Culoz ( or French pronunciation:) is a former commune in the Ain department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of France. On 1 January 2023, it was merged into the new commune of Culoz-Béon.
Geography
The town, which is situated on the right bank of the River Rhône just a few kilometres from the first foothills of the Alps, is dominated by the Grand Colombier: the highest summit of the southern end of the Jura mountain range.
Culoz lies on the D 904 road close to the point at which it crosses the D 992 and is also an important railway junction: Culoz railway station is served by lines to Geneva, Bellegarde-sur-Valserine, Évian-les-Bains, Aix-les-Bains, Bourg-Saint-Maurice, Lyon, and Paris.
Personalities
- Henry Dunant, Nobel Peace Prize winner, 1901, was one of the founders of the Red Cross
- The surgeon Antonin Poncet, who died in Culoz in 1951
- Brothers Henry and Léon Serpollet, steam engineers
- Christophe Lemaitre, sprinter, European champion.
Population
| Year | Pop. | ±% p.a. |
|---|---|---|
| 1968 | 2,412 | — |
| 1975 | 2,523 | +0.64% |
| 1982 | 2,630 | +0.60% |
| 1990 | 2,639 | +0.04% |
| 1999 | 2,622 | −0.07% |
| 2007 | 2,957 | +1.51% |
| 2012 | 2,940 | −0.12% |
| 2017 | 3,035 | +0.64% |
| Source: INSEE | ||