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53-518: Saint-Gilles ( French pronunciation: [sɛ̃ ʒil] ; Provençal : Sant Geli ; English: St. Giles ) or Saint-Gilles-du-Gard is a commune in the Gard department in southern France . It is the second most populous commune in the Nîmes metropolitan area . The abbey of Saint-Gilles was founded during the seventh century traditionally by the hermit Saint Giles ( Latin Ægidius ), whose relics

106-554: A commandery  [ fr ] . The creation of the Consulate  [ fr ] , which ruled the city, dated back to before 1209. In the 14th century, the city took advantage of the benefits of the installation of the Popes in Avignon , which brought a more frequent passage of travellers to develop a craft of wool and skins, which made it thrive. Avignon linkages were strengthened by

159-682: A bid to host the 2018 Winter Olympics , but lost out as France's candidate to nearby Annecy . The games were eventually awarded to Pyeongchang in South Korea . An Alpine crossroads at the intersection of D994 and the Route nationale 85 , or Route Napoléon , which crosses the Col Bayard north of the city, Gap is located between the historic Dauphiné and the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur administrative region. With its 40,559 inhabitants (2018), it

212-597: A few days earlier, sent two emissaries to negotiate the surrender of the Germans. The Germans were convinced of facing a large-scale uprising, and agreed to lay down their weapons provided that it was to regular troops (they refused, therefore, to surrender to the Resistance). While the Americans were more than 50 kilometres (31 mi) away, time was pressing for Drouot-L'Hermine. Indeed, he received an order from De Gaulle to liberate

265-536: A full language, distinct from Occitan. The Regional Council of Provence has variously labelled Provençal as a dialect of Occitan or as a distinct language, depending on different lobbies and political majorities. The main subdialects of Provençal are: Gavòt (in French Gavot ), spoken in the Western Occitan Alps, around Digne , Sisteron , Gap , Barcelonnette and the upper County of Nice , but also in

318-569: A key point of the Cannes-Lyon axis. Jean Drouot-L'Hermine  [ fr ] , 37 years old, an original Gaullist resistant and accomplished soldier (he had trained more than 4000 resistance fighters in combat and about a hundred in sabotage) was sent by the GPRF of General de Gaulle to liberate the city on behalf of the Resistance. Aided by local guerrillas and resistance, he has however no way to take

371-545: A leader of tribes of the Valley of Suze , allied to Rome, and urged by Augustus , undertook the building of a route of communication in the Valley of the Durance . He had get the submission of the peoples of the area who were eager to maintain their independence. This route, built between 14 and 6 BC, and which received the name of Via Cottia per Alpem , linked Turin to Sisteron and consisted of six stations. Then known as Vapincum ,

424-465: A new era from 1875 with the arrival of the railway. The commune of Chaudun was joined with Gap, by the prefectoral Decree of 22 October 1895. During World War II, the city was part of the free zone. But after November 1942 and the Case Anton , it was integrated into the occupied area. After Operation Overlord on 6 June 1944, the Germans placed some 1,000 men to hold the cuvette de Gap [Gap Basin],

477-576: A part of the Ardèche , is not exactly a subdialect of Provençal, but rather a closely related Occitan dialect, also known as Vivaro-Alpine . So is the dialect spoken in the upper valleys of Piedmont , Italy ( Val Maira , Val Varaita , Val Stura di Demonte , Entracque , Limone Piemonte , Vinadio , Sestriere ). Some people view Gavòt as a variety of Provençal since a part of the Gavot area (near Digne and Sisteron) belongs to historical Provence. When written in

530-528: A tank, a weapon that the guerrillas did not hold. Thinking they were then dealing with the Allies, the troops of the Reich surrendered to the Resistance. Therefore, a few hundred resistance fighters were able to capture 1,200 German soldiers, including 40 officers. The city was liberated on the evening of 19 August 1944. The commune of Romette was associated with that of Gap, by decree dated 25 November 1974. Gap ran

