Place:Valence, Drôme, France

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NameValence
Alt namesValentiasource: Times Atlas of World History (1993) p 92
Ventiasource: Webster's Geographical Dictionary (1988) p 1282
TypeCommune
Coordinates44.933°N 4.9°E
Located inDrôme, France
source: Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names
source: Family History Library Catalog


the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia

Valence is a commune in southeastern France, the prefecture of the Drôme department and within the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. It is situated on the left bank of the Rhône, about south of Lyon, along the railway line that runs from Paris to Marseille.

It is the 8th largest city in the region by its population, with 64,726 registered inhabitants in 2018 (132,556 inhabitants in the urban area (unité urbaine). The city of Valence is divided into four cantons. Its inhabitants are called Valentinois.

Located in the heart of the , Valence is often referred to as "the door to the South of France", the local saying à Valence le Midi commence ("at Valence the Midi begins") pays tribute to the city's southern culture. Between Vercors and Provence, its geographical location attracts many tourists. Axes of transport and communications are the A7 and A49 autoroutes, the RN7, Paris/Marseille TGV line, as well as the Rhône. In addition, the Valence agglomeration is equipped with a , a , two railway stations (Valence-Ville and Valence-TGV) and an airport. Its business is essentially turned towards the sectors of agriculture, metallurgy, engineering and electronics.

The commune, founded in 121 BC, after the invasion of Gallia Narbonensis by the Romans, it moved quickly to become the largest crossroad behind Lyon. With its growing importance, Valence gained the status of Roman colony. Over the centuries, the town grew and grew. Today, many vestiges of the Middle Ages, Renaissance, but also from the 17th century, 18th century and 19th century are visible in the city centre. The city is historically attached to the Dauphiné, of which it forms the second largest city after Grenoble and is today part of the network of French Towns and Lands of Art and History. Formerly the duchy of Valentinois, it was ruled by the Duke of Valentinois, a title which is still claimed by the Sovereign Prince of Monaco, though he has no actual administrative control over the area.

Monuments in Valence include the , built between 1528 and 1532 by Antoine de Dorne, the Saint-Apollinaire Cathedral, built between 1063 and 1099 under the leadership of Bishop Gontard and also the designed by the architect Eugène Poitoux. The city has many , most of which are in . Inscribed on the list of flowery towns and villages of France, Valence is one of the seventeen municipalities of the Rhône-Alpes region to be labeled "four flowers" by the Concours des villes et villages fleuris, i.e. the maximum level.

Contents

History

the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia

The demonym corresponding to Valence is Valentinois, but "Valentinois" also designates a geographical area, and one of the old provinces of France, with its capital Valence having been part of the province of Dauphiné.


The word valence comes from Latin valentia, meaning "strength or capacity". Known in Roman times as Valentia Julia, the city had been the capital of the , and the seat of a celebrated school prior to the Roman conquest. It became a colony under Augustus, and was an important town of Viennensis Prima under Valentinian I. It was the seat of a bishopric perhaps as early as the 4th century.

In the 5th century, control of Valentia passed from the Romans to the Alans and other barbarians: in 413, the Goths under Ataulf besieged and captured the brother of the usurper Jovinus, Sebastianus, at Valentia on behalf of the emperor Honorius. In 440, Alans led by Sambida were given deserted lands in Valentia by the Romans. Three years later, Aetius settled the Burgundians in the region, under King Gondioc which became part of the Kingdom of the Burgundians. His son, Chilperic II, ruled Valence from 473 to 493 when he was slain by his brother Gundobad. Chilperic's daughter Clotilde married Clovis, the King of the Franks, in 493. Clovis's son Childebert I attacked the Burgundians in 534, adding their territory to the Frankish Kingdom. The city then fell successively under the power of the Franks, the Arabs of Spain, the sovereigns of Arles, the emperors of Germany, the counts of Valentinois, the counts of Toulouse, as well as its own bishops, who struggled to retain the control of the city they had won in the fifth century. These bishops were often in conflict with the citizens and the counts of Valentinois and to strengthen their hands against the latter the pope in 1275 united their bishopric with that of Die.[1]

The citizens put themselves under the protection of the dauphin, and in 1456 had their rights and privileges confirmed by Louis XI and put on an equal footing with those of the rest of Dauphiné, the bishops consenting to recognize the suzerainty of the dauphin. In the 16th century Valence became the centre of Protestantism for the province in 1563. The town was fortified by King Francis I. It became the seat of a celebrated university in the middle of the 15th century; but the revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685 struck a fatal blow at its industry, commerce and population.[1]

Toponymy

The conquest of Gaul by Julius Caesar made the Rhône corridor a major north-south communication axis, linking with the new Roman possessions around the Mediterranean Sea. Many settlements were founded, including Valentia, a Latin name meaning La Vaillante [brave], La Vigoureuse [strong], in the territory of the .

