Épinal

Épinal is a commune in northeastern France and the capital (prefecture) of the Vosges department. Inhabitants are known as Spinaliens.

Located in the heart of Europe, along the valley of the middle Moselle , Épinal is at the crossroads of trade, industry and tourism, at the crossroads of Germany , Belgium , Luxembourg and Switzerland .

Government
Country	France
Region	Grand Est
Department	Vosges
Canton	Épinal-1 and 2
Mayor (2020–2026)	Patrick Nardin
Area¹	59.24 km² (22.87 sq mi)
Population	31,740
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)

Economy

Épinal is best known for the “Images d’Épinal” – which is now a common expression in French language – the popular prints created by a local company, the Imagerie d’Épinal, formerly known as the Imagerie Pellerin. These stencil-colored woodcuts of military subjects, Napoleonic history, storybook characters and other folk themes were widely distributed throughout the 19th century. The company still exists today, and still uses its hand-operated presses to produce the antique images. Other local industries include textiles, metals, morocco leather, precision instruments, and bicycles. There is a school of textile weaving.

In 2019, the city center has several shopping areas, including:The rue Léopold-Bourg.

the city center which has bookstores, bars, restaurants, hotels, stores such as Atelec Group Digital;
Subway , Camaïeu , Cache-Cache , Esprit , EDC, IKKS , Burton, Pimkie , Jenifer , Armand Thierry , Jules , Séphora , Célio , Douglas.
the ZAC of Saut-le-Cerf has more than thirty stores such as La Halle, Gémo , BUT , Fly , Norma , Saint-Maclou , etc.
the ZAC des Terres Saint-Jean also has more than thirty stores such as Cultura , Leader Price , Château d’Ax, Maison du Monde, JYSK, etc.
the ZAC de la Roche, where car dealers such as Renault, Dacia, Mercedes, Citroën, Ford, Toyota, etc. are mainly located, as well as stores such as Décathlon , Metro , Véloland, Mercier David, etc.

Transport

Roads

Truly at the heart of the departmental road network, Épinal has a north-south connection located ( 0 h 40 from Nancy , 130 km ( 1 h 15 ) from Metz and providing access to both to Northern Europe (A31) than to Franche-Comté , Alsace and Switzerland.

Rail transport

Since the arrival of the Eastern European TGV theJune 10, 2007 , Épinal is now at least 2 h 20 min from Paris with two daily round trips. At the same time, as part of a partnership with local authorities, the creation of a multimodal trade hub to facilitate travel and transfers between the different modes of transport has emerged. The Luxembourg and cities Furrow Lorraine ( Thionville , Metz , Nancy , Epinal) could well be related to the Lyon Basin and the Great South; Épinal would be for example at 1 h 56 minfrom Lyon .

Urban transport

Bus: Urban public transport is provided by the intercommunal transport union of the Spinalian agglomeration (Sitas) under the trade name Imagine. Unlike other cities, the lines of the Imagine network do not connect the districts of the agglomeration to each other, but form a spider web network connecting some neighboring municipalities from the Spinalian city center: Golbey, Chantraine, Dinozé
Shuttle: A completely free shuttle service has been set up to connect, in less than five minutes, the large free parking lot of the Champ de Mars (2000 spaces) to the city center.

Cycle paths

The network of cycle paths is intended for home-work journeys and used above all for leisure. A large track connects the port to the Bouzey reservoir (13 km ). The city has also set up a bicycle rental agency at the port (Vélo Bleu).

Air Transport

Épinal is also located one hour from Metz-Nancy-Lorraine regional airport and two hours from Basel-Mulhouse-Friborg and Luxembourg international airports . Since 1921, Épinal has also had a small airfield with a 700-meter grass runway. The aerodrome is located just north of the city, in the town of Dogneville .

Education

With 2,800 students in 2019, Épinal is the third university city in Lorraine. Épinal has several establishments whether in primary and nursery schools, colleges, high schools and in higher education.

Local Culture and Heritage

Places and monuments

Historical monuments

Basilica Saint-Maurice , xi ^th – xiii ^th century ,classified MH ( 1846 ) .
Roman House Inscribed MH ( 1990 ).
Park and castle of Épinal , respectively Listed MH ( 1992 ) and Classified MH ( 1992 ).
The Chinese tower, Classified MH ( 1992 ) .
The Notre-Dame-au-Cierge church, avenue De-Lattre-de-Tassigny .
The house, at 30bis rue Thiers, built in 1906 for the industrialist Kaeppelin, by the Spinalian architect Louis Mougenot, in an Art Nouveau style, with stained glass decor.
The houses on the Place des Vosges, formerly called Place du Poiron (all listed as a historic monument in 1926 );
including the Bailly house classified as a historical monument by decree ofJune 20, 1986.
he organ from 1905 by Henri Didier, in the church of Saint-Antoine-de-Padoue ;
Curt Scwenkedel’s 1960 organ, in Notre-Dame-au-Cierge ;
the great organ from 1828 by Jean-Baptiste Gavot and the choir organ from 1891 by Henri Didier, in the basilica of Saint-Maurice;
the organ from 1874 of the Wetze brothers, in Reformed Church.
the Haerpfer (1970) and Garnier (2005) organ from the music school .Panorama of Épinal from the ruins of the castle.

