Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer

Geography

The Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer are located at the south of France, in the Camargue, on the Mediterranean coast, with approximately a kilometer in the east of the mouth of Small the the Rhone.

The commune, very wide - the second of Metropolitan France after Arles, its neighbor - includes/understands primarily alluvial grounds and marshes. The arable lands are located at the west of the commune, along the small-Rhone and the marshes in the east where the pond of the Vaccarès is.

The commune saw primarily agriculture, breeding (horses, bulls camarguais) and especially tourism.

The city built around its church of the XI and XIIe centuries and a long time enclosed in an enclosure, preserves still today trace of this historical past in the configuration of its often narrow lanes.

History

Antiquity

Even if the place of current Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer were to be a very old place of dwelling, the first explicit mention which is made village dates from the 4th century.

It comes us from the poet and geographer Festus Avienus, who at the 4th century, announcing several tribes in the area, quotes oppidum priscum Ra , that the large historian from Gaules Camille Jullian place to the place from current Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer.

“Oppidum” meaning old Fortress and “priscum”, it would be thus “the old fortress Ra”. Aviennus saw there the Egyptian name of an island devoted to Râ, the god of the Sun and father of all the gods. But, at the era of the great Christian influences, Râ transformed itself into Ratis, word which means boat, raft or small island.

The Middle Ages

In 513, the pope Symmaque gives to Césaire the right to carry pallium and fact of him his representative as a Gaulle. At that time, the bishop of Arles évangélise pagan worship campaigns still strongly impregnated or Romans by transforming if necessary old pertaining to worship places into Christian buildings. He thus creates a monastery or a church with the Holy ones, which confirms the probable presence of an older pagan temple in these places. We do not have exact dating on the birth of this new name of the village, but it is transmitted that holy Césaire of Arles bequeathed by will to its death in 542, Sancta Maria de Ratis with her monastery.

The village thus became Saintes Marry Boat (or Holy Marry of Ratis), also named Notre-Dame of the Boat sometimes (or Notre-Dame de Ratis).

During the winter 859 - 860, remained like hardest of the 9th century, the Viking S winter in the Camargue and according to any probability, with Holy, before undertaking their raid in the low valley of the Rhone until Valence where they are arrétés by Girart of Roussillon.

In September 869, the Sarrasins surprise at the time of a raid in the Camargue, the bishop of Arles Rotland supervising the setting in defense of the area. The bishop makes captive, is exchanged against weapons, slaves, and other richnesses. Unfortunately, the arlésiens recover only its corpse, equipped and put on a seat by Buckwheats at the time of the handing-over of ransom which is probably held on the beach of the Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer, with the mouth of the Rhone of Saint-Ironwood, still active arm at that time.

The church such as it draws up today date of XIe and XIIe centuries, the two last spans however having been partly remade (upper part of the walls and roof) in the middle of the XVIIIe century. The bell-tower underwent on its side of many repairs, the current one going back to 1901.

It is approximately at the 12th century that this name will be transformed into Notre Dame of the Sea.

In 1448, under the impulse of the king Rene, “invention” (IE discovered) of the Relique S of the Saintes Marry Jacobé and Salome. The archbishop of Arles, Louis Aleman does not attend this " invention" , because it is excommunicated since 1440 following the Concile of Basle; in its absence, the papal authority is represented by its legate, Pierre de Foix, the archbishop of Aix Robert Damiani and the bishop of Marseilles Nicolas de Brancas. The reports of the time announce a primitive church inside the current nave. For some, this building could correspond to a vault mérovingienne of the 6th century.

Modern times

The plague of 1720, which kills half of the Marseilles population and the third of that of Arles, will save, contrary to that of 1348, the community of Holy which opposes with vehemence the reception of refugees arlésiens.

On the revolution, the worship is suspended between 1794 and 1797. The crenels of the church are demolished and their sold stones; they will be renovated in 1873.

In 1838, the village takes the name of the “Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer” and shortly after is mentioned for the first time the pilgrimage of the gipsies: in May, they come from all Europe to honor here their holy owner, Sarah, the black virgin.

At the beginning of June 1888, Vincent Van Gogh which has just arrived to Provence, makes a five days short stay to the Holy ones. It in particular painted there the boats on the beach and the village seen of the coastal dunes.

Little time after in August 1892, is inaugurated the Arles train - the Holy ones, called the “small train”. The line, become nonprofitable following the development of the car, will close in October 1953.

In 1899, Folco de Baroncelli-Javon, known as the Marquis de Baroncelli , is installed with Holy on the small road of the Savage, with the farmhouse of the Amarée ; it is harnessed with others with the reconquest of the pure Camargue race, just like it takes an active part in the coding of the incipient race camarguaise. In July 1909, it creates the Nacion Gardiano , which aims to defend and maintain the traditions camarguaises.

As of the end of the 19th century, but especially after the First World War, the village receives the visit of artists and writers: Yvan Pranishnikoff in 1899, Hemingway in 1920, and later those of the painters Picasso and Truss in the years 1950. Many films are turned there, like Hair-White in 1952 and From which do you come Johnny? , in 1963. In 1975, Bob Dylan spends there a few days at the time of the pilgrimage of May.

In 1948, Mgr Roncalli, apostolic nuncio in France and future pope Jean XXIII, celebrates to Holy the five hundredth birthday of the invention of the relics. Since 1960, the city saw mainly tourism whose development as from the years 1980 wants to be control better. However, this evolution marked by a Increase in population, of 1687 inhabitants in 1946 to approximately 2500 in 2005, was carried out with deep changes:

on the level social-professional, with the disappearance of the fishermen, farmers for the benefit of the tradesmen and reprocessed often foreign to the area,
and in the field of town planning, with the digging of a port and the creation of many allotments including/understanding an important percentage of second home and dwellings of hiring.

These changes are found in particular at the political level with the swing on the right of a town hall held a long time by the left parties.

Demography

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Sources: Cassini site here or INSEE here (Note: some differences between figures INSEE and those of Cassini)

Administration

Sources: Francegenweb here

See too

Additional details

2nd commune the most extended of the Metropolitan France, behind Arles
Church strengthened of XIe and XIIe centuries
Arenas, built with the beginning of the year 1930, where take place of many plays taurins, of the races camargaises and the bullfights
Présence near the village of a water level especially arranged for the attempts of speed records in Planche with veil
Pèlerinages of May 25th and at at the end of October (holy Maries Jacobé and Salome); that of May 24th is also celebrated for the owner of the Gipsies, the “black Vierge” Sainte Sarah.
Les the first two pilgrimages are historically very old and evoke a Christian tradition, that of the unloading of the first Christians on the shore of the Camargue. That of the gipsies, more recent, date of the middle of the XIXe century.
gone: every Monday and Fridays on the place of the town hall

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