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Grenoble HotelsCity (1990 pop. 153,973), capital of Isère dept., SE France, on the Isère River at the foot of the Alps. It is the hydroelectric center of France and has an important nuclear-research center. Metals, electrical equipment, chemicals, and food products are the chief manufactures. An ancient city of the Allobroges and a Roman city, Grenoble came under the Burgundians (5th cent.), the Franks (6th cent.), and the kingdom of Provence (9th-11th cent.). When that kingdom broke up, Grenoble became a possession of the dauphins of Viennois; Dauphiné along with its capital, Grenoble, passed to the French crown in 1349. The parlement of Grenoble was strongly anti-Royalist during the French Revolution. In Grenoble are a famous university (founded 1339); the Cathedral of Notre Dame (12-13th cent.); the Church of St. André (13th-14th cent.), which contains the tomb of the military hero Pierre Bayard; the Renaissance palace of the dauphins (now the courthouse); and an art museum. Another museum is devoted to Stendhal, who was born in Grenoble. Near the city is the Grande Chartreuse, a monastery founded in 1084. Grenoble is a noted tourist and skiing center and was the site of the 1968 winter Olympics. The city of Grenoble is located in eastern France, in a mountain rift valley of the Rhône-Alpes region, and is encased by three mountain ranges. Chartreuse and Le Vercors are calcium pre-alpes, with peaks above 2000 meters. Belledonne is part of the high crystalline alpes, with peaks of just under 3000 meters. The city is at a relatively low altitude (200 meters) bringing the height of the mountains into sharp relief. The reputation enjoyed by Grenoble for its quality of life is explained by the exceptional natural environment: its population may easily go skiing, hiking, mountaineering, paragliding, and so on.
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