Fourchambault

Fourchambault
Commune
The centre of Fourchambault
Coat of arms
Location of Fourchambault
Fourchambault Show map of France Fourchambault Show map of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté
Coordinates: 47°01′10″N 3°05′08″E / 47.0194°N 3.0856°E / 47.0194; 3.0856
Country	France
Region	Bourgogne-Franche-Comté
Department	Nièvre
Arrondissement	Nevers
Canton	Fourchambault
Intercommunality	CA Nevers
Government
• Mayor (2020–2026)	Alain Herteloup[1]
Area 1	4.55 km2 (1.76 sq mi)
Population  (2022)[2]	4,019
• Density	880/km2 (2,300/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	58117 /58600
Elevation	162–181 m (531–594 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Fourchambault (French pronunciation: [fuʁʃɑ̃bo]) is a commune in the Nièvre department in central France.^[3]

Fourchambault lies on the right, eastern bank of the river Loire, about 7 km northwest of Nevers. Fourchambault station has rail connections to Nevers, Cosne-sur-Loire and Paris. The A77 autoroute (Montargis–Nevers) passes east of the town.

In 1819 Boigues & Fils, iron merchant in Paris, and M. Labbé, decided to find a new site on the Loire for their iron foundry to which it would be easier to transport coal, and decided on Fourchambault. A dock was built for cargo boats, and the Loire provided water for the steam engines.^[5] Construction of the factory at Fourchambault began in 1821. The Charbonnières Raveaux and Cramain furnaces became annexes to the new building, and Boigues & Fils collected several furnaces from Nivernais and Berry. Manufacturing began in 1822. Almost 3,000 workers from the surrounding countryside were employed in the cast iron foundry.^[6]

The Société de Commentry, Fourchambault et Decazeville was formed in 1853 through a merger of the Fourchambault foundry, Imphy (Nièvre) steelworks, Montluçon (Allier) foundry and Commentry (Allier) colliery.^[7] In 1954 the company was renamed the Société métallurgique d'Imphy. In 1968 it was merged with the Société des forges et aciéries du Creusot, which in 1971 became Creusot-Loire.^[7] The combined company was in turn absorbed by Creusot-Loire (Saône-et-Loire) in 1971. The Creusot-Loire group was liquidated in December 1984.^[6]

• Communes of the Nièvre department

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Fourchambault.

• Dassé, Pauline (2006), Société de Commentry, Fourchambault et Decazeville (59 Aq Et 1996 064 - 36 Mi) Inventaire Des Archives Photographiques (PDF) (in French), Centre Des Archives du Monde du Travail, retrieved 3 August 2017
• "Société de Commentry - Fourchambault", industrie.lu (in French), retrieved 2 August 2017

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