Annecy, a city in the French Alps

Annecy, a city in Savoy ranked seventh in the Rhône-Alpes region of France, is located 35 kilometers south of Geneva, Switzerland, on the north shore of Lake Annecy. Laure Blanchard, a famous French geographer who specialized in the geography of the Alps and Canada and was known as the father of Quebec geography, praised Annecy as the pearl of the Alps. A Gallic tribe called the Allobroges had inhabited the shores of Lake Annecy since at least 4000 BC. The Roman legions conquered Allobro in 62 BC and later occupied the area, which subsequently became a Roman colony. In 50 BC the Romans founded the town of Butei, today Annecy. It was located at a strategic crossroads of three Roman roads across the Alps (to Italy, Geneva and Vienna) and quickly grew to a population of several thousand, with the Romans building many villas in the countryside. Annecy was attacked by invaders in the post-Roman period but recovered its importance from 1107 AD. By 1756, its population had grown to 470 inhabitants. Grapevines used for winemaking have been grown in the surrounding hills since the Middle Ages. At the end of the 19th century, mildew and phylloxera attacks almost completely destroyed the vines, and wine cultivation was replaced by dairy production. From the late 19th century, Annecy developed tourism around its lake summer facilities, winter resorts and cultural attractions, with its château renovation and fine arts museum opening in 1956 and the animation film festival held at the Bonlieu cultural centre since 1963. The municipal environmental policy has managed to preserve 40.3% of green areas and cities, and in 2015 was awarded the “Golden Flower”, awarded to the nine most flowered cities in France. In the mid-19th century, major industrial activity emerged and one of the largest bells in the world, the "Savoye" that hangs in the Sacre-Coeur in Paris, was cast in the old town of Annecy in 1891. It weighs 18,835 kg, is 3.06 m high, has a circumference of 9.60 m, a base that is 22 cm thick, and a clapper that weighs 850 kg. #OverseasTravel #EuropeTravel #EuropeanTown #Alps #Lake #AncientCity #europe #france #annecy #lac d’annecy