La Calmette

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La Calmette
La Caumeta
Coat of arms of La Calmette
La Calmette (France)
La Calmette
region Occitania
Department Gard
Arrondissement Nîmes
Canton Uzes
Community association Nîmes metropolis
Coordinates 43 ° 55 '  N , 4 ° 16'  E Coordinates: 43 ° 55 '  N , 4 ° 16'  E
height 58-163 m
surface 11.10 km 2
Residents 2,200 (January 1, 2017)
Population density 198 inhabitants / km 2
Post Code 30190
INSEE code 30061
Website http://mairie-lacalmette.com/

Mairie La Calmette

La Calmette ( Occitan : La Caumeta ) is a southern French municipality with 2200 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2017) in the Gard department in the Occitania region .

location

The circular village ( Circulade ) La Calmette is located at an altitude of about 80 meters above sea level. d. M. about 18 kilometers (driving distance) northwest of Nîmes . The historically significant small town of Uzès is a further 18 kilometers to the northeast.

Population development

year 1968 1975 1982 1990 1999 2006 2017
Residents 712 710 893 1318 1635 1928 2200

In the 19th century the place had mostly over 1000 inhabitants. As a result of the phylloxera crisis in viticulture and the increasing mechanization of agriculture , the number of inhabitants has since fallen to the lows since the 1920s. Due to the relative proximity to the city of Nîmes and the significantly lower property prices in the countryside, there has been a significant increase in the population in recent years.

economy

In earlier times, the residents of the village lived largely on their own farms, growing not only grain, but also wine. In addition, they ran a little cattle (pigs, chickens, etc.). As in many places in Languedoc , viticulture has dominated since the 19th century; the local winegrowers' cooperative markets the wine produced here through the appellations Cévennes , Duché d'Uzès , Gard and Pays d'Oc . In addition to wine, grain ( wheat , corn ) and sunflowers are grown.

history

In the vicinity of the place there are some caves that were already used by humans in prehistoric times. In Roman times the Via Regordana ran through the municipality and from the Gallo-Roman era the foundation walls of a country estate ( villa rustica ) were exposed. The first mention under the name Calmis in Comitatu Usetico (1027) points to the geographical proximity or the later affiliation of the place to the vice-county ( vicomté ) Uzès , which was elevated to the duchy ( duché ) in the 16th century .

Attractions

Saint-Julien church
  • The old town center belongs to the type of Circulades - round villages that were built around a core consisting of a castle and / or church for defense reasons and whose outer house front served as a replacement for an expensive city wall.
Temple
  • A first Protestant temple was built in 1650, but was destroyed by royal orders at the beginning of the Huguenot Wars (1662–1698). After that, the place remained without a Protestant church for centuries; the services had to be in secret, d. H. in houses, barns or in the open field. Construction of the new church began in 1844; the year of completion (MDCCCXLVI) is carved into the triangular gable of the portal. It is an unadorned - and unusual for a Protestant church in France - octagonal central building , which does not appear on the outside because of the clad facade. The bell gable ( clocher mur ) was added 20 years later. In 1950 the church had to be closed due to structural damage; but it wasn't until 1989 that it was fundamentally repaired. The church building was recognized as a monument historique in 1991 .
  • The single-nave Catholic parish church ( Église Saint-Julien ) is a neo-Romanesque building from the 19th century that replaced a previous Romanesque building. The stones of the old church were reused as spoil in the new building. Inside the church, parts of the apse are painted.

Partner communities

Web links

Commons : La Calmette  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Temple protestant, La Calmette in the Base Mérimée of the French Ministry of Culture (French)