Fréjus (; ) is a

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

in the

Var Var or VAR may refer to: Places * Var (department), a department of France * Var (river), France * Vār, Iran, village in West Azerbaijan Province, Iran * Var, Iran (disambiguation), other places in Iran * Vár, a village in Obreja commune, Ca ...

department in the

Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (; or , ; commonly shortened to PACA; en, Provence-Alps-French Riviera, italic=yes; also branded as Région Sud) is one of the eighteen administrative regions of France, the far southeastern on the mainland. Its pref ...

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics ( physical geography), human impact characteristics ( human geography), and the interaction of humanity an ...

in Southeastern

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

. In 2019, it had a population of 54,458. It neighbours Saint-Raphaël, effectively forming one urban agglomeration. The north of the commune forms part of the

Massif de l'Esterel The Massif de l'Esterel (Occitan Provençal: ''Esterèu''; English: Esterel Massif) is a Mediterranean coastal mountain range in the departments of Var and Alpes-Maritimes on the French Riviera. Neighbouring cities are Mandelieu-la-Napoule and ...

. On 2 December 1959, the

Malpasset Dam The Malpasset Dam was an arch dam (convex surface facing upstream) on the Reyran River, north of Fréjus on the French Riviera. It collapsed on 2 December 1959, killing 423 people in the resulting flood. The breach was caused by a tectonic fault ...

, on the

Reyran River The Reyran is a torrent of the Var department in Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France and a tributary of the Argens. It is an ephemeral stream, 26.8 km long, which originates in Bagnols-en-Forêt in the Var, 12 km from Fréjus. The Rey ...

above the city of Fréjus, ruptured, killing over 400 people.

History

The origins of Frejus probably lie with the Celto- Ligurian people who settled around the natural harbour of Aegytna. The remains of a defensive wall are still visible on Mont Auriasque and Cap Capelin. The

Phocaeans Phocaea or Phokaia (Ancient Greek: Φώκαια, ''Phókaia''; modern-day Foça in Turkey) was an ancient Ionian Greek city on the western coast of Anatolia. Greek colonists from Phocaea founded the colony of Massalia (modern-day Marseille, in F ...

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Fra ...

later established an outpost on the site.

Foundation

Frejus was strategically situated at an important crossroads formed by the

Via Julia Augusta The Via Julia Augusta (modern Italian Via Giulia Augusta) is the name given to the Roman road formed by the merging of the Via Aemilia Scauri with the Via Postumia. The road runs from Placentia (modern Piacenza) to Arelate (modern Arles), init ...

(which ran between Italy and the Rhône) and the

Via Domitia The Via Domitia was the first Roman road built in Gaul, to link Italy and Hispania through Gallia Narbonensis, across what is now Southern France. The route that the Romans regularised and paved was ancient when they set out to survey it, and tr ...

. Although there are only few traces of a settlement at that time, it is known that the poet

Cornelius Gallus Gaius Cornelius Gallus (c. 70 – 26 BC) was a Roman poet, orator and politician. Birthplace The identity of Gallus' purported birthplace, '' Forum Iulii'', is still uncertain, and it is based on the epithet "Foroiuliensis" that Jerome gave to h ...

was born there in 67 BC.

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, ...

wanted to supplant Massalia and he founded the city as ''Forum Julii'' meaning 'market of Julius'. Tacitus also named its port ''claustra maris'' (gateway to sea). The exact date of the founding of Forum Julii is uncertain, but it was certainly before 43 BC since it appears in the correspondence between Plancus and

Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the esta ...

and 49 BC is most likely.

