Baix (; oc, Bais) 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 Ardèche department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of southern

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 ...

. The inhabitants of the commune are known as ''Baixois'' or ''Baixoises''.

Geography

Baix is located some 30 km south by south-west of Valence and 25 km north-east of

Aubenas Aubenas (; oc, Aubenàs) is a commune in the southern part of the Ardèche department in Southern France. It is the seat of several government offices. The mountainous and rugged countryside is popular for vacation homes. The river Ardèche fl ...

. Access to the commune is by the D86 road from Le Pouzin in the north which passes through the commune and the town and continues south to

Cruas Cruas (; oc, Cruàs) is a commune near the river Rhône in the Ardèche department in southern France. The village has a Romanesque abbey with a crypt. Population Sights and monuments Cruas has two notable '' monuments historiques'' * Ab ...

. The D22 branches off the D86 just inside the northern border of the commune and goes west to

Chomérac Chomérac (; oc, Tchaoumeïra) is a commune in the Ardèche department in southern France. It is located approximately 10 km away from both the Rhône valley to the east and Privas (capital of the department) to the west. Geography Chom� ...

. The commune is mostly forested but with farmland in the north-western third of the commune.Google Maps
/ref> The

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 ...

river forms the eastern border of the commune and the department as it flows south however there is no crossing point in the commune. The nearest crossing point is at Le Pouzin 5 km north. Numerous streams rise in the commune and flow east to the Rhone including ''La Payre'', the ''Ravin de Roux'', the ''Ravin de Saint-Pierre'', the ''Ruisseau de Notre-Dame'', the ''Ravin de Besset'', the ''Ruisseau de Cournairet'', the ''Ruisseau de Sainte-Euphémie'', with the ''Ruisseau de Sichier'' forming the southern border of the commune.

Neighbouring communes and villages

History

The banks of the Rhone at Baix have been occupied since Roman times. Many islands existed at the level of the plain of the Payre river which allowed for fords across the Rhone. There was a Greco-Roman town between Le Pouzin and Baix which was at the junction between the

Antoninus Pius Antoninus Pius ( Latin: ''Titus Aelius Hadrianus Antoninus Pius''; 19 September 86 – 7 March 161) was Roman emperor from 138 to 161. He was the fourth of the Five Good Emperors from the Nerva–Antonine dynasty. Born into a senatori ...

Roman way on the right bank of the Rhône and the

Via Agrippa ''Via Agrippa'', is any stretch of the network of Roman roads in Gaul that was built by Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, to whom Octavian entrusted the reorganization of the Gauls. In all, the Romans built of roads in Gaul. Agrippa's project Agrippa's ...

on the left bank. It is possible that Hannibal, advancing out of Spain, crossed the Rhône at this place with his elephants in about 218 BC before crossing the Alps. The name of this town was ''Batiana'' meaning "easy passage", a name probably given by a

Phoenicia Phoenicia () was an ancient thalassocratic civilization originating in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily located in modern Lebanon. The territory of the Phoenician city-states extended and shrank throughout their histor ...

n colony to indicate the ease that of crossing the Rhone in this place (''batos'' = easy or feasible with ''ana'' = crossing) thanks to number of islands in the river at this point. Batiana had a ferry to cross the Rhône and a horse relay. The town lay on both banks of the river and perhaps also in the islands. As an obligatory place of passage, Batiana had to endure numerous invasions and destruction. It survived until the invasion of the

Vandals The Vandals were a Germanic people who first inhabited what is now southern Poland. They established Vandal kingdoms on the Iberian Peninsula, Mediterranean islands, and North Africa in the fifth century. The Vandals migrated to the area betw ...

in 411. The population of Batiana escaped the massacre and returned after an unknown time to rebuild the town on the ruins left by the Vandals. This new town was destroyed again in 735 by the Saracens who ravaged the entire Rhône Valley to

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan language, Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, third-largest city and Urban area (France), second-largest metropolitan area of F ...

at that time. A new Batiana emerged from the ruins. The new population of Latin origin were not the same people as the former Phoenician population who abandoned their former homes and settled north of the

Ouvèze The Ouvèze (; oc, Ovesa) is a river in southern France and left tributary of the Rhône. It rises in the southern French Prealps (the Baronnies), in the commune of Montauban-sur-l'Ouvèze. It flows into the Rhône in Sorgues, north of Avignon. It ...

at Le Pouzin leaving the Greek people in the south on the right bank of the Rhône at Baix. The town was sheltered behind fortifications. To the south Baios (Baix) was created and Pusillus (Le Pouzin) to the north. Baios was first called ''Bacium'', then ''Bacxus'', ''Bays sur Bays'', then finally Baix. The remains of buildings and several ceramic tile graves have been uncovered around the Chapel of Saint Euphémie.

Administration

List of Successive Mayors

Demography

In 2017 the commune had 1,164 inhabitants.

Culture and heritage

Civil heritage

The commune has several buildings and sites that are registered as historical monuments: *La Cardinale Inn (17th century) *A Clock Tower (1600) *The

Louis XVI Louis XVI (''Louis-Auguste''; ; 23 August 175421 January 1793) was the last King of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. He was referred to as ''Citizen Louis Capet'' during the four months just before he was ...

Fountain and

Lavoir A lavoir (wash-house) is a public place set aside for the washing of clothes. Communal washing places were common in Europe until industrial washing was introduced, and this process in turn was replaced by domestic washing machines and by laun ...

(Puvblic laundry) (18th century) ;Other sites of interest *Old Renaissance Houses *The Rhone floodway to feed the centre of Logis-Neuf *The Géronton Stadium

Religious heritage

*The Croix Rouge Wayside Cross (17th century) is registered as an historical monumentMinistry of Culture, Mérimée ;Other religious sites *The Church of Sainte-Euphémie which has been frequently altered *The Chapel of Saint Joseph

References

External links

Baix on the old National Geographic Institute website

Baix on Géoportail
National Geographic Institute (IGN) website
''Baix'' on the 1750 Cassini Map
{{authority control Communes of Ardèche