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'Nîmes' (Provençal Occitan: ''Nimes'' in both classical and Mistralian norms) is a city and commune of southern France. It is the ''préfecture'' (capital) of the Gard ''département''. Nîmes has a rich history, dating back to the Roman Empire, and is a popular tourist destination.

Contents

History

Prehistory

From 4000 to 2000 BC

From 1800 to 1 BC

From 600 BC to 49 BC

The Gallo-Roman Period

From the 4th to 13th century

The Time of Invasions

From the 17th Century to the Revolution

From the Revolution to the present day

Demographics

Sights

Miscellaneous

People born in Nîmes

Mayors

Twin towns

References

External links

History

The city derives its name from that of a spring, Nemausus, in the Roman village. The contemporary symbol and shield of the city of Nîmes includes a crocodile chained to a palm tree with the inscription 'COLNEM', an abbreviation of 'Colonia Nemausus', meaning the 'colony' or 'settlement' of Nemausus. Veterans of the Roman legions who had served Julius Caesar in his Nile campaigns, at the end of fifteen years of soldiering, were given plots of land to cultivate on the plain of Nîmes.
Nîmes was located on the Via Domitia, a Roman road constructed in 118 BC, connecting Italy to Spain.

Prehistory

The site on which the built-up area of Nîmes has become established in the course of centuries is part of the edge of the alluvial plain of the Vistrenque River which butts up against low hills: to the northeast, the Mt. Duplan; to the southwest, Montaury; to the west, Mt. Cavalier and the knoll of Canteduc.

From 4000 to 2000 BC

The site known as Serre Paradis belongs to the New Stone Age (Neolithic). It reveals the presence of semi-nomadic cultivators in the period 4000 to 3500 BC on the future site of Nîmes. The population of the site increased during the thousand-year period of the Bronze Age.
The menhir of Courbessac (or La Poudriere) stands in a field, near the airstrip. This limestone monolith of over 2 metres in height dates to about 2500 BC, and must be considered the oldest monument of Nîmes.

From 1800 to 1 BC

The Bronze Age has left traces of a village of huts and branches.

From 600 BC to 49 BC

The Warrior of Grezan is considered to be the most ancient indigenous sculpture in southern Gaul. The hill named Mt. Cavalier was the site of the early oppidum, which gave birth to the city. In the 3rd to 2nd century BC a surrounding wall was built, closed at the summit by a dry-stone tower, which was later incorporated into the masonry of The Tour Magne. The Wars of Gaul and the fall of Marseille (49 BC) allowed Nîmes to regain its autonomy under Rome.

The Gallo-Roman Period

Nîmes became a Roman colony sometime before 28 BC, as witness the earliest coins which bear the abbreviation NEM. COL, "Colony of Nemausus". Some years later a sanctuary and other constructions connected with the fountain were raised on the site. Nîmes was already under Roman influence, though it was Augustus who made the city the capital of Narbonne province, and gave it all its glory.
Augustus gave the town a ring of ramparts six kilometres long, reinforced by fourteen towers, with gates of which two remain today, the Porte Auguste and the Porte de France. The city had an estimated population of 60,000. He had the Forum built and perhaps also the aqueduct. Nothing remains of certain monuments, the existence of which is known from inscriptions or architectural fragments found in the course of excavations. It is known that the town had a civil basilica, a curia, a gymnasium and perhaps a circus. The amphitheatre dates from the end of the 2nd century AD. The family of Roman Emperor Antoninus Pius came from Nemausus.
This prosperity was to stay with the town until the end of the 3rd century. Already there was risk of invasion and the decadence of Rome allowed the "barbarian hordes" to be even more audacious. Visigoths, Burgunds and Ostrogoths came one after the other to pillage the riches of the Empire.

From the 4th to 13th century

After the Gallo-Roman period, in the days of invasion and decadence, the Christian Church, already established in Gaul since the 1st century AD, appeared be the last refuge open to civilization. Remarkably organized and directed by men of great worth, it took an increasingly important place in the march of time.
After the barbarian invasions the population had to face incursions by Moors from Spain (AD 710). This occupation, strange to say, was beneficial for the Nîmes region. It came to an end in 754 under Pepin the Short. The town, ruined by so many troubles and invasions was now only a shadow of the opulent Gallo-Roman city. The local powers installed themselves in the amphitheatre.
Carolingian rule brought relative peace, but feudal times in the 12th century brought local troubles which lasted until the days of St. Louis. During this period Nîmes was jointly administered by a lay power resident in the old amphitheatre, where lived the Viguier and the Knights of the Arena, and the religious power based in the Bishop's place complex, around the cathedral, its chapter and the Bishop's house; meanwhile the city was represented by four Consuls who sat in the Maison Carrée.
Despite incessant feudal squabbling, Nîmes saw a certain progress both in commerce and industry as well as in stockbreeding and associated activities.
After the last effort by Raymond VII of Toulouse, St. Louis managed to base Royal power in the region which became Languedoc. Nîmes thus entered finally into the hands of the King of France.

