Rive-de-Gier (French pronunciation: [ʁiv də ʒje], literally Bank of Gier; Arpitan: Vâr-de-Giér) is a commune in the Loire department in central France.
Renaud de Forez surrounded the town by walls and ditches during the reign of Philip II of France (1165-1223) .
In 1831 a riot of gunsmiths in Saint-Étienne injured several and led to the arrest of 18 people, The same year the miners of Rive-de-Gier, and then the glass makers, went on strike.
In 1749 the glass maker Robichon from Franche-Comté moved to Givors where it used sand from the Rhone as material and coal from Rive-de-Gier as fuel.
In 1877 Petrus Richarme rebuilt the factory with an area of 7,500 square metres (81,000 sq ft) and introduced into France the gas and continuous melting furnaces of Siemens.
[6] The company, which engaged in extracting, processing and selling iron and coal was initially based in Rive-de-Gier.
As a symbol of this time, the chimney of the old Marrel Forges on the site of Châteauneuf, Loire, built in 1866 and one of the highest in Europe at 108 metres (354 ft), was classified a historical monument in 1992.
[9] Every Tuesday and Friday morning a large market is open in the main square, the Place de la Liberation.
[12] The Château du Mouillon has a central part that corresponds to the original house and dates back to the 18th century.
First Lucien Arbel, then in 1894 by Jean-Marie Marrel and his son Henri, who had it improved by Parisian designers and artisans.
The building, common, garden and some rooms (entrance hall, staircase, old dining room to the north, large oval salon to the south, woodwork and decor of the old library on the ground floor, wood fireplace first floor) are included in the inventory of historical monuments.
To the left after the entry there is a small living room decorated with a white fireplace in Louis XV style.
Two double doors lead to the "Grand Salon" with ornate woodwork and a black fireplace, a painted ceiling with a plaster rosette.
The Church of Our Lady of Gier, built in the early 19th century, is registered in the inventory of historical monuments including its interior.