The Vaunage is an area of southern

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 ...

made up of the plain and the small hills around Nages, which is known for its Gallic

oppidum An ''oppidum'' (: ''oppida'') is a large fortified Iron Age Europe, Iron Age settlement or town. ''Oppida'' are primarily associated with the Celts, Celtic late La Tène culture, emerging during the 2nd and 1st centuries BC, spread acros ...

. The Vaunage area is located between

Languedoc The Province of Languedoc (, , ; ) is a former province of France. Most of its territory is now contained in the modern-day region of Occitanie in Southern France. Its capital city was Toulouse. It had an area of approximately . History ...

and

Provence Provence is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which stretches from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the France–Italy border, Italian border to the east; it is bordered by the Mediterrane ...

and between

Sommières Sommières (; ) is a commune in the Gard department in southern France, located at the border with the Hérault department. It lies from Nîmes, from Montpellier. Geography Sommières is to the south of the garrigues and on the edge of t ...

and

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 ...

. It is north of the

Camargue The Camargue (, also , , ; ) is a coastal region in southern France located south of the city of Arles, between the Mediterranean Sea and the two arms of the Rhône river delta. The eastern arm is called the Grand Rhône; the western is the ''P ...

. From east to west the villages of Vaunage are: Caveirac, Clarensac, Langlade, Saint-Dionizy, Nages-et-Solorgues, Calvisson, Boissières, Saint-Côme-et-Maruéjols, Congénies.

Demography

According to the 1999 census, The population of the Vaunage was 15,250, the area being 9981 ha. * Boissières : 485 area 333 ha * Calvisson : 4725 area 2897 ha * Caveirac : 3860 area 1479 ha * Clarensac : 3117 area 1449 ha * Congénies : 1672 area 864 ha * Langlade : 2850 area 900 ha * Nages-et-Solorgues : 1150 area 18 ha * Saint-Côme-et-Maruéjols : 580 area 1400 ha * Saint-Dionizy : 1050 area 641 ha

History

The name is a contraction of "Vallée de Nages", the valley of Nages. The valley is a furrowed

combe A combe (; also spelled coombe or coomb and, in place names, comb) can refer either to a steep, narrow valley, or to a small valley or large hollow on the side of a hill; in any case, it is often understood simply to mean a small valley through w ...

at the edge of the

garrigue Garrigue or garigue ( ), also known as phrygana ( , n. pl.), is a type of low scrubland ecoregion and plant community in the Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub biome. It is found on limestone soils in southern France and around the ...

s plateau, surrounded by 200m-high hills that isolate it from the surroundings. There are two natural entrances, one to east coming from

, and one to the south towards Vergèze. This geographical situation has led to a strong regional identity. Le

Camisard Camisards were Huguenots (French Protestants) of the rugged and isolated Cévennes region and the neighbouring Vaunage in southern France. In the early 1700s, they raised a resistance against the persecutions which followed Louis XIV's Revocati ...

chief, Jean Cavalier called it "petite Chanaan", little Canaan. This is an agricultural region, rich in history. There are hundreds of archaeological sites in this small area. These valleys have been populated for over 2,000 years. Six ''oppida'', dominated by that at Nages, were home to the Volques, who built them in the 8th century BC and remained there till the 1st century AD : * Oppidum de Nages-et-Solorgues ; in the commune of the same name; *

Oppidum de Roque de Viou An ''oppidum'' (: ''oppida'') is a large fortified Iron Age Europe, Iron Age settlement or town. ''Oppida'' are primarily associated with the Celts, Celtic late La Tène culture, emerging during the 2nd and 1st centuries BC, spread acros ...

, in the commune of Saint-Dionizy; * Oppidum de la Liquière, above the hamlet of Sinsans, in the commune of Calvisson; * Oppidum de la Font du Coucou above Calvisson; * Oppidum du Roc de Gachonne above Calvisson; * Oppidum de Mauressip or "Mouressipe", in the commune of Saint-Côme-et-Maruéjols. However it is the oppidum of Nages that has provided the richest archeological finds. This region has a strong

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

history, and is today predominantly Protestant. Congénies is unique in France in having a

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally, others referred to them as Quakers ...

Meeting House and cemetery. One finds many recent chateaux, mas and bastides. The Camargue traditions such as the ''running of the bulls'' happen in each village. The soil is argilo-calcaire so the flora is essentially that of the garrigue- and this leads to fine wines. However, the region is being targeted by the expanding housing needs of Nîmes. The former railway has been transformed into a cycle way,«voie verte» opening the Vaunage to Green Touris

Literature

Cartulaire de Nîmes (en 955, occitan, cited by Idebert Exbrayat, in ''Si la Vaunage m'était contée'', Nouvelle Édition, 1992) : :''Sé la Vaunagea éro un moton,'' :''Sant Comé en sérié lou rognon.'' :''E poudés passa dés partot,'' :''Sant Donisé en sérié la flou.'' :(If the Vaunage were a sheep, :Saint Côme would be the Kidney. :And you could pass throughout, :Saint Dionisy would be the flower.) Poème sur la Vaunage (''Voyage autour de la Vaunage'' de Maurice Aliger, membre de l' Académie de Nîmes. Page 30. Imprimerie BENE. 1983) : :''Généreuse et opulente Vaunage,'' :''triplement riche'' :''du fruit de l'olivier,'' :''de vins ensoleillés'' :''et de blonds chasselas'' ; :Generous and opulent Vaunage, three times rich :its olives :its sunbaked red wines :and fair

chasselas Chasselas () or Chasselas blanc () is a wine grape variety grown mainly in Switzerland, France, Germany, Portugal, Hungary, Romania, New Zealand, Croatia and Chile. Chasselas is mostly vinified to be a full, dry and fruity white wine. It is ...

Personalities

* Christine Majolier * Tony Dombre * Maurice Aliger

Sources

* ''Les Oppida de la Vaunage, du VIII^e au III^e siècle avant JC.'' Dossier réalisé par Geneviève Paillet, Hélène Peyre, Ghislaine Richard, sous la dir. de Maryse Clary, avec l'aide scientifique de Michel Py, Editions CNDP, Nîmes, 1986, .

External links

* {{usurped,
La Vaunage
}
Blog sur le village de Langlade
Geographical, historical and cultural regions of France Geography of France Geography of Gard