The Time of Invasions

During the 14th and 15th centuries the Rhone Valley underwent an uninterrupted series of invasions which ruined the economy and caused famine. Customs were forgotten, there were religious troubles and epidemics, all of which affected the city. Nîmes, which was one of the Protestant strongholds, felt the full force of repression and fratricidal confrontations which continued until the middle of the 17th century, adding to the misery of periodic outbreaks of plague.

From the 17th Century to the Revolution

In the middle of the 17th century Nîmes experienced a period of prosperity. Population growth caused the town to expand, and slum housing to be replaced. Also to this period dates the reconstruction of Notre-Dame-Saint-Castor, the Bishop's palace and numerous mansions (Hotels). This 'renaissance' strengthened the manufacturing and industrial vocation of the city, the population rising from 21,000 to 50,000 inhabitants.
Also in this period the Fountain gardens were laid out, the areas surrounding the Maison Carrée and the Amphitheatre were cleared, whilst the entire population benefited from the atmosphere of prosperity.

From the Revolution to the present day

Following the European economic crisis which hit Nîmes with full force, the Revolutionary period awoke slumbering demons of political and religious antagonism. The White Terror added to natural calamities and economic recession, produced murder, pillage and arson until 1815. Order was however restored in the course of the 19th century, and Nîmes became the metropolis of Bas-Languedoc, diversifying its industry towards new kinds of activity. At the same time the surrounding countryside adapted to market needs and shared in the general increase of wealth.

Demographics

Nîmes population by year:^[1][2]

1881	1891	1901	1911	1921	1931	1936	1954	1962	1968	1975	1982	1990	1999	2005
63552	71623	80605	80437	82774	89213	93736	89107	99775	123292	127933	124220	128471	133406	144600

Sights

Nîmes may have been one of the richest and finest Roman cities of Gaul. Several important remains of the Roman Empire can still be seen in and around Nîmes:

★ The elliptical Roman amphitheatre, of the 1st or 2nd century AD, is the best-preserved Roman arena in France. It was filled with medieval housing, when its walls served as ramparts, but they were cleared under Napoleon. It is still used today as a bull fighting and concert arena.

★ The Maison Carrée (''Square House''), a small Roman temple dedicated to sons of Agrippa was built c. 19 BC. It is one of the best-preserved Roman temples anywhere.

★ The 18th-century ''Jardins de la Fontaine'' (Gardens of the Fountain)

★ The nearby Pont du Gard, also built by Agrippa, is a well-preserved aqueduct that used to carry water across the small Gardon river valley.

★ The nearby Mont Cavalier is crowned by the ''Tour Magne'' ("Great Tower"), a ruined Roman tower.
Later monuments include:

★ The cathedral (dedicated to Saint Castor of Apt, a native of the city), occupying, it is believed, the site of the temple of Augustus, is partly Romanesque and partly Gothic in style. [Cathedral:[1],[2],[3]
There is modern architecture at Nîmes too: Norman Foster conceived the ''Carré d'art'' (1986), a museum of modern art and ''mediatheque''; Jean Nouvel the Nemausus, a post-modern residential ensemble, and Kisho Kurokawa a building in the form of a hemicycle to reflect the Amphitheatre.
Tree-shaded boulevards trace the foundations of its former city walls.

Miscellaneous

Nîmes is historically known for its textiles. Denim, the fabric of blue jeans, derives its name from this city (''Serge de Nîmes)''.
The asteroid 51 Nemausa was named after Nîmes, where it was discovered in 1858.
Championnat National soccer team Nîmes Olympique are based in Nîmes.
Rugby team is RC Nîmes.

People born in Nîmes

★ Domitius Afer (d. AD 60), Roman orator

★ Antoninus Pius (86-161), Roman emperor

★ Antoine Court de Gebelin (1725-1784) Religious leader

★ Jean-Paul Rabaut Saint-Etienne (1743-1793), French revolutionist

★ François Guizot (1787-1874), historian, orator and statesman

★ Benjamin Valz (1787–1867), astronomer

★ Alphonse Daudet (1840-1897), novelist

★ Louis Rossel (1844-1871), Delegate of War (Paris Commune)

★ Adolphe Crémieux (1796-1880), lawyer, statesman

★ Jean Nicot (1530-1600), diplomat, spread tobacco cultivation

Mayors

★ Jean Bousquet (1983-1995)

★ Alain Clary (1995-2001)

★ Jean-Paul Fournier (since 2001)

Twin towns

Nîmes twinned with:

★ Preston, Lancashire, England, since 1955.

★ Verona, Italy, since 1960.

★ Braunschweig, Lower Saxony, Germany, since 1962.

★ Prague, Czech Republic, since 1967.

★ Frankfurt (Oder), Germany, since 1976.

★ Salamanca, Spain, since 1979.

★ Rishon LeZion, Israel, since 1986.

★ Meknes, Morocco, since 2005.

References

1. Insee Census
2. Insee Census

External links

★ City council website

★ The official Web site of Roman Nîmes

★ Images of roman remains of Nimes

★ 103 photos of Nîmes

★ Photogallery of Nimes

★ Photos & Map of Nimes