Roman city

It was at Forum Julii that Octavius repatriated the galleys taken from

Mark Antony Marcus Antonius (14 January 1 August 30 BC), commonly known in English as Mark Antony, was a Roman politician and general who played a critical role in the transformation of the Roman Republic from a constitutional republic into the au ...

at the

Battle of Actium The Battle of Actium was a naval battle fought between a maritime fleet of Octavian led by Marcus Agrippa and the combined fleets of both Mark Antony and Cleopatra VII Philopator. The battle took place on 2 September 31 BC in the Ionian Sea, nea ...

in 31 BC. Between 29 and 27 BC, it became a colony for his veterans of the

8th legion Legio VIII Augusta ("Augustus' Eighth Legion") was one of the oldest Roman legion, legions of the Imperial Roman army. In republican service They were ordered to Cisalpine Gaul around 58 BC by Julius Caesar and marched with him throughout the ...

, adding the suffix ''Octavanorum Colonia''.

Augustus Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pri ...

made the city the capital of the new province of

Narbonensis Gallia Narbonensis (Latin for "Gaul of Narbonne", from its chief settlement) was a Roman province located in what is now Languedoc and Provence, in Southern France. It was also known as Provincia Nostra ("Our Province"), because it was the ...

in 22 BC, spurring rapid development. It became one of the most important ports in the Mediterranean; its port was the only naval base for the Roman fleet of Gaul and only the second port after Ostia until at least the time of Nero. Subsequently, under

Tiberius Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus (; 16 November 42 BC – 16 March AD 37) was the second Roman emperor. He reigned from AD 14 until 37, succeeding his stepfather, the first Roman emperor Augustus. Tiberius was born in Rome in 42 BC. His father ...

, the major monuments and amenities still visible today were constructed: the amphitheatre, the aqueduct, the lighthouse, the baths and the theatre. Forum Julii had impressive walls of 3.7 km length that protected an area of 35 hectares. There were about six thousand inhabitants. The territory of the city, the civitas forojuliensis, extended from Cabasse in the west to

Fayence Fayence (; oc, Faiença) is a commune in the Var department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in Southeastern France. In 2019, it had a population of 5,735. Fayence is one of a series of "perched villages" overlooking the plain betwee ...

and Mons in the north. It became an important market town for craft and agricultural production. Agriculture developed with

villa rustica Villa rustica () was the term used by the ancient Romans to denote a farmhouse or villa set in the countryside and with an agricultural section, which applies to the vast majority of Roman villas. In some cases they were at the centre of a large ...

s such as at Villepey and Saint-Raphaël. Mining of green sandstone and blue porphyry and fish farming contributed to the thriving economy. In 40 AD

Gnaeus Julius Agricola Gnaeus Julius Agricola (; 13 June 40 – 23 August 93) was a Roman general and politician responsible for much of the Roman conquest of Britain. Born to a political family of senatorial rank, Agricola began his military career as a military tribun ...

, who later completed the Roman conquest of Britain, was born in Forum Julii. He was father-in-law of the historian Tacitus, whose biography of Agricola mentions that Forum Julii was an "ancient and illustrious colony". The city was also mentioned several times in the writings of

Strabo Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called "Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-sighted that he could see ...

and

Pliny the Elder Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/2479), called Pliny the Elder (), was a Roman author, naturalist and natural philosopher, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the emperor Vespasian. He wrote the encyclopedic '' ...

. In early 69 the Battle of Forum Julii was fought between the armies of the rival emperors

Otho Marcus Otho (; born Marcus Salvius Otho; 28 April 32 – 16 April 69) was the seventh Roman emperor, ruling for three months from 15 January to 16 April 69. He was the second emperor of the Year of the Four Emperors. A member of a noble Etru ...

and

Vitellius Aulus Vitellius (; ; 24 September 1520 December 69) was Roman emperor for eight months, from 19 April to 20 December AD 69. Vitellius was proclaimed emperor following the quick succession of the previous emperors Galba and Otho, in a year of ci ...

. The exact location of this battle is not known, but afterwards Vitellius retreated to Antipolis. The 4th century saw the creation of the

Diocese of Fréjus In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associat ...

, France's second largest after that of Lyon; the building of the first church is attested in 374 with the election of a bishop. Saint-Léonce became Bishop of Fréjus in 433 and wrote: "From 374, at the Council of Valencia, a bishop was appointed in Frejus, but he never came. I was the first of the bishops of that city. I was able to build the first Cathedral with its Baptistery." The decay of Rome led to that of the cities of its empire.

