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Commune of Saint-Gilles |
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| Location | |
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| Administration | |
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| Country | France |
| Region | Languedoc-Roussillon |
| Department | Gard |
| Arrondissement | Nîmes |
| Canton | Saint-Gilles (chief town) |
| Intercommunality | Nîmes Métropole |
| Mayor | Roland Gronchi (2001-2008) |
| Statistics | |
| Elevation | 0 m–116 m (avg. A geographic coordinate system enables every location on the Earth to be specified in three coordinates using mainly a spherical coordinate system. Wikipedia talkFeatured lists for an explanation of this and other inclusion tags below -->This list of countries, arranged alphabetically This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. France is divided into 26 regions or régions (in French of which 21 are in continental Metropolitan France, one is the island of Corsica, Languedoc-Roussillon ( Occitan: Lengadòc-Rosselhon; Catalan: Llenguadoc-Rosselló) is one of the 26 regions of France. In the context of the political and geographic organization of France and many of its former colonies a department (département depaʁtǝmɑ̃ is an Administrative division Gard ( Occitan: Gard) is a département located in southern France in the Languedoc-Roussillon region The 100 French departments are divided into 342 arrondissements, which may be translated into English as districts. The arrondissement of Nîmes is an arrondissement of France located in the Gard department, in the Languedoc-Roussillon region. The cantons of France are territorial subdivisions of the French Republic's 341 arrondissements and 100 departments. The commune is the lowest level of administrative division in the French Republic. A mayor (from the Latin māior, meaning "greater" is a modern title used in many countries for the highest ranking officer in a municipal government The elevation of a Geographic location is its height above a fixed reference point often the mean sea level. 7 m) |
| Land area¹ | 153. 73 km² |
| Population² (1999) |
11,626 |
| - Density | 75. As of January 1, 2008, 64473140 people live in the French Republic. Population density (in agriculture standing stock and Standing crop) is a measurement of Population per unit area or unit volume 6/km² (1999) |
| Miscellaneous | |
| INSEE/Postal code | 30258/ 30800 |
| 1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0. The INSEE code is a numerical indexing code used by the French National Institute for Statistics and Economic Studies (INSEE to identify various entities including communes Postal codes were introduced in France in 1972, when La Poste introduced automated sorting. Square Kilometre ( US spelling square kilometer) symbol km2, is a decimal multiple of the SI unit of 386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. The square mile is an imperial and US unit of Area equal the area of a square of one statute mile. An estuary is a semi-enclosed Coastal body of Water with one or more Rivers or Streams flowing into it and with a free connection to the open | |
| 2 Population sans doubles comptes: residents of multiple communes (e.g. students and military personnel) only counted once. C D E | |
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Saint-Gilles or Saint-Gilles-du-Gard is a commune of the Gard département, in southern France. The commune is the lowest level of administrative division in the French Republic. Gard ( Occitan: Gard) is a département located in southern France in the Languedoc-Roussillon region In the context of the political and geographic organization of France and many of its former colonies a department (département depaʁtǝmɑ̃ is an Administrative division This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. It is the second most populous commune in the Nîmes metropolitan area. Nîmes ( Provençal Occitan: Nimes in both classical and Mistralian norms is a city in southern France. A metropolitan area is a large population center consisting of a large Metropolis and its adjacent zone of influence or of more than one closely adjoining neighboring central
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Geography
Saint-Gilles is located at the northern edge of the Petite Camargue, between Arles (15 km) and Nîmes (16 km). The Camargue ( Occitan: Camarga in classical norm or Camargo in Mistralian norm is located south of Arles, France, between the Arles (aʁl̥ Provençal Occitan: Arles in both classical and Mistralian norms is a City in the south of France, Nîmes ( Provençal Occitan: Nimes in both classical and Mistralian norms is a city in southern France. With a land area of 153. 73 km² (59. 355 sq mi), it is rather large by continental French standards, although many of the communes in this part of France are among the largest in area in Metropolitan France. Metropolitan France (France métropolitaine or la Métropole, or colloquially l'Hexagone) is the part of France located in Europe, including
