Montélimar (; Vivaro-Alpine: ''Montelaimar'' ; ) is a town in the

Drôme Drôme (; Occitan: ''Droma''; Arpitan: ''Drôma'') is the southernmost department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of Southeastern France. Named after the river Drôme, it had a population of 516,762 as of 2019.

department in the

Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes (; AURA) or ; or ; . is a Regions of France, region in southeast-central France created by the 2014 territorial reform of French regions; it resulted from the merger of Auvergne and Rhône-Alpes. The new region came into e ...

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

in Southeastern

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. It is the second-largest town in the department after Valence. In 2018, the commune had a population of 39,415; its

urban area An urban area is a human settlement with a high population density and an infrastructure of built environment. Urban areas originate through urbanization, and researchers categorize them as cities, towns, conurbations or suburbs. In urbani ...

had a population of 57,372.

History

The site where the city of Montélimar stands today has been inhabited since the Celtic era. It was reconstructed during the Roman reign, including a

basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica (Greek Basiliké) was a large public building with multiple functions that was typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek Eas ...

, aqueducts,

thermae In ancient Rome, (from Greek , "hot") and (from Greek ) were facilities for bathing. usually refers to the large Roman Empire, imperial public bath, bath complexes, while were smaller-scale facilities, public or private, that existed i ...

and a forum. The Adhémar family reigned over the city in the Middle Ages and built a castle ( Château des Adhémar) which dominates the city silhouette even today.

Demographics

Personalities

* French navigator

Louis de Freycinet Louis Claude de Saulces de Freycinet (7 August 1779 – 18 August 1841) was a French Navy officer. He circumnavigated the Earth, and in 1811 published the first map to show a full outline of the coastline of Australia. Biography He was born at M ...

and

Émile Loubet Émile François Loubet (; 30 December 183820 December 1929) was the 45th Prime Minister of France from February to December 1892 and later President of France from 1899 to 1906. Trained in law, he became Mayor (France), mayor of Montélimar, w ...

, President of France from 1899 till 1906, who served also as mayor of Montélimar. *

Formula One Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...

racing driver

Charles Pic Charles Maurice Marcel Pic (; born 15 February 1990) is a French former racing driver and motorsport executive, who competed in Formula One from to . Born and raised in Montélimar, Montélimar, Drôme, Pic began kart racing, karting aged 13 wi ...

, brother and fellow racing driver Arthur Pic and motorcycle racer

Sylvain Guintoli Sylvain Jean-Baptiste Guintoli (born 24 June 1982) is a French professional motorcycle racer and race analyst for television. He was Superbike World Championship, FIM World Superbike Champion in 2014 Superbike World Championship, 2014. Until the ...

. * Encyclopédiste Antoine Penchenier (died in 1761) at an unknown date. * Physician and Encyclopédiste Jean-Joseph Menuret (1739–1815) was born in Montélimar * Louis Deschamps (1846 - 1902) was born in Montélimar * Singer, writer, actress, TV host and fashion designer Marianne James was born in Montélimar in 1962. * Michèle Rivasi (1953-2023), elected member of the European Parliament from 2009 to 2023, was born in Montélimar.

Economy

The local nougat is one of the 13 desserts of Provence and highly appreciated throughout the country. Montelimar nougat is mentioned in the opening lines of the

Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

' "

Savoy Truffle "Savoy Truffle" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1968 album ''The Beatles'' (also known as "the White Album"). The song was written by George Harrison and inspired by his friend Eric Clapton's fondness for chocolate. The ...

" from '' The White Album''. Travellers used to buy ''nougat de Montélimar'' on their way to the south of France (or when returning) as the city is next to the

Rhône The Rhône ( , ; Occitan language, Occitan: ''Ròse''; Franco-Provençal, Arpitan: ''Rôno'') is a major river in France and Switzerland, rising in the Alps and flowing west and south through Lake Geneva and Southeastern France before dischargi ...

and to the primary route N7. Since the construction of the A7 autoroute, many nougat

factories A factory, manufacturing plant or production plant is an industrial facility, often a complex consisting of several buildings filled with machinery, where workers manufacture items or operate machines which process each item into another. Th ...

have been forced to close as tourists no longer stop in Montélimar but bypass it instead.

Climate

Montélimar has a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between ...

(''Cfa'') according to the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

International relations

Montélimar is twinned with: *

Mollet del Vallès Mollet del Vallès () is a municipalities of Spain, municipality in the Comarques of Catalonia, ''comarca'' of the Vallès Oriental in Catalonia, Spain. It is situated in the valley of the Besòs (river), Besòs river, and is an important commun ...

, Spain * Nabeul, Tunisia * Racine, United States *

Ravensburg Ravensburg ( or ; Swabian: ''Raveschburg'') is a city in Upper Swabia in Southern Germany, capital of the district of Ravensburg, Baden-Württemberg. Ravensburg was first mentioned in 1088. In the Middle Ages, it was an Imperial Free City and ...

, Germany *

Rhondda Cynon Taf Rhondda Cynon Taf (; RCT; also spelt as Rhondda Cynon Taff) is a Principal areas of Wales, county borough in the South East Wales, south-east of Wales. It consists of five valleys: the Rhondda Fawr, Rhondda Fach, Cynon, Taff () and Ely valleys, ...

, Wales, United Kingdom * Rivoli, Italy * Sisian, Armenia

References

External links

Official website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Montelimar Communes of Drôme Dauphiné Drôme communes articles needing translation from French Wikipedia Populated places on the Rhône Populated riverside places in France