Monuments

The richest architecture belongs to the Roman city whose many buildings make it the richest concentration of this period in France after

Arles Arles (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Arle ; Classical la, Arelate) is a coastal city and commune in the South of France, a subprefecture in the Bouches-du-Rhône department of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, in the former province of ...

. The most notable are the

amphitheatre An amphitheatre (British English) or amphitheater (American English; both ) is an open-air venue used for entertainment, performances, and sports. The term derives from the ancient Greek ('), from ('), meaning "on both sides" or "around" and ...

, the aqueduct from

Mons, Var Mons (; oc, Monts or ) is a commune in the Var department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France. Geography Situated at an altitude of 814 metres the commune of Mons encompasses a vast territory of in the Var, Prove ...

, as well as the theatre. In addition the old town is home to many other impressive remains, city walls, the two gates (of Rome, of Reyran), the square of Agricola with the gate of the Gauls, an exedra and the platform with a cistern on the Butte Saint-Antoine, the paving of the via Aurelia which passed through the city, the remains of the ancient harbour with the remains of the north quay, the lighthouse and quay of Augustus, a mosaic floor of fighting cocks in a private property, the sewers under the present rue Jean Jaures, the baptistry in Frejus Cathedral dates from the 5th c. and columns there are from Roman buildings. No less than five public baths are known in the city, those of the Porte Dorée, the Plate-Forme, les Poiriers, Villeneuve (probably military) and on the Butte Saint-Antoine, three of which are outside the city walls. A probable military or naval camp was excavated at Aiguières, Villeneuve near the ancient shore line. are incorporated in modern buildings, and also a 4th-century mausoleum at rue de La Tourrache. The remains of a suburban villa are at La Rose des Sables. Roman road bridges still exist at Cantonniers and at Esclapes (with three arches), a

fulling mill Fulling, also known as felting, tucking or walking ( Scots: ''waukin'', hence often spelled waulking in Scottish English), is a step in woollen clothmaking which involves the cleansing of woven or knitted cloth (particularly wool) to elimin ...

at Arsenal, and a necropolis in Sainte-Brigitte and fishponds on the coast at Saint-Aygulf. File:Lanterne Auguste.JPG, "Lanterne Auguste", Roman lighthouse File:Pont romain des Esclapes.JPG, Roman road bridge "des Esclapes" File:Frejus Baptisterium.jpg, Baptistry in the cathedral

Aqueduct

The aqueduct is 42 km long and runs for 1.8 km on bridges and 500m on walls. Large parts of the aqueduct are still well preserved. Aqueduct Frejus 2

Roman port

An archaeological campaign in July 2005 revealed a portion of ancient rocky coast which showed it was almost one kilometre further inland than current estimates. In the middle of the 1st century AD at the time of the creation of Forum Iulii, this coastline was a narrow band of approximately 100m wide at the south of the Butte Saint-Antoine. Further recent archaeology has revealed much information on the ancient port. A Triton monument was discovered at the entrance to the harbour. This statue and the remains of a Roman building at the end of the eastern quay nearby, shows this site to be a lighthouse. Two lighthouses were constructed on the quays and a third assisted mariners in locating the harbour's sea entrance. The third, situated on the Île du Lion de Mer, would have been the primary beacon that ships would have navigated toward. As ships approached the harbour, the Triton lighthouse on the northern side of the channel into the harbour and the other lighthouse on the southern side would have marked the entrance and thus provided safe passage into the harbour.

Post-Roman history

Between the 7th and the 9th centuries, Muslim invaders repeatedly raided the city. The sea encroached on the land while invasions by the Muslims and pirates left the monuments in ruin. By the 10th century there was very little left of the colony, mostly rubble. Sea-borne silt clogged up the port and led to the formation of a huge swampy plain, which then separated the village from the sea.

