Gard
Gard | |
---|---|
Country | France |
Region | Languedoc-Roussillon |
Prefecture | Nîmes |
Subprefectures | Alès Le Vigan |
Government | |
• President of the General Council | Damien Alary (PS) |
Area | |
• Total | 5,853 km2 (2,260 sq mi) |
Population (1999) | |
• Total | 623,125 |
• Rank | 34th |
• Density | 110/km2 (280/sq mi) |
Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
Department number | 30 |
Arrondissements | 3 |
Cantons | 46 |
Communes | 353 |
^1 French Land Register data, which exclude estuaries, and lakes, ponds, and glaciers larger than 1 km2 |
Gard (Template:Lang-oc) is a département located in southern France in the Languedoc-Roussillon region.
The department is named after the River Gard, although the formerly Occitan name of the River Gard, Gardon, has been replacing the traditional French name in recent decades, even among French speakers.
History
The Gard area was settled by the Romans in classical times. It was crossed by the Via Domitia, which was constructed in 118 BC.
Gard is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790. It was created from the ancient province of Languedoc.
It was originally intended to include the canton of Ganges in the department which would have been geographically logical, but Ganges was transferred to the neighbouring department of Hérault at the outset. In return, Gard received from Hérault the fishing port of Aigues Mortes which gave the department its own outlet to the Gulf of Lion.
During the middle of the nineteenth century the prefecture, traditionally a centre of commerce with a manufacturing sector focused on textiles, was an early beneficiary of railway development, becoming an important railway junction. Several luxurious hotels were built, and the improved market access provided by the railways also encouraged, initially, a rapid growth in wine growing: however, many of the department's viticulturalists were ruined by the arrival in 1872 of phylloxera.
Geography
Gard is part of the region of Languedoc-Roussillon and is surrounded by the departments of Hérault, Lozère, Aveyron, Bouches-du-Rhône, Vaucluse, and Ardèche.
The highest point in the department is the Mont Aigoual.
Serious flooding has occurred in the department in recent years.
Politics
The President of the General Council is Damien Alary of the Socialist Party.
Party | seats | |
---|---|---|
style="background-color: Template:Socialist Party (France)/meta/color" |• | Socialist Party | 17 |
style="background-color: Template:Union for a Popular Movement/meta/color" | | Union for a Popular Movement | 9 |
style="background-color: Template:French Communist Party/meta/color" |• | French Communist Party | 8 |
style="background-color: Template:Miscellaneous Left/meta/color" |• | Miscellaneous Left | 6 |
style="background-color: Template:Far left/meta/color" | | Far-left | 2 |
style="background-color: Template:Miscellaneous Right/meta/color" | | Miscellaneous Right | 2 |
style="background-color: Template:New Centre/meta/color" | | New Centre | 1 |
Tourism
Gard contains a part of the Cévennes National Park.
There are important Roman architectural remains in Nîmes, as well as the famous Roman aqueduct, the Pont du Gard.
See also
- Cantons of the Gard department
- Communes of the Gard department
- Arrondissements of the Gard department
External links
- Template:Fr icon Prefecture website
- Template:Fr icon General Council website
- Template:Fr icon Welcome to the Gard
- Template:En icon Welcome to the Gard
- (English and French) The Regordane Way or St Gilles Trail
- Map of the department
- Template:Fr icon Guide Gard
- http://congenies.canalblog.com ; historory of quakers and Methodists since the end of 18 century in this village .