The town named Valença in Occitan, Valènço in literary Provençal and Valinço in local Provençal.

Heraldry

Antiquity

At the end of prehistory

The city of Massalia, long on good terms with Rome, asked it for help against the Salyes who had ravaged its territory. The intervention of the Romans, from 125 BC, assured its safety but the war continued against the Allobroges, among whom the Salyes people had found refuge. In August 121 BC, the army of Quintus Fabius Maximus crushed them at the (implied, the Rhône and Isère) according to Strabo (Geographica, IV, 1, 11).

Orosius noted that Gaius Marius, who was sent by Rome to stop the Cimbri and the Teutons, had established his camp not far from the confluence of the Rhône and the Isère. The excavations on the upper part of the plateau of Lautagne ( south of the centre of Valence) revealed the presence of devices of a defensive nature dating from the 1st century BC: Thus the foundation of the city could have come from a Roman military camp.

Even under the Roman domination, the Allobroges tribe established themselves north of Isère, and repeatedly rebelled against the Roman occupation. The was the last to take place, identifiable with the modern commune of Soyons (Solo by Livy, Epitome 103) in 62 BC.

The selection of the site

The city of Valentia was established on a terrace on the left bank of the Rhône river, south of the confluence of the Isère and from the Drôme.

This geographical situation is understood by the crossing of several routes of transport and communications:

  • Valentia had a privileged place in north-south trade through the Rhône and at the Via Agrippa.
  • Valentia was part of east-west routes since the different paths, which traversed the plain from the Isère Valley and the Drôme, converged on the city. The Rhône was crossed at Valence on a ferry, by ford or over a bridge.

The ancient city

The city of Valence, as many Gallo-Roman cities, received an orthonormal plan. The orientation of the urban streets network successively followed cadastres "A" inclined N, 12°30'E and "B", inclined N, 23°E, in the Valence plain.[2]

We know the decumanus of the city thanks to the discovery of a pavement and a sewer a few metres north of the city hall. The cardo of the urban network was the Via Agrippa that crossed the city in a straight line from the southern gate of the city to the old gate and Tower of Aion, north of the city, which later became "Tourdeon" (now destroyed).

It was along the Via Agrippa that a forum was located, probably surrounded by a , curia, a temple, etc., of which the location is unknown.

To the south of the presumed forum site, between the Rue du Théâtre and Rue Vernoux the ruins of the thermae were discovered. This thermal water supply, and more generally that of the city of Valentia, was thanks to the numerous springs in the vicinity. The site of Valence still presents a dense network of streams and canals born of the overflow of water which escapes in sources at the foot of the terraces, forming, in the east, a curved line from the source of the Treuil up to the Fountain of Malcontents, and near the Rhône and the lower town, a quasi-parallel line to the river from the Saint-Pierre source until the descent of the Boulevard Gambetta. Thus, the Chony quarter (in the current commune of Bourg-lès-Valence), were found remains of pipes that belonged to the aqueduct that brought water from the source of the Treuil to Valence.


All around the current cathedral were discovered fragments of architecture probably belonging to a large temple.

The city had entertainment facilities:

  • A circus whose memory would be preserved in the name of the Cire quarter ("Siry" in the Middle Ages).
  • An amphitheatre, was on the edge of the Rhône, outside of the enclosure or near the New Gate.[3]
  • A Côte Sainte-Ursule theatre: Three surveys have revealed the orchestra, traces of large markets and large wall elements. It was located at the northern edge of the city.[3]
  • An odeon whose curvature would be materialized by the Rue du Croissant.[3] In fact, the foundations of an odeon were found during the construction of the new museum, in the and its outline is materialised on the ground at the entrance to the museum.

The city was surrounded by ramparts from the early Roman Empire. This was constructed between 15 BC and 15 AD. In 1869, excavations to the south of the old town revealed the existence of a monumental gate defended by two protruding towers. The façade, or at least the pillars which were observed during the excavation, was covered with a large piece of sandstone and adorned with a frieze of military trophies: shields, leggings and breastplates.