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

landed at Frejus on 9 October 1799, returning from Egypt in order to ostensibly defend the

French Directory The Directory (also called Directorate, ) was the governing five-member committee in the French First Republic from 2 November 1795 until 9 November 1799, when it was overthrown by Napoleon, Napoleon Bonaparte in the Coup of 18 Brumaire and r ...

in Paris. During the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

Fréjus became the main centre for '' hivernage'' (wintering) for the

Senegalese Tirailleurs The Senegalese Tirailleurs (french: Tirailleurs Sénégalais) were a corps of colonial infantry in the French Army. They were initially recruited from Senegal, French West Africa and subsequently throughout Western, Central and Eastern Africa: t ...

. The town also contained segregated hospitals with images of African village life painted on the walls.

Geography

As a backdrop there is the

Demographics

Politics

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

, David Rachline of the National Front (later renamed National Rally) was elected Mayor of Fréjus.

Economy

Fréjus is a resort town which hosts three to four times as many people as its regular inhabitants over the summer. It organises several fairs throughout the year; there is the pottery fair and the Bravade amongst its Roman and Gothic architecture with the 'old tile' roof tops and tinted walls. Port Fréjus which has a capacity of 750 moorings, is surrounded by beautiful fine sandy beaches. There is an annual '

Roc d'Azur Roc d'Azur is an annual mountain biking event held in Fréjus and Roquebrune-sur-Argens, France during October. It consists of a trade show A trade fair, also known as trade show, trade exhibition, or trade exposition, is an exhibition organ ...

' mountain bike event.

Transport

The Fréjus railway station offers connections to Saint-Raphaël, Les Arcs and Cannes and a few other regional destinations. Long distance destinations are accessible from the nearby Saint-Raphaël-Valescure station. The A8 autoroute connects Fréjus with

Aix-en-Provence Aix-en-Provence (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Ais de Provença in classical norm, or in Mistralian norm, ; la, Aquae Sextiae), or simply Aix ( medieval Occitan: ''Aics''), is a city and commune in southern France, about north of Marseille. ...

and

Nice Nice ( , ; Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative c ...

Climate

Fréjus has a

hot-summer mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate (also called a dry summer temperate climate ''Cs'') is a temperate climate sub-type, generally characterized by warm, dry summers and mild, fairly wet winters; these weather conditions are typically experienced in the ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

: Csa).

Twin towns and sister cities

Fréjus is twinned with: *

Fredericksburg, Virginia Fredericksburg is an independent city located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 27,982. The Bureau of Economic Analysis of the United States Department of Commerce combines the city of Fredericksburg wi ...

, United States *

Triberg Triberg im Schwarzwald is a town in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, located in the Schwarzwald-Baar district in the Black Forest. In 2020, it had a population of 4,656. Triberg lies in the middle of the Black Forest between 500 and 1038 metres above ...

, Germany *

Dumbéa Dumbéa (, ) is a commune in France, commune in the suburbs of Nouméa in the South Province, New Caledonia, South Province of New Caledonia, an overseas territory of France in the Pacific Ocean. The population of the commune was 35,873 according ...

, New Caledonia * Paola, Italy *

Tabarka Tabarka ( ar, طبرقة ') is a coastal town located in north-western Tunisia, close to the border with Algeria. Tabarka's history is a mosaic of Berber, Punic, Hellenistic, Roman, Arabic, Genoese and Turkish culture. The town is dominated b ...

, Tunisia

Notable people

(ca.70–26 BC), a Roman poet, orator and politician. *

(AD 40–93) a Roman governor of the province of Britain. * St. Maximus (died 460), Abbot at Lerins and Bishop of Frejus *

Marc-Antoine Désaugiers Marc-Antoine Désaugiers (1742 – 10 September 1793) was a French composer of numerous operas as well as a cantata on the storming of the Bastille and several pieces of sacred music. He was born in Fréjus. He studied music there but was largely ...