History
The Benedictine monastery of Saint-Gilles was founded during the 7th century traditionally by the hermit Saint Giles (Latin Ægidius), whose relics the abbey possessed. A Benedictine monastery is a Monastery that follows the Rule of St Benedict on monastic living written by the founder of western Monasticism Saint The 7th century is the period from 601 to 700 in accordance with the Julian calendar in the Christian / Common Era. A hermit (from the Greek ἔρημος erēmos, signifying " Desert " "uninhabited" hence "desert-dweller" adjective "eremitic" Saint Giles (Αιγίδιος Ægidius Gilles Egidio Egidio Gil c Latin ( lingua Latīna, laˈtiːna is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. A relic is an object or a personal item of religious significance carefully preserved with an air of Veneration as a tangible memorial The commune formed around the nucleus of the abbey, which was the first stopping point for pilgrims bound for Santiago de Compostela in Spain, who were following the via Tolosana that led from Arles to Toulouse and crossed the Pyrenees to join other routes at Puenta-la-Reina, thence to Santiago along the Via Compostelana. Santiago de Compostela (also Saint James of Compostela is the capital of the autonomous community of Galicia and a UNESCO World Arles (aʁl̥ Provençal Occitan: Arles in both classical and Mistralian norms is a City in the south of France, Toulouse ( pronounced in standard French, and in the local accent ( Occitan: Tolosa, pronounced) is a city in southwest The Pyrenees (Pirineos French: Pyrénées; Catalan: Pirineus; Occitan: Pirenèus; Aragonese: Perinés The Way of St James or St James' Way ( Galician O camiño de Santiago, Spanish name El Camino de Santiago) The former abbey church was listed in 1998 among the UNESCO World Heritage Sites, as part of the Routes of Santiago de Compostela in France. United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization ( UNESCO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations established on November 16 A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a site (such as a Forest, Mountain, Lake, Desert, Monument, Building, complex In 1998 several sites in France were added to the UNESCO World Heritage Sites under the description Routes of Santiago de Compostela in France. The abbey church's west portal is among the most beautiful of the great Romanesque portals and a definitive example of the Provencal Romanesque. Regional characteristics of Romanesque architecture|Romanesque art Romanesque architecture is the term that is used to describe the architecture of Middle Ages Europe which Provençal ( Provençau) is one of several dialects of Occitan spoken by a minority of people mostly in Provence (in southern France The church has three naves and a famed spiral staircase of cantilevered stone steps. In Romanesque and Gothic Christian Abbey, Cathedral Basilica and church Architecture, the nave is the A cantilever is a beam supported on only one end The beam carries the load to the support where it is resisted by moment and Shear stress. During the French Wars of Religion the Protestants fortified themselves within the abbey, which was severely damaged. The French Wars of Religion (1562 to 1598 between French Catholics and Protestants ( Huguenots involved both civil infighting
Miscellaneous
Saint-Gilles was the birthplace of Guy Foulques, Pope Clement IV (died 1268), whose natal house is now a museum of the archaeology, ethnology and ornithology of the Camargue. Pope Clement IV ( Saint-Gilles-du-Gard, November 23, year ca 1195 &ndash November 29, 1268 in Viterbo) born Gui Faucoi
Saint-Gilles is more recently the birthplace of the author Georges-Jean Arnaud (born 1928). Georges-Jean Arnaud (born July 3, 1928) is a French Author. He was born in Saint-Gilles-du-Gard, Camargue, France Year 1928 ( MCMXXVIII) was a Leap year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar.
The Nîmes-Arles-Camargue Airport, sometimes called Garons Airport, is located on the territory of the commune. Nîmes-Arles-Camargue Airport (Aéroport de Nîmes-Arles-Camargue, sometimes called Garons Airport, is an airport located 12 km south of the city of Nîmes
The shrine of Saint Gilles, located in the crypt of the church, is the subject of pilgrimage in particular by women wishing to become pregnant or dealing with infertility.
External links
- Official website (French)
- Official town hall website (French)
- Pictures of the abbey church
- More pictures of the abbey church
- The West Portal of the Abbey of Saint-Gilles A tinted plaster caste at the Carnegie Museum, Pittsburgh.
- virtual Tours #1:St. Gilles-du-Gard
- Regordane Info - The independent portal for The Regordane Way or St Gilles TrailThe Regordane finishes in Saint-Gilles. (in English and French)
Further reading
- Whitney S. Stoddard, 1973. The Façade of Saint-Gilles-du-Gard: Its Influence on French Sculpture (Wesleyan University Press,)
 Church's façade |
 Detail of the façade |
 Detail of the façade |
 Detail of the façade |
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