Houses settled around the city, outside the city walls.

  • To the east of the city of Valentia, not far from the (in the direction of Die and Gap), in the current Rue Faventines.
  • To the west, in the Nonniers quarter, in the commune of Guilherand-Granges (right bank of the Rhône, facing Valence): A bridge or a ferry connecting the banks of the river.

The ancient port was perhaps on the territory of the current commune of Bourg-les-Valence.

Numerous tombs were crowded at the exit of the city, along the tracks: Several burial grounds were discovered in the east and south of the ancient city.

Late antiquity

During the first centuries of the Christian era, Valence became an important road junction on maps and routes, and the late Roman Empire, this city retained its privileged position.

However, as early as the 4th century, Valentia faced many raids but the city within the ramparts retained its monumental adornments competing according to Ammianus Marcellinus (Histoires, XV, 11, 14), with Arles and Vienne.

At the dawn of the 5th century, the city lived in shelter of the ramparts erected under the late Roman Empire (still a visible construction in the 19th century). The Visigoths seized Valence in 413 AD; the Burgundians were masters of the Rhône basin at the end of the 5th century; the Valence people fell to the Frankish Kingdom in 533 AD. These successive invasions removed almost all traces of Romanisation.

During this troubled period, the city converted its ancient walls into stronger fortifications: Roman gates were bricked up, thus doing away with the two main axes of the city and lasting restructuring of the urban network. The rural inhabitants settled on small hills of the plain, giving rise to a large number of villages: Montoison, Montmeyran, Montélier, Montvendre, Montéléger, etc.

Middle Ages

Around 800, a new Cathedral of Saint-Estève (of St. Stephen) was built instead of the baptistery, with a choir that was oriented to the west. It was constructed symmetrically to the Evangelist Church. It housed numerous relics: Those of saints Apollinaire, Cyprien, Corneille, Félix, Fortunat, Achillée and a fragment of the True Cross. The episcopal district also included housing for the canons, grouped around a court cemetery, and a round church, Notre-Dame-la-Ronde. At the beginning of the 9th century, perhaps before, the Roman wall was raised with walls constructed from pebbles. In 890, the widow of King Boso of Provence had their son, Louis III, crowned King of Provence in Valence.

In 1029, the Archbishop of Vienne invested Guigues III the Old of the County of Viennois.[4] It belonged to the family of the Counts of Albon, which held the region for decades, frequently occupying the county and the Diocese of Valence. The region still suffered the raids of the Saracens at the end of the 9th and the 10th century.

The Rhône was sometimes presented as the border between the Kingdom of France and the Holy Roman Empire which made Valence part, until the 15th century, but it was especially a link between the countries bordering it. The Diocese of Valence, as the rival principality, the County of Valentinois and Diois, extended on both sides. It was also an important commercial axis, especially for salt, which would benefit the city which guards traces of the name of Rue "Saunière", formerly the name of one of the four gates of Valence, the one which gave access to the south. The city also benefitted from its position at a point of change in the regime of winds in the Rhône Valley: In the Middle Ages, vessels ascended the river only by being hauled to the col, by sweat (by men). North of Valence, the rise could be done under sail (but not always). At the end of the 15th century, it was even the capital of hauling along the towpath, because beside this advantage due to the wind, it was a one-day stop from Lyon, and a crossroads into the mountains. Finally, the rise of the Rhône was particularly difficult at Valence, which caused forced stops. Several Valentinois were specialised in the brokerage of haulers. The haulers pulled either a big boat or boat trains, with teams from a few dozen to several hundred men. Each man drew a mass of about a ton. This mode of hauling regressed at the end of the 15th century, to be replaced by hauling by horses, except for local hauling.


The city, safe from the flooding of the river and protected by its ramparts, was a step on the road for pilgrimages to Compostela. Religious life flourished, the Saint-Apollinaire Cathedral was built as well as the Abbey of the canons of . Two major characters vied for power over the city: The Bishop and the Count of Valentinois.

