Annecy

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Annecy (änsē´), town (1990 pop. 51,143), capital of Haute-Savoie dept., SE France, in Savoy in the N Alps, on beautiful Lake Annecy. A popular tourist resort, it also has printing plants and factories making jewelry, precision instruments, and wood, leather, and textile products. The center of the city, traversed by narrow canals, is picturesquely medieval. St. Francis de Sales, who was born in Annecy, was bishop from 1602 to 1622. The city has many fine churches, monasteries, and seminaries. The castle of the counts of Geneva (12th–14th cent.) dominates Annecy from a hill.

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