Saint-Galmier

Saint-Galmier
A general view of Saint-Galmier
Coat of arms
Saint-Galmier
Location within Rhône-Alpes region  Saint-Galmier
Coordinates: 45°35′27″N 4°19′05″E / 45.5908°N 4.3181°ECoordinates: 45°35′27″N 4°19′05″E / 45.5908°N 4.3181°E
Country	France
Region	Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Department	Loire
Arrondissement	Montbrison
Canton	Saint-Galmier
Intercommunality	Pays de Saint-Galmier
Government
• Mayor (2001–2008)	Jean-Pierre Bouchardon
Area^1	19.47 km^2 (7.52 sq mi)
Population (1999)^2	5,293
• Density	270/km^2 (700/sq mi)
INSEE/Postal code	42222 / 42330
Elevation	357–551 m (1,171–1,808 ft) (avg. 480 m or 1,570 ft)
^1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. ^2 Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once.

Saint-Galmier is a commune in the Loire department in central France.

Its residents are called Baldomériens.

Water

Saint Galmier is a spa town and the source of Badoit mineral water. The thermal spring was known of in Gallo-Roman times, but its fame increased with the general growth in interest in thermal cures in Europe during the nineteenth century.

Before Auguste Badoit appeared on the scene and commercialised the water in the 1830s, both the water, and the spring from which it emerged, were known as "Fontfort". It is for this reason that briefly, during the French Revolutionary period, the town was known as "Fontfortville".

People

• Gilbert Bostsarron, a member of the French Resistance was born here.
• Roger Rivière, a professional cyclist, who was born in Saint-Etienne in 1936, died here in 1976.

See also

• Communes of the Loire department

References

• INSEE commune file