Alès
Alès
Alès | |
|---|---|
Subprefecture and commune | |
 Alès Cathedral | |
Location of Alès  | |
  Alès  Alès | |
| Coordinates:44°07′41″N 4°04′54″E [9] | |
| Country | France |
| Region | Occitanie |
| Department | Gard |
| Arrondissement | Alès |
| Canton | Alès-1 Alès-2 Alès-3 |
| Intercommunality | Alès Agglomération |
| Government | |
| • Mayor(2014-2020) | Max Roustan |
| Area 1 | 23.16 km2(8.94 sq mi) |
| Population (2016-01-01)[1] | 41,129 |
| • Density | 1,800/km2(4,600/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
| INSEE/Postal code | 30007 [10] /30100 |
| Elevation | 116–356 m (381–1,168 ft) (avg. 150 m or 490 ft) |
| 1French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2(0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. | |
Alès (French pronunciation: [a.lɛs]; Occitan: Alès) is a commune in the Gard department in the Occitanie region in southern France. It is one of the sub-prefectures of the department. It was formerly known as Alais.
Alès | |
|---|---|
Subprefecture and commune | |
Alès Cathedral | |
Location of Alès | |
Alès Alès | |
| Coordinates:44°07′41″N 4°04′54″E [9] | |
| Country | France |
| Region | Occitanie |
| Department | Gard |
| Arrondissement | Alès |
| Canton | Alès-1 Alès-2 Alès-3 |
| Intercommunality | Alès Agglomération |
| Government | |
| • Mayor(2014-2020) | Max Roustan |
| Area 1 | 23.16 km2(8.94 sq mi) |
| Population (2016-01-01)[1] | 41,129 |
| • Density | 1,800/km2(4,600/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
| INSEE/Postal code | 30007 [10] /30100 |
| Elevation | 116–356 m (381–1,168 ft) (avg. 150 m or 490 ft) |
| 1French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2(0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. | |
Geography
History
Alès may be the modern successor of Arisitum, where, in about 570, Sigebert, King of Austrasia, created a bishopric. In his campaign against the Visigoths, the Merovingian king Theudebert I (533–548) conquered part of the territory of the Diocese of Nîmes. His later successor Sigebert set up the new diocese, comprising fifteen parishes in the area controlled by the Franks, which included a number of towns to the north of the Cevenne: Alès, Le Vigan, Arre, Arrigas, Meyrueis, Saint-Jean-du-Gard, Anduze, and Vissec. The diocese disappeared in the 8th century with the conquest of the whole of Septimania by the Franks.[2][3] No longer a residential bishopric, Arisitum is today listed by the Catholic Church as a titular see.[4]
After the Edict of Nantes, Alès was one of the places de sûreté given to the Huguenots. Louis XIII took back the town in 1629, and the Peace of Alès, signed on 29 June of that year, suppressed the political privileges of the Protestants, while continuing to guarantee toleration.[5]
At the request of Louis XIV, a see was again created at Alais by Pope Innocent XII, in 1694. The future Cardinal de Bausset, Bossuet's biographer, was Bishop of Alais from 1784 to 1790.[5] It was suppressed after the French Revolution, and its territory was divided between the diocese of Avignon and the diocese of Mende.
Population
| Historical population | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
| 2006 | 39,943 | — |
| 2007 | 40,108 | +0.4% |
| 2008 | 40,520 | +1.0% |
| 2009 | 41,432 | +2.3% |
| 2010 | 41,205 | −0.5% |
| 2011 | 40,851 | −0.9% |
| 2012 | 41,031 | +0.4% |
| 2013 | 40,711 | −0.8% |
| 2014 | 39,993 | −1.8% |
| 2015 | 39,535 | −1.1% |
| 2016 | 39,970 | +1.1% |
Economy
Alès is the center of a mining district and hosts the École des mines d'Alès.
Historically, according to the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition (1911):
- "The town is one of the most important markets for rawsilkandcocoonsin the south of France, and the Gardon supplies power to numerous silk-mills. It is also the centre of a mineral field, which yields large quantities of coal, iron, zinc and lead; its blast-furnaces, foundries, glass-works and engineering works afford employment to many workmen."[5]
Personalities
Statue of Pasteur
Pasteur did his research on the silkworm disease (pébrine and flacherie) at Alès, and the town dedicated a bust to his memory. There is also a statue of the chemist J.B. Dumas.[5] Alphonse Daudet was master study at the College of Ales and was written "le petit chose".
Sports
The town has one association football team called Olympique Alès who currently play in the Championnat National.
Former France and Paris Saint-Germain manager Laurent Blanc was also born in Alès.
Morocco and Leganés voetballer Nabil El Zhar was also born in Alès.
Sights
Historically, according to the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition:
- "The streets are wide and its promenades and fine plane-trees make the town attractive; but the public buildings, the chief of which are theSaint-Jean-Baptiste cathedral, a heavy building of the 18th century, and the citadel, which serves as barracks and prison, are of small interest."[5]
Parc botanique de la Tour Vieille
Alès was the birthplace of:
Rigord (c. 1150 – c. 1209), chronicler (probable birthplace)
Jean-Pierre des Ours de Mandajors (1679–1747), 18th-century French historian and playwright.
Jean-Baptiste Dumas (1800–1884), chemist
Gabriel Montoya (1868–1914), Parisian chansonnier
Edgard de Larminat (1895–1962), French general
Charles Dugas (1885–1957), Archaeologist and Hellenist
Guillaume de Ramel (born 1974), American philanthropist and sometime political candidate
Louis Leprince-Ringuet (1901–2000), physicist
Maurice André (1933–2012), trumpeter, active in the classical music field
Laurent Blanc (born 1965), football defender
Nabil El Zhar (born 1986), football striker
Stéphane Sarrazin (born 1975), sportscar racing driver, rally driver
Romain Dumas (born 1977), sportscar racing driver
International relations
Twin towns — Sister cities
Alès is twinned with:
[[INLINE_IMAGE|//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cb/Flag_of_the_Czech_Republic.svg/23px-Flag_of_the_Czech_Republic.svg.png|//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cb/Flag_of_the_Czech_Republic.svg/35px-Flag_of_the_Czech_Republic.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cb/Flag_of_the_Czech_Republic.svg/45px-Flag_of_the_Czech_Republic.svg.png 2x|Czech Republic|h15|w23|thumbborder flagicon-img flagicon-img]] Bílina, Czech Republic
[[INLINE_IMAGE|//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/10/Flag_of_Scotland.svg/23px-Flag_of_Scotland.svg.png|//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/10/Flag_of_Scotland.svg/35px-Flag_of_Scotland.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/10/Flag_of_Scotland.svg/46px-Flag_of_Scotland.svg.png 2x|Scotland|h14|w23|thumbborder flagicon-img flagicon-img]] Kilmarnock, Scotland
See also
Communes of the Gard department