583-518: Is also Gap . The first settlement of Gap dates back to the Neolithic . The culture of these first inhabitants belonged to the southern Chasséen . Very rare testimonies of the pre-Roman era are formed by the remains of an oppidum located at the summit of the hill of Saint-Mens with few visible traces of a dolmen uncovered in 1866 and an ancient cemetery in the hamlet of Pré Camargue; but no remains were kept of these last two findings. Gallic money

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636-667: Is however outside this great valley, on another watershed slope, the Raz de Bec, at 2,385 metres (7,825 ft), is within the limits of the commune, and was in the former commune of Chaudun , which merged with Gap in the 19th century. This valley was shaped by the Glacier de la Durance during the last ice age, known as the Würm glaciation . Thus, soils are very often formed by moraine deposits. No less than five levels of lateral and frontal moraines are observable. These are clearly visible, especially on

689-456: Is the prefecture of the department of Hautes-Alpes , in the region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur , Southeastern France. In 2019, the commune had a population of 40,631, making it the most populated city in Hautes-Alpes. At a height of 750 metres above sea level, to the south of the Écrins Massif , it is also France's highest prefecture. Together with other Alpine towns, Gap engages in

742-538: Is the main town of an urban area of 80,555 inhabitants (2018), and the main town of the Southern French Alps. 745 metres (2,400 ft) above sea level , at the right bank of the river Luye  [ fr ] , close to where it joins the Durance to the north, Gap is in the midst of a rich and preserved natural environment, south-west of the Écrins National Park , south-east of the Dévoluy massif and west of

795-738: The Alpine Town of the Year Association for the implementation of the Alpine Convention to achieve sustainable development in the Alpine Arc. Gap was awarded Alpine Town of the Year in 2002. In 2013 Gap was named the sportiest city in France by the national sports newspaper L'Équipe . The first attestation of the name of the city is located in the ancient texts as Vappincum , later reduced to Vappum ,

848-613: The Bonne (9.4 kilometres (5.8 mi)) and the torrent du Cristaye (2.4 kilometres (1.5 mi)); and on the left bank, the La Magdeleine Canal (5.3 kilometres (3.3 mi)), the Riotord (4.8 kilometres (3.0 mi)) and the torrent du Partiment , (6.7 kilometres (4.2 mi)) long. Even if the Luye hydrographic basin represents the largest share of the commune, waters at the southwest of

901-477: The French Revolution , the province of Dauphiné was divided into three departments: Drôme , Isère and Hautes-Alpes which Gap became the prefecture . Hautes-Alpes then became the highest Department of France and Gap, the highest prefecture of the country. It remains prefecture of Haute-Alpes to this day. In 1802, the baron Charles-François de Ladoucette  [ fr ] was appointed Prefect of

954-500: The Lac de Serre-Ponçon . The region around Gap is known as Gapençais  [ fr ] . The commune of Gap is almost entirely located in the Sillon de Gap [Gap trench], a wide valley bottom located about 735 metres (2,411 ft) above sea level and including the western slopes almost 2,000 metres (6,600 ft) (Charance mountain and pic de Gleize). The highest point of the municipality

1007-645: The UNESCO World Heritage Sites , as part of the 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 Provençal Romanesque. The church has three naves and a famed spiral staircase of cantilevered stone steps (in the now destroyed part of the church). During the French Wars of Religion

1060-453: The Verrou glaciaire  [ fr ] [glacial lock] of Pont-Sarrazin and downstream of Tourronde. The mechanical action of the glacier de la Durance was facilitated by the presence of relatively friable layers. The part which is central and south-east of the town consists mainly of soft rocks ( Callovo - Oxfordian black marl ). They consist of soft schist of bluish or brown colors. In

1113-688: The 20th century saw other authors like Joseph d'Arbaud , Batisto Bonnet and Valère Bernard . It has been enhanced and modernized since the second half of the 20th century by writers such as Robèrt Lafont , Pierre Pessemesse , Claude Barsotti , Max-Philippe Delavouët  [ Wikidata ] , Philippe Gardy  [ Wikidata ] , Florian Vernet  [ Wikidata ] , Danielle Julien  [ Wikidata ] , Jòrgi Gròs  [ Wikidata ] , Sèrgi Bec  [ Wikidata ] , Bernat Giély , and many others. Gap, Hautes-Alpes Gap ( French pronunciation: [ɡap] , Occitan: [ˈɡap] )