Economic growth translated into the development of towns, especially on the side of the Rhône: The Rivière (Riperia) said today, less poetically, as "Basse-Ville". The new city, north of the former Pomperi gate and Bourg-Saint-Pierre, formed around the Abbey of Saint-Pierre, which spawned the current commune of Bourg-lès-Valence. Elsewhere, on the middle terrace, habitat outside-the-walls was associated with religious foundations: The commandery of the Hospitallers, the Tourdeon gate, the Abbey of Saint-Félix, the Saint-Sulpice gate, the Faventines Templar Commandery, the Benedictine Priory of Saint-Victor in the south near the former Via Agrippa and, perhaps, further to the south, a leprosarium whose memory is retained through the channel of la Maladière.

After the disappearance of the County of , incorporated into the , the dauphin may have imposed homage to the Bishop and Abbot of Saint-Ruf (free abbot, with immunity from Royal taxes and so forth): Valence was therefore incorporated into the province of Dauphiné. On the death of Louis II, who was the last count, the Valentinois was sold in 1419 by his heirs, his daughter Louise de Poitiers (widow of and Villars) and close relatives to Charles, dauphin and King of France (Charles VII). The County of Valentinois was attached to the in 1424.


The second half of the 15th century and the beginning of the 16th century were a golden age for the medieval city, materialised by the and the . Founded on 26 July 1452 by the dauphin Louis, future Louis XI, the University of Valence grew quickly. Renowned professors from various countries, as Jacques Cujas forged its reputation by teaching the law, theology, medicine and arts. After his coronation, Louis XI confirmed its preference by mailing the letters patent for the university on 12 October 1461. In March 1480, the King still supported his preferred university.

The dauphin Louis made numerous stays in Valence where, as a sign of allegiance, he donated a gate to the city, the Saunière gate and a few houses nearby. It made for a "delphinal palace", later occupied by the religious order of the Recollects. As Louis XI, he allowed a market in the town of Valence, in 1476, during his stay in the city and confirmed tax privileges for the city of Valence.

This era ended abruptly in 1562 during the occupation of the city by the troops of the Protestant Baron des Adrets: All the religious buildings of Valence were partially or completely destroyed.

Early Modern era

François Rabelais studied at Valence in 1532, before settling in Lyon, a great cultural centre where the library trade blossomed.

A strategic location in the Rhône Valley, Valence had been militarised since its origin and had 7,100 inhabitants in the 1700s, who bore responsibility for housing soliers. To reduce this burden a municipal deliberation was offered in 1714: a barracks was constructed in the current Rue Bouffier, a temporary camp which quickly became inadequate to accommodate the 12,000 men and 20,000 horses stationed there. The city invested 190,000 livres for the installation of a new barracks in the Rollin quarter, north of the Roman road.

Charles IX passed through the town during his royal tour of France (1564–1566), accompanied by the Court and the nobles of the Kingdom: His brother the Duke of Anjou, Henri de Navarre and the Cardinals of Bourbon and Lorraine.

It was in Valence that the saga of Louis Mandrin ended in May 1755, the smuggler who challenged the Ferme Générale and redistributed the proceeds of his theft from it. After spending several days in the city prison, Mandrin was sentenced to death: It was conducted on the where the scaffold was erected, his death ensued on the breaking wheel. His body was exposed after his death, during three days, and many people flocked to pay him a last tribute, as his popularity increased. The death of Mandrin on the wheel of Valence marked the end of his actions, but also the beginning of a legend, as the man had marked the minds of his contemporaries.

Napoleon Bonaparte was assigned in the city from 1785 to 1786 in the La Fère artillery regiment. He made many future visits.[5] He would indeed return repeatedly to Valence. It included crossing the city on 12 October 1799, during the return of the expedition to Egypt, and offered to his former landlady who came to welcome him at the posthouse, a cashmere of India (offered to the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament), a compass and a powder spoon (available at the Museum of Valence in 1862). He also met the future Cardinal Spina, who would negotiate on behalf of Pope Pius VII in the Concordat of 1801, on the same day.

French Revolution

After the convening of the Estates-General, agitation and anxiety grew until the storming of the Bastille, news of which reached the region around 20 July, causing hope but also increasing concerns of a reactionary plot of aristocrats. The Great Fear arose in the region of a rumor, and spread by degrees, at a blistering pace according to local networks, putting all the villages in motion for their defence. Once the peak of fear passed, a latent anxiety remained, the village communities realised that in an emergency, they were in fact isolated and practically reduced to their own devices. National guards were formed quickly, including in Valence, but communities found it insufficient, and they constituted local federations of mutual assistance, bypassing the old provincial divisions. In the region, it was Largentière which called for a Fête de la Fédération on 23 August, Romans-sur-Isère in September, La Voulte gathered 12,000 National Guardsmen to the Champs de l'Étoile on 29 November. Valence invited the surrounding communities on 31 January and brought together 16,000 guards of 293 communes. The region had other celebrations of federation in the winter and spring, culminating in the Fête de la Fédération of 14 July 1790, celebrated in Paris and simultaneously in 250 cities in France, including Valence.