(1742–1793) &

Marc-Antoine Madeleine Désaugiers Marc-Antoine Madeleine Désaugiers (17 November 1772 – 9 August 1827) was a French composer, dramatist, and songwriter. Désaugiers is easily confused in historical writings with his father, Marc-Antoine Désaugiers (b. Fréjus, 1742 – d. Pari ...

(1772–1827) French composers *

Emmanuel Joseph Sieyès Emmanuel-Joseph Sieyès (3 May 174820 June 1836), usually known as the Abbé Sieyès (), was a French Roman Catholic '' abbé'', clergyman, and political writer who was the chief political theorist of the French Revolution (1789–1799); he also ...

(1748–1836), known as ''Abbé Sieyès,''

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

theorist and author of ''

What is the Third Estate? ''What Is the Third Estate?'' (french: Qu'est-ce que le Tiers-État?) is a political pamphlet written in January 1789, shortly before the outbreak of the French Revolution, by the French writer and clergyman Abbé Emmanuel Joseph Sieyès (1748 ...

''. * Patrick Salameh (born 1957), a French criminal and serial killer. *

Belinda Carlisle Belinda Jo Carlisle ( ; born August 17, 1958) is an American singer. She gained fame as the lead vocalist of the Go-Go's, the most successful all-female rock band of all time, and went on to have a prolific career as a solo artist. Raised in ...

(born 1958), American singer, musician & author; partly lived here 1994-2017. *

Casey Legler Casey Legler (born 26 April 1977) is a French-American writer, restaurateur, model, and former Olympic swimmer. Early life Legler was born in Fréjus, Var, France, to expatriate American parents. They attended school in both France and Ameri ...

(born 1977) a French-American writer, restaurateur, model and former Olympic swimmer. *

Anna Mouglalis Anna Mouglalis ( el, Άννα Μουγλάλη; born 26 April 1978) is a French actress and model. She is known for being a house ambassador for Chanel since 2002, and for portraying the fashion designer Coco Chanel in the 2009 film '' Coco Chan ...

(born 1978) a French actress and model. * David Rachline (born 1987) politician and mayor of Fréjus from March 2014

Sport

* Odiah Sidibe (born 1970) a French sprint athlete of Guinean descent *

Yoann Richomme Yoann Richomme (born 12 July 1983 in Frejus) is a French navigator, sailor and yacht skipper. He is a double winner of the Solitaire du Figaro and won the 2018 and the 2022 Route du Rhum in the Class 40 category. Career Richomme studied as a ...

(born 1983), a French navigator, sailor and yacht skipper. *

Adil Rami Adil Rami (born 27 December 1985) is a French professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for club Troyes, for which he is the captain. Rami began his football career playing for amateur club Étoile Fréjus Saint-Raphaël, then known ...

(born 1985) a footballer with about 450 club caps and 36 for

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Marc Andreu Marc Andreu (born 27 December 1985 in Fréjus, Var (department), Var) is a French rugby union player. Andreu, who is a Rugby union positions#14. & 11. Wing, wing, plays his club rugby for Stade Rochelais, La Rochelle having previously been at Raci ...

(born 1985), rugby union player *

Kévin Constant Kévin Constant (born 10 May 1987) is a former professional footballer who played as a midfielder or left back. Having come through the Toulouse youth system, he left for LB Châteauroux in 2008. He moved to Italy in 2010 playing for Chievo, Geno ...

(born 1987), a footballer with 228 club caps and 24 for

Guinea Guinea ( ),, fuf, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫, italic=no, Gine, wo, Gine, nqo, ߖߌ߬ߣߍ߫, bm, Gine officially the Republic of Guinea (french: République de Guinée), is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the we ...

* Anthony Modeste, (born 1988) a French footballer with over 400 club caps *

Layvin Kurzawa Layvin Marc Kurzawa (born 4 September 1992) is a French professional footballer who plays as a left-back for Premier League club Fulham, on loan from Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain. Kurzawa began his career at Monaco in 2010, and played 96 ...

(born 1992), a footballer with over 200 club caps and 13 for