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1166-512: The Camargue. Saint-Gilles is more recently the birthplace of the author Georges-Jean Arnaud (born 1928). Saint-Gilles is located at the northern edge of the Petite Camargue , between Arles (15 km) and Nîmes (16 km). With a land area of 153.73 km (59.355 sq mi), it is rather large by continental French standards, although many of the communes in this part of France are among

1219-556: The French crown in 1512. Gap and its area became part of the County of Provence which was established at the end of the 10th century. The County of Forcalquier was separated in the 12th century. Although the bishops of Gap were the temporal lords of the city their control was long disputed by officers of the Counts of Forcalquier notably during the episcopacy of Arnoux who later became the bishop of

1272-757: The Hautes-Alpes  [ fr ] . Under his administration, the city of Gap and the Department of the Hautes-Alpes experienced some growth. It built roads linking Gap to Italy and the Drôme Valley and created a departmental nursery. His statue, carved by the Gap sculptor Jean Marcellin, was erected in 1866 at the square which bears his name. Napoleon I left Elba in February 1815 and stopped at Gap on 5 March 1815 with 40 horsemen and 10 grenadiers, where he had thousands of copies of his Proclamations printed. The whole population of

1325-660: The Mistralian norm (" normo mistralenco "), definite articles are lou in the masculine singular, la in the feminine singular and li in the masculine and feminine plural ( lis before vowels). Nouns and adjectives usually drop the Latin masculine endings, but -e remains; the feminine ending is -o (this is the opposite of the neighbouring Italian masculine gender). Nouns do not inflect for number, but all adjectives ending in vowels ( -e or -o ) become -i , and all plural adjectives take -s before vowels. When written in

1378-475: The Protestants fortified themselves within the abbey, which was severely damaged. 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. 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

1431-499: The Roman roads against brigands. Later, an axis towards the Champsaur  [ fr ] was created. The Gap site took importance by becoming a hub of communications. The economy was mainly pastoral and the first crops grew on the slopes of Puymaure . Some houses were built on stilts as shown by excavations. During the first centuries, the population increased significantly. Towards

1484-563: The abbey possessed. 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 Puente La Reina , thence to Santiago along the Via Compostelana . The former abbey church was listed in 1998 among

1537-526: The city accompanied Napoleon when he left Gap. Acknowledging the reception of the population of these regions, he left the Haut-Alpins with the following message: The inhabitants of the departments of the high and low Alps, citizens, I was deeply touched by all the feelings that you have shown me, your wishes are granted. The cause of the Nation will triumph again. You're right to call me your father; I live for

1590-421: The city before the arrival of the Allies, to support the position of France as a victorious nation, liberated through the active participation of the Resistance. Drouot-L'Ermine then developed a new ploy. He managed to convince the Allies to advance one of their tanks into enemy terrain, and shoot a few rounds close to Gap. Shots echoed in the valley, and the Germans immediately identified the characteristic sound of

1643-490: The city by force. He then started with his men in a campaign of sabotage and bombings that lasted more than a month. After having isolated the city by destroying the infrastructure surrounding it (overpasses, railway lines, bridges, etc.), the FFI had managed to rally the population and give the occupiers an impression of encirclement. A mid-August 1944, Drouot-L'Hermine, who lost his right-hand man, Paul Héraud  [ fr ] ,

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1696-423: The city experiences cold, snowy winters and warm summers. Therefore, the climate is more or less alpine . Thus the main feature of the local climate is the importance of the sunshine enjoyed by the city. Furthermore, snowfall underscores the mountain character of the city. Thunderstorms are frequent in summer, fog is rather rare. The tables below represent averages of monthly temperatures. They also show

1749-562: The city. In 1692, the troops of the Piedmontese  [ fr ] ruler Victor Amadeus II , committed with the League of Augsburg , against France of Louis XIV , captured the city, abandoned by its inhabitants, on 29 August. Gap was looted and burned, of the 953 houses in the commune, 798 were destroyed. This was part of the Invasion of Dauphine in 1692  [ fr ] . In 1790, during

