Bourg-en-Bresse is a commune

Communes of France

The commune is the lowest level of administrative division in the French Republic. French communes are roughly equivalent to incorporated municipalities or villages in the United States or Gemeinden in Germany...

 in eastern France, capital of the Ain

Ain

Ain is a department named after the Ain River on the eastern edge of France. Being part of the region Rhône-Alpes and bordered by the rivers Saône and Rhône, the department of Ain enjoys a privileged geographic situation...

 department, and was capital of the former province

Provinces of France

The Kingdom of France was organised into provinces until March 4, 1790, when the establishment of the département system superseded provinces. The provinces of France were roughly equivalent to the historic counties of England...

 of Bresse

Bresse

Bresse is a former French province. It is located in the regions of Rhône-Alpes, Bourgogne, and Franche-Comté of eastern France. The geographical term Bresse has two meanings: Bresse bourguignonne , which is situated in the east of the department of Saône-et-Loire, and Bresse, which is located...

 (Brêsse). It is located 70 km (43.5 mi) north-northeast of Lyon

Lyon

Lyon , is a city in east-central France in the Rhône-Alpes region, situated between Paris and Marseille. Lyon is located at from Paris, from Marseille, from Geneva, from Turin, and from Barcelona. The residents of the city are called Lyonnais....

.

The inhabitants of Bourg-en-Bresse are known as Burgiens.
Bourg-en-Bresse is located at the western base of the Jura mountains

Jura mountains

The Jura Mountains are a small mountain range located north of the Alps, separating the Rhine and Rhone rivers and forming part of the watershed of each...

, on the left bank of the Reyssouze

Reyssouze

Reyssouze is a commune in the Ain department in eastern France....

, a tributary of the Saône

Saône

The Saône is a river of eastern France. It is a right tributary of the River Rhône. Rising at Vioménil in the Vosges department, it joins the Rhône in Lyon....

. It lies 70 kilometres (43 mi) northeast of Lyon

Lyon

Lyon , is a city in east-central France in the Rhône-Alpes region, situated between Paris and Marseille. Lyon is located at from Paris, from Marseille, from Geneva, from Turin, and from Barcelona. The residents of the city are called Lyonnais....

 and at 50 kilometres (31 mi) of Lons-le-Saunier

Lons-le-Saunier

Lons-le-Saunier is a commune and capital of the Jura department in eastern France.-Geography:The town is in the heart of the Revermont region, at the foot of the "premier plateau" of the Jura massif...

.
Roman remains have been discovered at Bourg, but little is known of its early history.