Religious buildings

Catholic

The Basilica of Saint-Maurice is a church Gothic of the xiii ^th century mainly Gothic Champagne.
Notre-Dame-au-Cierge Church (Avenue De Lattre de Tassigny)
Saint-Laurent Church (Departmental 434)
Church of Sainte-Maria-Goretti
Saint-Antoine-de-Padoue Church (Champ-du-Pin district)
Church of the Holy Family (Saut-le-Cerf district)
Saint-Paul Church (place d’Avrinsart)
Notre-Dame-de-Consolation Chapel (known as the Forty-Week Chapel)
Chapelle Saint-Michel (intersection rue Émile Zola-faubourg de Poissompré)
Chapel of Vieux-Saint-Laurent (rue Haute)
Chapel of the Notre-Dame institution (rue des Jardiniers)
Chapel of the academic inspectorate (rue Antoine Hurault).

Jew :

Synagogue (rue Charlet)Dating from 1863, destroyed in 1940, rebuilt in 1952; worship is still celebrated in a new modern-style synagogue.

Protestant :

Protestant temple (rue de la Préfecture)Inaugurated on September 21, 1873 on the plans of the architect Risler, located 28 rue de la Préfecture, and its organ from 1874 by the Wetze brothers.

Saint-Maurice Basilica (bell tower).
Saint-Maurice Basilica (east side).
Saint-Maurice Basilica (interior).
Basilica of Saint-Maurice (Entombment in the right arm of the transept).
Notre-Dame-au-Cierge Church.
Saint-Laurent Church.
Church of Sainte-Maria-Goretti.
Church of Saint-Antoine-de-Padoue.

Memorials and memorial sites

The monuments to the dead and places of memory of the city :

Monuments commemorating the dead of the two world wars ;
Monuments to the dead ;
Monument in memory of the harkis who died for France ;
Monument to the dead repatriated from Mostaganem ;
Memorial to the Vosges Israelites ;
Monument to the Prize of the suffering of the Vosges for Freedom ;
Monument to the Vosges who died in North Africa ;
Departmental commemorative monument, Indochina War ;
Monument to the Vosges ;
To the dead of 152 and 352nd RI ;
To the Vosges victims in 1870-71;

Museums and Art Galleries

Cité de l’Image , including:
- Image Museum : it is in this museum that we find the famous Plan Bellot (1626), symbol of the city;
- Écomusée de l’Image ( imagery of Épinal );
Departmental Museum of Ancient and Contemporary Art ;
Chapter Museum (historical and archaeological);
Planetarium , with a dome of 10 m in diameter, installed at the MJC La Belle-Étoile Presentation of the planetarium of Épinal;
La Plomberie (contemporary art gallery), located next to the inter-municipal multimedia library and the cinema complex, rue Saint-Michel;

Libraries and media

The Vosges departmental media library (formerly the departmental loan library), managed by the Vosges general council , is located in the economic activity zone of La Voivre.
Library of the diocesan house: the diocesan house of Épinal, located rue De-Lattre-de-Tassigny, has a library, made up of works centered on religion, the history of religions and theology, that it is possible to borrow.
Library of the Léo-Lagrange center.
The Library for all, associative library located rue Saint-Goëry.

Green spaces

Épinal contains several green spaces. The city has also received the diploma of International Laureate of the Most Flowered Cities and today still displays four flowers on the city entrance panels.

Parc du Cours: large public park along the Moselle, created at the turn of the century. Thirty baskets are planted there each year, in mosaiculture.
The rose garden of the Maison Romaine: astonishing and magnificent reproduction of a house in Pompeii, built in 1905 by the widow of a wealthy industrialist who was ruined in this adventure.
The castle park: 23 ha animal park located around the ruins of the castle.
The reconstructed medieval garden at the foot of the castle and the vineyard which reminds us that in the past, wine was made in Épinal.
The port of Épinal: three hectares of greenery in the city center.
L’Île sous la Gosse: a small wooded park located between the port of Épinal and Golbey.
The Cinq-Sens garden near the retirement home.
Ville fleurie: four flowers and Grand Prix mention in the 2007 winners of the towns and villages in bloom competition