoble was ceded with the rest of the Dauphine to France, but retained various municipal privileges which had been granted by the dauphins to the town, originally by a charter of 1242 . In 1562 it was sacked by the Protestants under the baron
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des Adrets, but in 1572 the firmness of its governor, Bertrand de Gordes, saved it from a repetition of the
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Massacre of St Bartholomew . In 1590 Lesdiguieres (1543-1626) took the town in the name of Henry IV., then still a
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Protestant, and during his long governorship (which lasted to his
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death) did much for it by the construction of fortifications, quays, &c . In 1788 the attempt of the king to weaken the power of the parlement of Grenoble (which, though strictly a judicial authority, had preserved traditions of independence, since the suspension of the states-general of the Dauphine in 1628) roused the
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people to arms, and the " day of the tiles " (7th of
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June 1788) is memorable for the defeat of the royal forces .

In 1790, on the formation of the department of the Isere, Grenoble became its capital . Grenoble was thg first important town to open its

gates to
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Napoleon on his return from Elba (7th of March 1815), but a few months later (
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July) it was obliged to surrender to the
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Austrian army . Owing to its situation Grenoble was formerly much subject to floods, particularly in the case of the wild Drac . One of the worst took place in 1219, while that of 1778 was known as the deluge de la Saint Crepin . Among the celebrities who have been born at Grenoble are Vaucanson (1709-1782), Mably (1709-1785), Condillac (1715-1780), Beyle, best known as Stendhal, his nom de guerre (1783-1842), Barnave (1761-1793) and Casimir Perier (1977-1832) . See A . Prudhomme, Histoire de Grenoble (1888); X . Roux, La Corporation des gantiers de Grenoble (1887) ; H . Duhamel, Grenoble considers comme centre d'excursions (1902); J . Marion, Cartulaires de l'eglise cathedrale de Grenoble (Paris, 1869) . (W . A .

B .

End of Article: GRENOBLE
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GRENADINES
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GRENVILLE (or GRANVILLE), SIR RICHARD (r600-1658)

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