Saint-Loup-de-Varennes

Saint-Loup-de-Varennes
Commune
A sign showing the name of the inventor of photography
Coat of arms
Location of Saint-Loup-de-Varennes
Saint-Loup-de-Varennes Saint-Loup-de-Varennes
Coordinates: 46°43′43″N 4°51′41″E
Country	France
Region	Bourgogne-Franche-Comté
Department	Saône-et-Loire
Arrondissement	Chalon-sur-Saône
Canton	Saint-Rémy
Intercommunality	CA Le Grand Chalon
Government
• Mayor (2020–2026)	Gérard Rigaud
Area 1	8.32 km2 (3.21 sq mi)
Population  (2021)	1,226
• Density	150/km2 (380/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	71444 /71240
Elevation	171–205 m (561–673 ft) (avg. 191 m or 627 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Saint-Loup-de-Varennes (French pronunciation: [sɛ̃ lu də vaʁɛn], literally Saint-Loup of Varennes) is a commune in the Saône-et-Loire department in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in eastern France.

The commune is home to the world's oldest surviving image in the world, View from the Window at Le Gras. The image was first taken in 1826.

Geography

It is 6 km (3.7 mi) south of the centre of Chalon-sur-Saône.

Historical significance

View from the Window at Le Gras, one of Nicéphore Niépce's earliest surviving photographs

Nicéphore Niépce, the inventor of photography, lived in Saint-Loup-de-Varennes, where he died in 1833. Most or all of his photographs, including one taken in 1827 and now the oldest known surviving camera photograph, were made at Le Gras, his ancestral family estate in this village.

See also

• Communes of the Saône-et-Loire department

References

• Niépce website (in French)