Vienne
Vienne names 3 different subjects across the 6 encyclopedias on this shelf. Each is set out below.
Vienne one of the most ancient towns of France
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
one of the most ancient towns of France, in the department of Isère; on the Rhone, 19 miles S. of Lyons. The river Gère passes through the town, and here joins the Rhone, after having supplied motive power to a number of mills and factories. Vienne was the chief town of the Allobroges, is mentioned by Cæsar, and by Martial; in the time of the Roman emperors it was the rival of Lyons. Besides numerous water conduits, etc., of Roman construction, there are a Corinthian temple of Augustus and Livia, remains of theater and a a pyramid, called The Eagle, 72 feet high; and the museum containing many relics of Roman antiquity. The cathedral of St. Maurice, partly Romanesque, partly Gothic, was built in 1107-1251; St. Peter's dates from the 6th century. The town was prominent under the Burgundian princes, and its archbishop disputed with his neighbor of Lyons the primacy of Gaul. In 1312 a council was held dependent of Austria, and largely hos- here, in which Pope Clement V. pronounced the suppression of the order of the Templars. There are manufactures of woolens, silk, paper, leather, and iron goods, and trade in grain and wine. Pop. about 25,000.
Vienne a department in the W
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
a department in the W. of France constituted mainly of the old province of Poitou, between Indre and Deux-Sèvres; area, 2,711 square miles; pop. about 330,000. The Vienne, an affluent of the Loire, is the principal river, and has the Creuse as its chief tributary. The surface is mostly flat, with a gradual slope from the N. The country consists almost wholly of fertile plains, fine pasture lands, and extensive forests. The mineral riches comprise iron, manganese, and quarries of stone, including lithographic stone. Poitiers is the capital.
Vienne HAUTE, an interior department of France
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
HAUTE, an interior department of France, S. E. of Vienne; bounded on the W. by departments of Vienne, Charente, and Dordogne; area, 2,119 square miles; pop. about 385,000. It is watered by the Vienne and tributaries. The surface is for the most part level, though not fertile, but is -VIEUXTEMPS traversed by ranges of low hills, including the Monts du Limousin. There is much cattle breeding. Kaolin is the chief mineral product, and much porcelain is made.
What Has Changed in the Last Century
Collier's 1921 description of the town still fits: the temple of Augustus and Livia stands, the cathedral of St. Maurice is intact, and the 72-foot "pyramid" is now understood to be the central spine of a Roman circus. What has moved is the archaeology — excavations begun in 1967 at Saint-Romain-en-Gal across the Rhone uncovered a whole Roman quarter, now a museum opened in 1996, and a further large residential district was found at neighbouring Sainte-Colombe in 2017 and dubbed a "little Pompeii". The town's population has crept only from about 25,000 to roughly 29,000, and its Roman theatre now hosts the Jazz a Vienne festival each summer. Of the two departments, Vienne has grown to about 440,000 (helped by the Futuroscope park opened near Poitiers in 1987), while Haute-Vienne, at around 374,000, has fewer people than Collier's counted in 1921 and its kaolin quarries no longer feed the Limoges porcelain trade as they did.
Written for this edition, 2026.