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Nîmes (Municipality, Gard, France)

Flag of Nîmes - Image by Olivier Touzeau, 14 March 2019

Presentation of Nîmes
Flag of Nîmes

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Presentation of Nîmes

Nîmes (148,104 inhabitants in 2021; 161,85 km²) is a commune and the mains city and prefecture of the Gard department. It is located between the Mediterranean Sea and the Cévennes.

Nîmes has a rich history dating back to the Roman Empire. Several famous monuments are in Nîmes, such as the Arena of Nîmes and the Maison Carrée. Because of this, Nîmes is often referred to as the "French Rome". Nîmes derives its name from a spring in the original Roman village. Veteran soldiers who had served with Julius Caesar during his Nile campaigns were rewarded with plots of land to cultivate on the plain of Nîmes and the city was located on the Via Domitia, a Roman road constructed in 118 BC which connected Italy to Spain .

During the time of Augustus, the town was encircled by ramparts 6 kms long reinforced by fourteen towers of which two gates remain today: the Porta Augusta and the Porte de France. An aqueduct was constructed to bring water from the hills to the north and, where this crossed the River Gard, the spectacular Pont du Gard was built. This masterpiece of antique architecture was built with three tiers of arches spanning a remarkable 275 metres across the river. It is now a world heritage site linking Uzes to Nîmes. The amphitheatre dates from the end of the 1st century AD.

The town was prosperous until the end of the 3rd century when successive barbarian invasions slowed its development. The Visigoths captured the city in 472. By 725, the Muslim Umayyads had conquered the whole Visigothic territory of Septimania including Nîmes. The Muslim government came to an end in 752, when Pepin the Short captured the city. Carolingian rule brought relative peace, but feudal times in the 12th century brought local troubles, which lasted until the days of St. Louis.

During the 14th and 15th centuries, the Rhône Valley endured countless invasions which ruined the economy and caused famine. Nîmes, which was a Protestant stronghold, suffered repression and confrontations which continued until the middle of the 17th century and included periodic outbreaks of plague. A renaissance brought reconstruction, manufacturing and a rise in population which helped to bring about a period of prosperity. During this time the Fountain gardens, the Quais de la Fontaine, were built and the areas surrounding the Maison Carrée and the amphitheatre were restored. A fabric called Serge deNîmes was developed using a mix of wool and silk which later became the hard wearing cloth now known as denim.

Following a European economic downturn, the French Revolution started antagonism of political and religious groups which added to the recession and produced murder, pillage and arson until 1815. However, order was eventually restored and Nîmes became a thriving metropolis again and diversified its industry to market needs. In the early 1900s, the town’s merchants exported denim cloth to the United States to make sails for ships, tarpaulins and workmen’s trousers. In 1870 an immigrant, Levi Strauss, supplied fabric to make trousers for the cowboys opening up the Wild West – and the trend was set. Today the tourist industry brings increased wealth to the city.

Olivier Touzeau, 18 December 2024

Flag of Nîmes

The flag of the city of Nîmes hoisted on the city hall, is made of two vertical stripes, red and green (photo, 2018).

Olivier Touzeau, 14 March 2019

The colours of the flag are derived from the coat of arms.
The coat of arms of the city of Nîmes is blazoned: Gules, a palm tree Vert on a terrace in base likewise, to the bole of which is attached by a chain Or in band a crocodile passing contourné Vert too, collared Or, surmounted with the inscriptions COL on dexter and NEM on sinister likewise, the branches of the palm tree supporting in the dexter quarter a laurel wreath attached Or.
COLNEM stands for Colonia Nemausus, meaning the “colony” or“settlement” of Nemausus, the local Celtic god of the Volcae Arecomici.

Olivier Touzeau, 18 December 2024