Les Mages (; oc, Los Mages) is a commune 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;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 southern France.

Geography

The village of Les Mages lies between Alès and Saint-Ambroix on the CD 904 road, in the Cévennes coal basin, just below the National Forest of Rouvergue in the

Cévennes National Park Cévennes National Park (french: Parc national des Cévennes) is a French national park located in Southern France, in the mountainous area of Cévennes. Created in 1970, the park has its administrative seat in Florac at Florac Castle. It is l ...

. It lies on the river Auzonnet, a tributary of the

Cèze The Cèze (; oc, Céser) is a karstic French river, a right tributary of the Rhône. It runs through the departments of Lozère and Gard in the Occitanie region. It is long, and its basin area is . Its source is in the Cévennes mountains, ...

. As such the town is a member of AB Cèze, the Syndicat Mixte d'Aménagement du Bassin Versant de la Ceze, responsible for the prevention and fight against floods as well as preserving the natural environment.

History

The village was elevated from hamlet to commune (by separation from the nearby

Saint-Jean-de-Valériscle Saint-Jean-de-Valériscle (; oc, Sent Joan de Ceba) is a commune in the Gard department in southern France. Population See also *Communes of the Gard department This is a list of the 351 communes of the Gard department of France. The ...

village) by a royal ordinance of September 25, 1834, following the increase in population driven by the development of coal mining in the Cevennes basin. The town, Les Mages belongs to the Community of Communes called "Vivre en Cévennes", Living in the Cevennes.

Sights

Several mills whose buildings still bear witness to the sericulture past activity (

silkworm The domestic silk moth (''Bombyx mori''), is an insect from the moth family Bombycidae. It is the closest relative of ''Bombyx mandarina'', the wild silk moth. The silkworm is the larva or caterpillar of a silk moth. It is an economically imp ...

farming). * Bleton spinning mill, closed in 1957, rue de l'Eglise. * Lacroix spinning mill, closed in 1855, Bois Redon, Route de Saint Julien de Cassagne. * Duclaux spinning mill, closed in 1889, Melhien Castle. * Mazolier spinning mill, closed in 1884 Castle Melhien Road. * Labeille / Villaret spinning mill, closed in 1885, despite some attempts to restart until 1922, Larnac hamlet. * Silhol spinning mill, closed in 1855, Claux, Melhien hamlet. * Martin spinning mill later oil mill Benoit then Rodier, route de Saint Ambroix. * Ayrolette spinning mill, initially the Gentil paper mill, established in 1660, in the Ayrolette hamlet, route de Saint Ambroix. * Blachère spinning mill, formerly oil mill and later Védrines spinning mill. The glass factory Barrière was founded in 1804 to manufacture green glass. After many difficulties, the factory closed its doors in 1850. On a hill, the "Tourette" dominates the village. It is a simple capitelle limestone and mortar construction, but became the symbol of the village and a replica was built on the roundabout at the entrance of the commune. The former railway station, on the spur of the small

SNCF The Société nationale des chemins de fer français (; abbreviated as SNCF ; French for "National society of French railroads") is France's national state-owned railway company. Founded in 1938, it operates the country's national rail traffi ...

line from Alès to Bessèges, has been transformed into housing. It witnessed the passing-by of coal trains from Martinet,

Saint-Florent-sur-Auzonnet Saint-Florent-sur-Auzonnet (; oc, Sent Florenç d'Ausona) is a commune in the Gard department in southern France. Population See also *Communes of the Gard department This is a list of the 351 Communes of France, communes of the Gard Depart ...

and

, joining the main line to Saint Julien de Cassagne. This line was also used to transport the coils of raw silk to Lyon to be woven.

Population

Personalities

The painter Georges Bauquier, assistant of

Fernand Léger Joseph Fernand Henri Léger (; February 4, 1881 – August 17, 1955) was a French painting, painter, sculpture, sculptor, and film director, filmmaker. In his early works he created a personal form of cubism (known as "tubism") which he gradually ...

, creator of Fernand Léger Museum in

Biot The British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) is an Overseas Territory of the United Kingdom situated in the Indian Ocean, halfway between Tanzania and Indonesia. The territory comprises the seven atolls of the Chagos Archipelago with over 1,000 ...

, comes from a Les Mages family. In the 1970s he organised in the local village school several exhibitions of high quality. At his request,

Nadia Léger Nadia is a female name. Variations include Nadja, Nadya, Nadine, Nadiya, and Nadiia. Most variations of the name are derived from Arabic, Slavic languages, or both. In Slavic, names similar to ''Nadia'' mean "hope" in many Slavic languages: Ukr ...

, the widow of Fernand Léger, has bequeathed to the town the Woman with a Bird mosaïc, one of Fernand Léger mosaic that adorns the front of the Les Mages Culture Complex.

George Bauquier Complex

In 2006 the Georges Bauquier complex was created, including a theater and a video screening room. In 2008 the travel film festival has been launched and successfully renewedSuccess confirmed by the Midi-Libre news reporter
/ref> in 2009.

References

External links

Les Mages on Geoportal site of the French National Geographic Institute

Les Mages on the France Cities website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mages Communes of Gard