The university disappeared in 1792 to be reborn at the end of the 20th century. It is now in the 21st Century part of the Community Grenoble Alpes University.

This community played another role during the final years of the French Revolution. On August 29, 1799, six weeks after his arrival at this community, the then longest ever reigning Roman Catholic Church's 250th Pope Pius VI died here in exile from his Vatican, then within the 754–1798 Papal States, but now within the 1st Republic of France's created 1798–1799 Roman Republic. After some political intrigue covering more than two years, it will not be until December 24, 1801, that the then late pope's body will finally leave Valence and return to the Vatican.

20th century

Armenian community

After the Armenian genocide of 1915, many Armenians took refuge in France in the 1920s. The community remembers how Valence employers travelled to Marseille to recruit 150 of the first arrivals in 1922.[6] By 1926 827 Armenians had settled in Valence, and 1,670 by 1931 – from Bursa, Malatya and Harput.[6] If the Armenians were popular among their employers, they encountered the distrust of the Valence people.[6] It was a group with a very high proportion of young adults, children and the elderly who suffered most from the genocide and from the journey into exile. They worked mainly as labourers, or founded small businesses (25% of employed persons). Very quickly, an "Armenian quarter" developed between Boulevard Vauban, Rue Farnerie, Rue Madier-Montjau, and the Boulevard d'Alsace, 40% populated by Armenians. The entire old town, with dilapidated buildings, abandoned and inexpensive, became involved in this process.

In 1956 the group had 2,500 people, or 6% of the population of Valence, and represented the fourth-largest Armenian community in France (after those of Paris, Lyon and Marseille). The community's very strong identity (with newspapers, cinemas, dance halls, Armenian Sports Union) was dispersed, with the "Armenian village" on the Rue de Fontlozier. It showed signs of rapid integration: In 1946, half of the 2,000 Armenians of Valencia opted for French citizenship.

In 1947, 200 Armenians of Valence took advantage of the offer to return to the Soviet countries, which proved to be a failure. The strong community welcomed new refugees, escaping from political turmoil in Syria during the 1950-60s, and Lebanon during the Civil war in 1970-80s. 7,500 people in Valence belonged to this community, which makes the Armenian community of Valence one of the largest in France: the Armenian National Union is also based in Valence.

This strong presence has passed into the odonymy: a street and a square of the old Armenian quarter make reference to it: the Rue d’Arménie and the Place Missak Manouchian. The cultural life of the community is very active, with 28 associations, including the Evangelical Church, the Armenian courts, and the House of Armenian culture.[6]

World War II

After the invasion of Poland by Germany, on 1 September 1939, France and the United Kingdom declared war on Germany on 3 September 1939. Germany invaded France, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands on 10 May 1940.

During World War II, Valence suffered several allied aerial bombardments, intended to destroy the bridge over the Rhône. On 15 August 1944, bombs destroyed several quarters and buildings in the city, including the hospital, killing 280 people. From the era of the prefecture, there remained only the gate, which has been carefully preserved since. Four days later, on 19 August 1944, a German train loaded with nitroglycerin exploded, largely destroying the quarter of La Palla and causing 335 casualties among civilians, the military and the resistance fighters. On 2 August 1944, south of Valence, bombings of the railway depot and yard of Portes-lès-Valence destroyed 51 locomotives, with 12 victims and 58 wounded among the railway workers and the population.

The northern part of Valence, almost completely razed to the ground, was rebuilt and today one finds many administrative buildings in this area such as the , the general treasury, social security, the post office and the police headquarters.

Drôme was one of the departments where the Resistance was the most active. In 1943, the Resistance was organised and grew, and many Drôme people were called and committed themselves to the cause. With the introduction of the STO, young men were required to go to work in Germany. Many of them refused this situation and went into hiding in the countryside or joined the Maquis. Resistance developed throughout the entire department in small units. The Drôme terrain was conducive to the installation of camps. The population supported increasing resistance.

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