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Gard

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This article is about French department. For the marine insurance company, see Assuranceforeningen Gard. For Pomeranian settlements, see Grad (Slavic settlement).
Gard
Department
Coat of arms of Gard
Coat of arms
Location of Gard in France
Location of Gard in France
CountryFrance
RegionLanguedoc-Roussillon
PrefectureNîmes
SubprefecturesAlès
Le Vigan
Government
 • President of the General CouncilDamien Alary (PS)
Area
1
 • Total
5,853 km2 (2,260 sq mi)
Population
 (1999)
 • Total
623,125
 • Rank34th
 • Density110/km2 (280/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)
Department number30
Arrondissements3
Cantons46
Communes353
^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. Tis Satan Born. 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.

Signpost welcoming travellers into the Gard, at Beaucaire.

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Gard.
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