Le Vigan, Gard Département, Occitanie, France

Geography | History | Economy | Sights

🇫🇷 Le Vigan is a commune in the Gard department in southern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department.

Geography Le Vigan is located at the south of the Massif Central and near the Mont Aigoual, in the Arre valley. The town is on the southern edge of the Cévennes National Park and is the most populous town within the park.

History On a river at the southern edge of the Massif Central, Le Vigan is situated on a natural boundaryline. In the 2nd-3rd centuries BCE, it was situated between the territories occupied by the Volcae Arecomici, the Averni, and the Gabali tribes. In 121 BCE the Romans gained control of much of southern France including the area around Le Vigan. The Volcae Arecomici voluntarily surrendered their territory, and the Arverni gave up much territory in a treaty that nevertheless preserve their independence. Under Roman control, Le Vigan was part of the Roman "Provincia", (hence Provence) called Gallia Narbonensis.

Le Vigan is supposed to occupy the site of the old Gallo-Roman town of Vindomagus. The name implies that a Celtic population was settled there. "Magh" signifies meadow or plain, and "vindo" is the Latin form given to the word we find in so many places to signify open country, wind-swept, surt-scorched, rambled over by sheep,… No descriptive appellation could better suit Le Vigan. — Sabine Baring-Gould, A book of the Cevennes (1907)

The Visigoths took control of the western half of Gallia Narbonensis in 462 CE, a part known as Septimania which included Le Vigan, and they retained control despite attempts in 586 and 589 by the Frankish (Merovingian) King Guntram to conquer the area from the north. In 587 the region came under Catholic rule with the conversion of the Visigoth king Reccared I. In 719, the Moor Al-Samh conquered Septimania and the Franks struggled to take it back over the next several decades. By 780, Charlemagne had conquered the entire territory. Le Vigan is on the site of an ancient Roman town which may be "Vindomagus", but it is not certain. There is a spring called "la source d'Isis", which has provided water to the city since at least 1069 and which was named in honor of the Roman goddess. The town was destroyed during the Moorish invasion of Provence.

Economy As with many towns in the Cévennes, there were many textile industries there in the past. Several quarries south of town above Montdardier were formerly important sources of lithographic limestone. Stone from these quarries earned an honourable mention in the Great Exhibition of 1851.

Le Vigan is a tourist destination during summer time.

Sights • The musée cévenol  shows the life in the Cévennes during the past centuries • The Vieux Pont is an old bridge built during the 11th century • The old hotel Faventines called Château d'Assas from 18th century • The Arboretum de la Foux and Arboretum de l'Hort de Dieu are mature arboretums.

Europe/Paris/Gard 
<b>Europe/Paris/Gard</b>
Image: Shadowgate

Le Vigan has a population of over 3,785 people. Le Vigan also forms the centre of the wider Le Vigan Arrondissement which has a population of over 39,243 people. It is also a part of the larger Gard Département.

Twin Towns - Sister Cities Le Vigan has links with:

🇪🇸 Bigastro, Spain 🇮🇹 Cisano sul Neva, Italy
Text Atribution: Wikipedia Text under CC-BY-SA license

Antipodal to Le Vigan is: -176.394,-43.99

Locations Near: Le Vigan 3.60646,43.99

🇫🇷 Ganges 3.709,43.935 d: 10.2  

🇫🇷 Lodève 3.323,43.731 d: 36.7  

🇫🇷 Hérault 3.368,43.58 d: 49.5  

🇫🇷 Montpellier 3.896,43.6 d: 49.2  

🇫🇷 Alès 4.082,44.128 d: 41  

🇫🇷 Mende 3.501,44.519 d: 59.5  

🇫🇷 Millau 3.069,44.106 d: 44.8  

🇫🇷 Béziers 3.218,43.342 d: 78.6  

🇫🇷 Nîmes 4.36,43.837 d: 62.8  

🇫🇷 Largentière 4.294,44.544 d: 82.4  

Antipodal to: Le Vigan -176.394,-43.99

🇹🇴 Nuku'alofa -175.216,-21.136 d: 17471.5  

🇦🇸 Pago Pago -170.701,-14.279 d: 16667.5  

🇼🇸 Apia -171.76,-13.833 d: 16632.9  

🇵🇫 Papeete -149.566,-17.537 d: 16149  

🇺🇸 Hilo -155.089,19.725 d: 12605.4  

🇺🇸 Maui -156.446,20.72 d: 12538  

🇺🇸 Maui County -156.617,20.868 d: 12526.9  

🇺🇸 Wailuku -156.505,20.894 d: 12521  

🇺🇸 Honolulu -157.85,21.3 d: 12513.2  

🇺🇸 Kahului -156.466,20.891 d: 12520.2  

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