Monopoly in wooden comb manufacture In 630,
Clovis II, the son of
Dagobert I king of the
Franks, travelled to Geneva to meet the king of Burgundy. He met a young slave there, the daughter of a captured Saxon king, and wished to ask for her as his wife. So Dagobert I sent a delegation including
Léger d'Autun to ask the king of Burgundy for her hand and bring her back to Paris. Near Oyonnax, at a place called Sous-Nierme, the litter of Léger d'Autun broke and wounded the head of his escort. Inhabitants of Oyonnax cared for him and repaired the vehicle. The delegation set out again with gifts made by the inhabitants of Oyonnax. In recognition, Léger d'Autun, become a bishop and counselor to queen Bathilde, gave the town the privilege of manufacturing wooden combs. Saint-Léger also became the patron saint feast of Oyonnax.
Development Belonging in the Middle Ages to the lords of Thoire, Oyonnax was then no more than an agricultural village for centuries. (It had 52 inhabitants in 1601). The first development began starting in the 17th century, thanks to its artisans: woodworking and carved horn. The second came with the industrial revolution in the 19th century: Oyonnax became an industrial town, with businesses that sold their goods all over Europe. The railway arrived in 1885. ==Transport==