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 in southern France. It was known as ''Posquières'' in the
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...
. The commune comprises the town of Vauvert and the villages of
Gallician
Gallician is a village in the commune of Vauvert in the ''département'' of Gard, in the region of Languedoc-Roussillon, southern France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas F ...
and Montcalm.Vauvert at Carmargue.fr accessed 11 August 2007 Over a third of the population work in industry, which is largely the food industry, especially wine production. The original settlement was called Posquières and was first mentioned in a document of 810. Since then the town has increased in importance and has had a rich history. At its heyday in the mid-nineteenth century it had a population of 6,000 but this decreased by a third after disease struck the grape crop, the mainstay of the economy of the area. Today, the population has grown again to over 11,000.
Leimistin Broussan
Leimistin Broussan (3 November 1858 – 1 October 1959) was a French theatre and opera manager.
Life
Born in Vauvert (Gard department), Broussan successively directed the municipal theatre of Brest (1898–1899), the municipal theatre of Nancy ...
, opera manager, was born in Vauvert on 3 November 1858.
History
Vauvert is first mentioned as the
fief
A fief (; ) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form of feudal alle ...
of Posquières (meaning "place of wells") when it was donated by Raymond Raphiel to Saint-Thibéry Abbey in 810. In the
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...
, a little village grew up around the frequently besieged castle on top of the Motte-Foussat, now known as Castellas. The Christians and the Jews created two separate communities in the village. In the 12th century, the rabbinical school was an important centre of Jewish teaching, recognized across Europe thanks to the contributions of
Abraham ben David
Abraham ben David ( – 27 November 1198), also known by the abbreviation RABaD (for ''Rabbeinu'' Abraham ben David) Ravad or RABaD III, was a Provençal ḥakham, an important commentator on the Talmud, ''Sefer Halachot'' of Isaac Alfasi, an ...
and
Isaac the Blind
Isaac the Blind ( ''Rabbī Yīṣḥaq Saggī Nəhōr'', literally "Rabbi Isaac, of much light"; c. 1160–1235 in Provence, France), was a French rabbi and a famous writer on Kabbalah (Jewish mysticism). The Aramaic epithet "Saggi Nehor" means " ...
. From the 13th century, the Christian sanctuary Notre-Dame du Val-Vert, just outside the village, gained increasing importance when it was visited by
Louis IX
Louis IX (25 April 1214 – 25 August 1270), also known as Saint Louis, was King of France from 1226 until his death in 1270. He is widely recognized as the most distinguished of the Direct Capetians. Following the death of his father, Louis ...
Pope Clement V
Pope Clement V (; – 20 April 1314), born Raymond Bertrand de Got (also occasionally spelled ''de Guoth'' and ''de Goth''), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 5 June 1305 to his death, in April 1314. He is reme ...
. As a result, in the 14th century the name of the village was changed to Vauvert. In 1540, the sanctuary was destroyed by the Protestants. The town was considered strategically important by Montmorency in his campaign of 1627 during the reign of
Louis XIII
Louis XIII (; sometimes called the Just; 27 September 1601 – 14 May 1643) was King of France from 1610 until his death in 1643 and King of Navarre (as Louis II) from 1610 to 1620, when the crown of Navarre was merged with the French crown.
...
. After the revocation of the
Edict of Nantes
The Edict of Nantes () was an edict signed in April 1598 by Henry IV of France, King Henry IV and granted the minority Calvinism, Calvinist Protestants of France, also known as Huguenots, substantial rights in the nation, which was predominantl ...
, the Protestant church, Temple Vielh, was destroyed in 1685 and the Catholic church was rebuilt and consecrated in 1689.Alain Teulade, "Vauvert sans oublier Posquières" ''Calaméo''. Retrieved 6 October 2013.
From the
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...
