Saint-Nicolas-de-la-Grave (;

Languedocien Languedocien (French name, ), Languedocian or Lengadocian (), is an Occitan dialect spoken in rural parts of southern France such as Languedoc, Rouergue, Quercy, Agenais and Southern Périgord. It is sometimes also called Languedocien-Guyennai ...

: ''Sent Micolau de la Grava'') 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

Tarn-et-Garonne Tarn-et-Garonne (; oc, Tarn e Garona ) is a department in the Occitania region in Southern France. It is traversed by the rivers Tarn and Garonne, from which it takes its name. The area was originally part of the former provinces of Quercy and ...

department Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

in the

Occitanie Occitanie may refer to: *Occitania, a region in southern France called ''Occitanie'' in French *Occitania (administrative region) Occitania ( ; french: Occitanie ; oc, Occitània ; ca, Occitània ) is the southernmost administrative region of ...

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 and t ...

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 ...

. Antoine Laumet de La Mothe, sieur de Cadillac, the founder of the American city of

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

was born here in 1658.

History

The surroundings of Saint-Nicolas-de-la-Grave have been occupied since

Roman times In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 BC ...

; the ruins of a villa were found near a place called ''Marcassus'', 2.9 km by road on the left bank of the Sère (Stream) and a

capital Capital may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** List of national capital cities * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences * Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used f ...

Corinthian order The Corinthian order (Greek: Κορινθιακός ρυθμός, Latin: ''Ordo Corinthius'') is the last developed of the three principal classical orders of Ancient Greek architecture and Roman architecture. The other two are the Doric order ...

in white

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite. Marble is typically not Foliation (geology), foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the ...

was discovered at a place called 'es Arênes.'' Fragments of

tile Tiles are usually thin, square or rectangular coverings manufactured from hard-wearing material such as ceramic, stone, metal, baked clay, or even glass. They are generally fixed in place in an array to cover roofs, floors, walls, edges, or o ...

pottery Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other ceramic materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. Major types include earthenware, stoneware and por ...

s and

amphora An amphora (; grc, ἀμφορεύς, ''amphoreús''; English plural: amphorae or amphoras) is a type of container with a pointed bottom and characteristic shape and size which fit tightly (and therefore safely) against each other in storag ...

s were found to the west of the village and at a place called ''les Patots'', a very old path was an old

Roman road Roman roads ( la, viae Romanae ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, and were built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Re ...

. In the 12th century the monks of

Moissac Moissac () is a commune in the Tarn-et-Garonne department in the Occitanie region in southern France. The town is situated at the confluence of the rivers Garonne and Tarn at the Canal de Garonne. Route nationale N113 was constructed through ...

built a castle on the left bank of the

Garonne The Garonne (, also , ; Occitan, Catalan, Basque, and es, Garona, ; la, Garumna or ) is a river of southwest France and northern Spain. It flows from the central Spanish Pyrenees to the Gironde estuary at the French port of Bordeaux – a ...

, facing the

confluence In geography, a confluence (also: ''conflux'') occurs where two or more flowing bodies of water join to form a single channel. A confluence can occur in several configurations: at the point where a tributary joins a larger river (main stem); o ...

of the Tarn, on the edge of the plateau which dominates the alluvial plain. Because the town is a strategic crossroads, it is disputed by the viscounts of Lomagne. Around the castle, an agglomeration develops little by little, with a port at the base of the castle. In 1135, Guillaume, Abbot of Moissac joins the viscount Saxetus de Lomagne and the viscountess Sybille d'Auvillar to grant a

charter A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified. It is implicit that the granter retains superiority (or sovereignty), and that the rec ...

to this village which becomes the "sauveté" of Saint Nicolas (a sauveté is an agglomeration founded by the monasteries prior to the movement of creation of the

bastide Bastides are fortified new towns built in medieval Languedoc, Gascony, Aquitaine, England and Wales during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, although some authorities count Mont-de-Marsan and Montauban, which was founded in 1144, as the f ...

s): the inhabitants are free within the enclosure from the city. In an additional act to the charter, the

Viscount A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status. In many countries a viscount, and its historical equivalents, was a non-hereditary, administrative or judicial ...

of Lomagne swears to the monks and inhabitants of Saint-Nicolas never to take away their city or their castle and to protect them against invaders. Around

1185 Year 1185 ( MCLXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * August – King William II (the Good) lands in Epirus with a Siculo-Nor ...

, during his victorious campaign in

Quercy Quercy (; oc, Carcin , locally ) is a former province of France located in the country's southwest, bounded on the north by Limousin, on the west by Périgord and Agenais, on the south by Gascony and Languedoc, and on the east by Rouergue and Au ...

during which he conquered sixteen castles, the king of

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, Richard Cœur-de-Lion would have stayed at the castle and would have had the front tower, known as the Tour des Anglais, built there. Abbot Bernard de Montaigu, who held the abbey chair of

from 1260 to

1295 Year 1295 ( MCCXCV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * April 25 – King Sancho IV (the Brave) dies of a fatal illness (possibly tuberc ...

, built the west wing of the castle and its two four-meter towers with heights of 25 and 28 metres. At the end of the

13th century The 13th century was the century which lasted from January 1, 1201 ( MCCI) through December 31, 1300 ( MCCC) in accordance with the Julian calendar. The Mongol Empire was founded by Genghis Khan, which stretched from Eastern Asia to Eastern Eu ...

, the castle was completed with its four towers; it measures 125 metres on its east-west axis and 100 metres on its north-south axis. The town plan is simple; it is a rectangle oriented east-west, 440 metres long by 200 wide, crossed by a main axis and surrounded by

rampart Rampart may refer to: * Rampart (fortification), a defensive wall or bank around a castle, fort or settlement Rampart may also refer to: * "O'er the Ramparts We Watched" is a key line from "The Star-Spangled Banner", the national anthem of the ...

s (now disappeared and replaced by boulevards) with in its center a vast square. In 1345, Saint-Nicolas-de-la-Grave was a

fortress A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

.Firmin Galabert, ''Disasters caused by the Hundred Years' War in the country of

Verdun-sur-Garonne Verdun-sur-Garonne (, literally ''Verdun on Garonne''; oc, Verdun de Garona) is a commune in the Tarn-et-Garonne department in the Occitanie region in southern France. Monuments Verdun-sur-Garonne Hotel de Ville.jpg, Town Hall Église de l' ...

at the end of the

14th century As a means of recording the passage of time, the 14th century was a century lasting from 1 January 1301 ( MCCCI), to 31 December 1400 ( MCD). It is estimated that the century witnessed the death of more than 45 million lives from political and n ...

''. Before 1806, the town absorbed the neighboring town of ''Moutet''.

Population

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saintnicolasdelagrave Communes of Tarn-et-Garonne

History

Population

See also

References