Last modified: 2005-03-05 by ivan sache
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![[Flag of Fourchambault]](../images/f/fr-58-fo.gif)
by Pascal
Vagnat
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The municipality of Fourchambault stretches over 455 hectares and has an average elevation of 172 m a.s.l. The 1999 census yielded 4,957 inhabitants. The city is made of two parts, called La Brasserie (The Brewery) and La Fonderie (The Ironworks).
The city was mentioned for the first time in 1404 as Frechambaut, slightly changed to Frechambault in 1449 and Forchambault in 1568, and finally to Fourchambault in 1597. The name of Fourchambault might have came from Germanic words frisk (fresh, recent) and bald (happy, proud). A more probable etymology is Four Archambault, refering to a village oven (four banal) owned by a lord named Archambault.
In 1789, there was nothing in Fourchambault but a watermill located on the right bank of river Loire and owned by the Bishop of Nevers. On 1 April 1821, the building of the ironworks started under the guidance of engineer Georges Dufaut, appointed by the manufacturer Louis Boigues. Ironworks were put into service on 15 October 1822. Smelting works were built nearby the ironworks in 1823. Several workers from Wales and Staffordshire were hired because of their skills in ironworking. In 1836, a suspension bridge was built over the river Loire. The six-span bridge had a length of 400 m and a width of 5.50 m. A company (Compagnie du Pont de Fourchambault) was set up to operate the bridge. Toll was 10 centimes for a person, 20 c. for a loaded horse, 15 c. for a non-loaded horse, 15 c. for a loaded donkey, 12.5 c. for a non-loaded donkey, 10 c. for a pig and 40 c. for a cart, without extra fee for the carter. The inhabitants of Fourchambault repeatedly complained about the toll and the queues it generated, so that on 13 July 1884, the departements of Nièvre and Cher and the cities of Nevers and Fourchambault purchased the bridge, whose toll was suppressed. In 1940, the French Army blew up the bridge with dynamite in order to slow down the progress of the German Army. The bridge was rebuilt in March 1950.
On 5 May 1855, the municipality of Fourchambault was established by "upgrading" the former Fourchambault section of the municipality of Garchizy. There were already 5,380 inhabitants in Fourchambault in 1856. On 7 July 1862, Emperor Napoléon III and Empress Eugénie de Montijo visited the ironworks. In 1901, the ironworks were closed, but they were rapidly reopened in 1903.
Source: Municipal website
Ivan Sache, 8 February 200