1802-719: The city. On the death of the last Count of Forcalquier in 1209, the Embrun and Gap areas were passed to the Dauphiné while those of Forcalquier and Sisteron returned to the County of Provence. It is for this reason that the current coat of arms of the Region Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur is the coat of arms of the Dauphiné. In 1349 the Dauphin of Viennois Humbert II passed on his Principality to

1855-474: The classical norm (" nòrma classica "), definite articles are masculine lo [lu], feminine la [la], and plural lei/leis [lej/lejz = li/liz]. Nouns and adjectives usually drop the Latin masculine endings, but -e [e] remains; the feminine ending is -a [ɔ]. Nouns inflect for number, all adjectives ending in vowels ( -e or -a ) become -ei/-eis [ej/ejz = i/iz] in some syntactic positions, and most plural adjectives take -s . Pronunciation remains

1908-902: The commune (the Saint-Jean quarter) drain into the torrent of Malecombe, a tributary of the Rousine, which flows into the Durance south of Tallard. In the Northwest of the commune (located on the other side of the col de Gleize) lie the Petit Buëch  [ fr ] sources. Around 1,700 metres (5,600 ft) above sea level, they are formed by several streams which converge at the old village of Chaudun  [ fr ] . Finally, an important channel feeds Gap with drinking water and water for irrigation : The Canal de Gap  [ fr ] , or Canal du Drac , about 30 kilometres (19 mi) long, leads

1961-496: The eldest son of Philippe VI of France , the future King of France Charles V . From 1349 to 1457 Dauphiné remained a Principality separated from France, whose prince was the eldest son of the King of France. In 1457, Charles VII put an end to this status and joined the province to the Kingdom of France. The Knights Templar owned a house at Gap, a secondary establishment which depended on

2014-545: The end of the 3rd century and 4th century, fortifications were built to protect the central core of the town. These completely surrounded the enclosure with walls and eleven towers. With an enclosed area of 2 hectares (4.9 acres) the center of the town formed a big village. From 28 December 986, the Bishop of Gap had sovereign rights over the city due to concerns about future Muslim invasions. The bishops kept this power until Revolutionary reforms in 1801 despite Gap being annexed by

2067-531: The final drop. The v- has been radically treated as a w- Germanic, where *Wap , then Gap (see for this type of evolution the wasp , Latin vespa , treats words as *wespa ; mistletoe , Latin viscum , treated as *wiscum , etc., depending on the phonetic path [w] > [gw] > [g]). This phonetic evolution would be more specifically made under the influence of the Gothic language . The name in Provençal (Alpine)

2120-584: The form of Gap is found in the 13th century. The toponym Vappincum is analyzed on the basis of a radical Vapp- unknown meaning, and the suffix -incu of Ligurian origin found in Provence and the Massif central to the Alps (cf. Arlanc , Nonenque , Moirans and Morencum in the 10th century and Lemenc, a district of Chambéry, formerly Lemencum ). The Gap form actually began as the short form Vappum , well attested, by

2173-661: The glacier of the Drac from the cols of Manse and Bayard and one towards the Buëch Valley by the La Freissinouse border. The cover of morainic debris is omnipresent in the Sillon de Gap but is not the only vestige of the Quaternary glaciation. There is also the typical topography of glacial valleys. The location of the town of Gap corresponds to an Ombilic glaciaire , where large quantities of clay were deposited. Upstream lies

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2226-435: The honour and happiness of France. My return banishes all your concerns; it ensures the conservation of all properties, equality among all classes and the rights you have enjoyed for the last 25 years, and after which our fathers have so yearned, forming today a part of your existence. In all circumstances where I find myself, I will always remember with great interest all that I've seen through your country. Gap experienced

2279-518: The largest in area in Metropolitan France . The Nîmes-Alès-Camargue-Cévennes Airport , sometimes called Garons Airport, is located on the territory of the commune. Proven%C3%A7al dialect Provençal is also the customary name given to the older version of the Occitan language used by the troubadours of medieval literature , when Old French or the langue d'oïl was limited to

