Albanais
The region is bordered to the south by Lac du Bourget and extends to the north in the former Savoy province of Genevois.
Its easterly border at its most abrupt reaches more than 1,700 metres (5,600 ft) at Semnoz, the final peak of the Bauges Mountains.
The Fier leaves the Albanais to the west via a water gap at Val-de-Fier, at an opening between the Princes Mountains and Gros Foug, from there she enters the Rhone downstream from Seyssel.
Under the reign of Charlemagne, the Sapaudia (in actuality Savoy) was divided into seven districts, one of which was Rumilly and the pagus albanensis, corresponding to an area slightly larger than the current day Albanais.
In January 867 Lothaire de Lorraine, a king of the Roman Empire, legally donated land to his wife, the queen Thiedberge, which included the Albanais communes of Ariacum (Héry-sur-Alby), Belmontem (Balmont), and Virilgum (a Vergloz hamlet).
The Albanais is majorly rural but the agricultural economy benefits from a diffuse urbanization that differently affects all communes.
New residents and the younger generations generally work in the urban and peri-urban zones of Rumilly, Aix-les-Bains, Annecy, or further out in Chambéry and Geneva.
Two modern tomme manufacturers were built near Gruffy and Sales, but the milk production of the region largely exceeds their capacity.
There were also sawmills, oil mills, and small power stations (in fact, Alby was one of the first communes in France to have electricity).
In Rumilly there is an important industrial zone (Tefal, Nestlé, and formerly Lait Mont-Blanc and Salomon which closed in 2008), as well as in Alby-sur-Chéran (Galderma).
These industrial and commercial zones extend into the communes of Seynod, Chavanod, and Cran-Gevrier, which border Annecy and Grésy-sur-Aix, near Aix-les-Bains.
In the last few years, numerous logistical services were installed and developed in the region, that have either benefited or suffered from the presence of the autoroute.
As a result, the regional post offices no longer sort their mail and are able to restructure their larger buildings for other purposes.