, the inhabitants of Posquières-Vauvert enjoyed special rights to hunting, fishing, grazing and agriculture which had been granted by the barons. They are all listed in a document from 1299. Over the centuries, the hills known as "Costière" were increasingly acquired by the villagers from the barons, especially after the French Revolution. There they developed vineyards and wineries which became the major source of income during the Second Empire in the mid-18th century, resulting in an increase in population to some 6,000. The prosperity was however short-lived as the vines suffered when
phylloxera
Grape phylloxera is an insect pest of grapevines worldwide, originally native to eastern North America. Grape phylloxera (''Daktulosphaira vitifoliae'' (Fitch 1855) belongs to the family Phylloxeridae, within the order Hemiptera, bugs); orig ...
hit the region at the beginning of the 19th century. The population was reduced to around 4,000 and did not start to grow again until the 1950s when people were attracted by new opportunities in livestock rearing, vineyards and the food processing industry.
Geography
Vauvert occupies about and is one of the largest municipalities in the Camargue. It extends for about in a north–south direction and in an east–west direction. The northern half is generally dry while the southern half is marshy. Located in the flatlands of La Petite Camargue in
Languedoc-Rousillon
Languedoc-Roussillon (; ; ) is a former administrative region of France. On 1 January 2016, it joined with the region of Midi-Pyrénées to become Occitania. It comprised five departments, and bordered the other French regions of Provence-Alpe ...
, Vauvert is some southwest of
Nîmes
Nîmes ( , ; ; Latin: ''Nemausus'') is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Gard Departments of France, department in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie Regions of France, region of Southern France. Located between the Med ...
, west of
Arles
Arles ( , , ; ; Classical ) is a coastal city and Communes of France, commune in the South of France, a Subprefectures in France, subprefecture in the Bouches-du-Rhône Departments of France, department of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Reg ...
and east of
Montpellier
Montpellier (; ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of France, department of ...
. It is easily accessible by the
Autoroute A9
The A9 autoroute (''La Languedocienne''/''La Catalane'') is a motorway in Southern France.
The road forms part of the European route European route E15, E15, as does the A9 road (Scotland). The road runs between Orange, Vaucluse, Orange and Le ...
or by rail on the line from Nîmes to
Le Grau-du-Roi
Le Grau-du-Roi (; ) is a commune in the Gard department in southern France. It is the only commune in Gard to have a frontage on the Mediterranean. To the west is the Herault department and La Grande-Motte village, and to the east is the Bouc ...
from
Vauvert station
Vauvert is a railway station in Vauvert, Occitanie, southern France. Within TER Occitanie, it is part of line 26 (Nîmes-Le Grau-du-Roi)."Brochure: Itinéraire de Vauvert" CamargueCostieres-tourisme.fr. Retrieved 6 October 2013.
The Panapée Gate formed part of the town's medieval fortifications but is now crowned by the clock tower and belfry which were restored in 1849.
The Protestant church "Le Grand Temple" (1811) was designed by Charles Durand in the
Neoclassical style
Neoclassicism, also spelled Neo-classicism, emerged as a Western cultural movement in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that drew inspiration from the art and culture of classical antiquity. Neoclassici ...
to satisfy the needs of the local Protestant community which represented three-quarters of the population. It is now a listed monument.
Notre Dame Church, which has a history going back to 810 when a sanctuary became one of the oldest stone-built places of worship in the
Diocese of Nîmes
In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop.
History
In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associated ...
. It was destroyed in the 16th century but today's 17th-century church commemorates its history with a stained-glass window showing
Louis IX
Louis IX (25 April 1214 – 25 August 1270), also known as Saint Louis, was King of France from 1226 until his death in 1270. He is widely recognized as the most distinguished of the Direct Capetians. Following the death of his father, Louis ...
praying before the statue of Notre Dame.
The town hall reflects the prosperity the town enjoyed as a result of its successful wineries. It was completed in 1859.
The Jean Brunel Arena is Vauvert's fourth bullring. With seating for 3,300, it was inaugurated in 2004. It is the centre of the town's traditional festivities especially around the Ascension weekend.
Population
See also
*
Communes of the Gard department
This is a list of the 350 communes of the Gard department of France.
The communes cooperate in the following intercommunalities (as of 2025):Costières de Nîmes AOC
Costières de Nîmes () is an Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée (AOC) for wines that are produced in an area between the ancient city of Nîmes and the western Rhône delta, in the French department of the Gard. Formerly part of the Langued ...