2332-449: The maximum and minimum mean temperatures over the period from 1951 to 1970. Comparisons with surveys of the period from 1878 to 1940 showed lower maximum averages over the period from 1950 to 1970 for the winter and summer months. Over the same period, again for the winter and summer months, there was an increase in the average minimum. Thus the evolution of the climate tends towards a slight reduction of differences in winter temperatures on

2385-591: The night of 3 January 1577, François Philibert, known as Cadet de Charance , opened the Saint-Arey gate, and allowed him to attack the city by surprise. To cries of "Kill! Kill!" his men proceeded in veritable butchery. De Bonne burned the cathedral, plundered the monasteries, appropriated the property of the inhabitants, and built a proud citadel on the Colline de Puymaur e [Puymaure Hill] where it dominated over Gap. Returned to Catholicism in 1622, he abandoned all claims to

2438-537: The northern areas of France. Thus, the ISO 639-3 code for Old Occitan is [pro]. In 2007, all the ISO 639-3 codes for Occitan dialects, including [prv] for Provençal, were retired and merged into [oci] Occitan. The old codes ([prv], [auv], [gsc], [lms], [lnc]) are no longer in active use, but still have the meaning assigned to them when they were established in the Standard. Some groups have called for Provençal's recognition as

2491-443: The northwestern part are the harder rocks of lighter colours, Tithonian limestone , formed in places of rocky bars or cornices. The town of Gap is crossed by the Luye  [ fr ] , a tributary of the Durance which has a total course of 22.6 kilometres (14.0 mi). During its passage through the commune, the Luye receives several torrents. It merges on the right bank with the 5.1 kilometres (3.2 mi) long Buzon ,

2544-466: The presence of many clerics of the entourage of the Pope, within the chapter of the canons of Gap. The 16th and 17th centuries were particularly dark times for the city. The Wars of Religion were lethal in the region. Gap was a Catholic stronghold, while the Champsaur  [ fr ] switched to Protestantism . After various skirmishes, François de Bonne , leader of the Protestants, decided to attack Gap, nevertheless protected by 20 towers. On

2597-456: The same in both norms (Mistralian and classical), which are only two different ways to write the same language. The IETF language tags register oc-provenc-grmistr for the Mistralian orthography and oc-provenc-grclass for the classical one. Modern Provençal literature was given impetus by Nobel laureate Frédéric Mistral and the association, Félibrige , which he founded with other writers, such as Théodore Aubanel . The beginning of

2650-404: The southern slopes of the Col Bayard, where they were formed in places of the terraces used by agriculture. In retreating, the glacier also left erratics of several metres high. Examples include, among others, the erratic boulders of Peyre-Ossel and Justice . The glacier, which in the Quaternary has shaped the Sillon de Gap , presented several diffluences  [ fr ] : one to

2703-446: The town of Gap was founded from one of these stations. In 22 AD, Gap became the start of a Roman road to Valence . At this time, the location of the future city was a Roman camp. The camp was protected by a terraced wall surrounded by a ditch. It was the largest between Montgenèvre and Sisteron. The garrison that occupied it could be estimated at 360 men. They came from the surrounding peoples. They were assigned to protect users of

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2756-433: The water captured in the Drac via a tunnel under the Col de Manse to the Jaussauds reservoir (altitude 1,141 metres (3,743 ft)) where it divides into two branches, including the main branch which bypasses Gap west to Correo through Charance. Gap features an oceanic climate ( Cfb ), according to the Köppen system , with continental ( Dfb ) influence due to its elevation. Very influenced by its interior position,

2809-454: Was also found. Gap was the capital of the Celto - Ligurian Tricorii  [ fr ] tribe. These peoples, probably belonging to the Caturiges tribe, spoke the Celtic language. The Gapençais  [ fr ] was then part of the territory of the Tricorii , a Gallic people who were Romanised during the conquest of Gallia Narbonensis in 125-124 BC, and whose capitals were Luc-en-Diois and Vaison . Around 20 BC, Cottius ,

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