Last modified: 2019-04-28 by ivan sache
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Flag of Sathonay-Camp - Image by ND, 11 June 2005
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The municipality of Sathonay-Camp (4,339 inhabitants; 194 ha; municipal website) is
located 4 km north-east of Lyon on the plateau separating the valleysof Rhône and Saône.
In the Prehistoric times, the region was covered with ice. In 1879,
during the building of a road, workers excavated a 3 m long mammoth
defense. According to his biography written by Emperor Napoléon III,
Julius Caesar set up in 58 BP a camp in Sathonay, in order to prevent
the Helvetii to migrate westwards.
In the 13th century, Sathonay was part of the domain of Miribel, owned by Humbert I, the first lord of Dombes, the wet region located east of river Saône. Humbert belonged to the house of Beaujeu (as Humbert V of Beaujeu), allied to the house of France, and was therefore vassal of the King of France. Humbert died in Palestine in 1250 and was succeeded by his sister, Isabelle of Beaujeu. A few years later, Sathonay was owned by the lords of Sathonay, which were succeeded in the 14th century by the Ferlay family. The lord of Ferlay was vassal of the Dolphin of Viennois, who offered Sathonay to King of France Philip VI of Valois in 1342; the King swapped Sathonay with the Duke of Savoy in 1354. When Louis XI fought war against Savoy, his troops sacked Sathonay and the castle of Rivery in 1469. Around 1500, Claude Ferlay bequeathed Sathonay to his three daughters. His grand children sold the domain to the Treasurer of France, Jacques d'Aveynes, from Lyon. The purchase was done during the French occupation of Dombes (1536-1559); in 1579, Duke Emmanuel-Philibert of Miribel expelled Aveynes and incorporated Sathonay to the Marquisate of Miribel, granted the same year to Henriette of Savoy, the niece of Duke Philibert II. Sathonay-en-Bresse became a Barony and had several successive owners.
In 1789, Sathonay had 350 inhabitants; the village was incorporated into the department of Ain in 1791. Until the Revolution, a small territory called Franc Lyonnais existed in the region. At the end of the 15th century, a few municipalities asked the protection of the King of France in spite of being located (nominally) in the German Empire; the borders of France, Franc Lyonnais and Savoy were extremely intricated and some enclaves of Franc Lyonnais had less than ten inhabitants. Since the area was fairly poor, nobody really cared.
After the revolution of 1848 and the proclamation of the Second Empire,
Napoléon III decided to set up a big garrison in Lyon. Marshal de
Castellane (1788-1862), appointed Military Governor of Lyon,
decided to set up a big camp in Sathonay. The first troops settled in
June 1853 and the camp was officially inaugurated in 1858. Castellane's
successor, General Canrobert, purchased the land previously rented by
the Army from the municipality of Sathonay. The area of the camp was
then 32 ha. The building of the camp boosted the economy of the
village, which had then more than 40 cafés. The railway Sathonay-Lyon
Croix Rousse, known as la Galoche, was inaugurated in 1863; a post
office was created the same year. In 1885, General Palikao, Commander
of the 4th Military Region, proposed to the municipality of Caluire to
incorporate the camp of Sathonay, to no avail. The
camp was visited in 1895 by President Félix Faure, Minister of War General Zurlinden, Minister of the Navy Admiral Besnard and the Mayor
of Sathonay; the colonial units were granted their colors, in the
presence of General Duchesne, Commander of the Madagascar colonial
expedition.
On 4 April 1908, the Senate passed the Law splitting the municipality
of Sathonay into Sathonay-Village and Sathonay-Camp. The split was
controversial and the last litigation took place on 7 February 1910.
The separation was eventually recognized by the State Council in 1918.
The troops of the camp of Sathonay were reviewed in 1914 by General Galliéni, then Military Governor of Lyon. During the First World War, the troops of Sathonay were sent to Alsace and Vosges; the camp was used for training and resupplying. The camp was occupied by the German army in 1942. After the war, the camp was allocated to the 22nd Infantry Regiment, recreated in 1966 and renamed in October 1968 to 99th Infantry Regiment. The Regiment is the remote descendant of the German Regiment of Deux-Ponts, created in 1756 for the service of King of France Louis XV.
Following a movement founded in Sweden in 1927, inhabitants of Sathonay formed two Castor (Beaver) groups in 1952 and built together several
houses.
Sathonay-Village and Sathonay-Camp were transfered into the department
of Rhône in 1968.
Ivan Sache, 11 June 2005
The flag of Sathonay-Camp, as shown on the municipal website, seems to be blue with a eight-pointed yellow cross. The municipal website, however, says that the municipal coat of arms is the former coat of arms of the Ferlay family, sable a cross argent.
ND & Ivan Sache, 11 June 2005