Pont-Saint-Esprit (, literally "Holy Spirit Bridge"; oc, Lo Pònt Sant Esperit) 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
Gard
Gard () is a department in Southern France, located in the region of Occitanie. It had a population of 748,437 as of 2019;département
In the administrative divisions of France, the department (french: département, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level ("territorial collectivity, territorial collectivities"), between the regions of France, admin ...
in southern
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 ...
. It is situated on the river
Rhône
The Rhône ( , ; wae, Rotten ; frp, Rôno ; oc, Ròse ) is a major river in France and Switzerland, rising in the Alps and flowing west and south through Lake Geneva and southeastern France before discharging into the Mediterranean Sea. At Ar ...
and is the site of a historical crossing, hence its name. The
Ardèche
Ardèche (; oc, Ardecha; frp, Ardecha) is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of Southeastern France. It is named after the river Ardèche and had a population of 328,278 as of 2019.Symon Semeonis in 1323 on his way to the
Holy Land
The Holy Land; Arabic: or is an area roughly located between the Mediterranean Sea and the Eastern Bank of the Jordan River, traditionally synonymous both with the biblical Land of Israel and with the region of Palestine. The term "Holy ...
: "Pont-Saint-Esprit where there is a famous stone bridge over the Rhône, half a mile in length, the height of which and the breadth of its arches are greatly admired by all those who cross over it." Italian Canon Antonio de Beatis described the bridge in his 1517-1518 travel journal: "This has twenty tall, wide arches, is finely built in a pleasing stone and is still better paved."
Geography
Climate
Pont-Saint-Esprit 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''). The average annual temperature in Pont-Saint-Esprit is . The average annual rainfall is with November as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in July, at around , and lowest in January, at around . The highest temperature ever recorded in Pont-Saint-Esprit was on 6 August 2003; the coldest temperature ever recorded was on 7 January 1985.
Bouvier family origins
Pont-Saint-Esprit is famous as the town of origin of Michel Bouvier, a cabinetmaker, who was the ancestor of
John Vernou Bouvier III
John Vernou "Black Jack" Bouvier III ( ; May 19, 1891 – August 3, 1957) was an American Wall Street stockbroker and socialite. He was the father of First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and of socialite Lee Radziwill, and was the father-in-law ...
, father of
Jacqueline Kennedy
Jacqueline Lee Kennedy Onassis ( ; July 28, 1929 – May 19, 1994) was an American socialite, writer, photographer, and book editor who served as first lady of the United States from 1961 to 1963, as the wife of President John F. Kennedy. A po ...
.
1951 mass poisoning incident
On 15 August 1951, an outbreak of poisoning, marked by acute
psychotic episodes
Psychosis is a condition of the mind that results in difficulties determining what is real and what is not real. Symptoms may include delusions and hallucinations, among other features. Additional symptoms are incoherent speech and behavior ...
and various physical symptoms, occurred in Pont-Saint-Esprit. More than 250 people were involved, including 50 persons interned in
asylum
Asylum may refer to:
Types of asylum
* Asylum (antiquity), places of refuge in ancient Greece and Rome
* Benevolent Asylum, a 19th-century Australian institution for housing the destitute
* Cities of Refuge, places of refuge in ancient Judea
...
s and four deaths. Most academic sources accept naturally occurring ergot poisoning in rye flour as the cause of the epidemic, while a few theorize other causes such as poisoning by mercury, mycotoxins, or nitrogen trichloride.
Egelsbach
Egelsbach is a municipality of 11,000 in the Offenbach district in the ''Regierungsbezirk'' of Darmstadt in Hesse, Germany.
Geography
Location
Egelsbach is one of 13 communities in the Offenbach district. The community lies in the Frankfurt ...
,
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
*
Penacova
Penacova ( or ) is a town and a municipality in the Coimbra District, in Portugal. The population in 2011 was 15,251, in an area of 216.73 km².
Parishes
Administratively, the municipality is divided into 8 civil parishes (''freguesias''):
...
,
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
See also
*
Communes of the Gard department
This is a list of the 351 Communes of France, communes of the Gard Departments of France, department of France.
The communes cooperate in the following Communes of France#Intercommunality, intercommunalities (as of 2020):
Notes and references
Further reading
*
John G. Fuller
John Grant Fuller, Jr. (November 30, 1913 – November 7, 1990) was a New England-based American author of several nonfiction books and newspaper articles, mainly focusing on the theme of extraterrestrials and the supernatural. For many years ...
, ''The Day Of St. Anthony's Fire'' (New York: The MacMillan Company, 1968).