Saint-Claude

• Name — Saint-Claude • Commune Status — Subprefecture and commune • Arrondissement — Saint-Claude • Canton — Saint-Claude • Insee — 39478 • Postal Code — 39200 • Mayor — Jean-Louis Millet • Term — 2020–2026 • Elevation M — 441 • Elevation Min M — 360 • Elevation Max M — 1222 • Area Km2 — 70.19

The town was originally named Saint-Oyand after Saint Eugendus. However, when St. Claudius had, in 690, resigned his Diocese of Besançon and died in 696 as twelfth abbot, the number of pilgrims who visited his grave was so great that, since the 13th century, the name "Saint-Claude" came more and more into use and has today superseded the other. It was the world capital of wooden smoking pipes crafted by hand from the mid 19th century to the mid 20th century. During WWII the town came under German occupation, yet still remained a haven for Jews escaping to Switzerland due to its proximity to it (about 8 km away, as the crow flies). As a punishment to the locals for consistently assisting and harbouring the fleeing Jews, the Nazis executed all of the town’s males of service age in the town centre. There is a memorial plaque in the city square commemorating the event. Today, there are several farms and ranches surrounding the town that produce many world famous brands of dairy (Comte cheese), beef (Charolaise), and poultry (Bresse Gauloise). In 1974, Saint-Claude absorbed the former communes Valfin-lès-Saint-Claude, Ranchette, Chaumont, Chevry and Cinquétral.

The population data in the table below refer to the commune of Saint-Claude proper, in its geography at the given years.

Saint-Claude is served by a railway station.

Saint-Claude has a rugby club. The 2017 Tour de France passed through Saint-Claude. The town's close proximity to the forests and ski resorts makes it a popular destination for hiking, mountain biking, camping, and skiing/snowboarding. Many surrounding lakes (Lac de Vouglans, etc.) also provide numerous fishing and boating activities close to town.

Saint-Claude Cathedral, former seat of the Bishops of Saint-Claude, is located here. One of the landmarks in the city is the world largest model pipe (7.5 meters long and 8.7 meters high, weighing 600 kg) as a proof of its international reputation as the world capital of pipe manufacturing. The world's largest functioning pipe is in St. Claude, Manitoba, which was built in 1984 to honour early settlers from the namesake Saint-Claude, Jura. It was smoked by locals during a fair in 1986.

• Nadir Belhadj (born 1982), footballer • Suzanne Belperron (1900–1983), jewelry designer • Angelique Boyer (born 1988), actress • Mevlüt Erdinç (born 1987), footballer • Maud Forget (born 1982), actress • Pierre Morel (1930–2011), cyclist • René Nicod (1881–1950), politician • Alexis Vuillermoz (born 1988), cyclist