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Calvisson |
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| The 19th century neo-classical fronted temple | |
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Calvisson
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| Administration | |
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| Country | France |
| Region | Languedoc-Roussillon |
| Department | Gard |
| Arrondissement | Nîmes |
| Canton | Sommières |
| Intercommunality | Pays de Sommières |
| Mayor | Jacques Cubry (2001–2008) |
| Statistics | |
| Elevation | 23–215 m (75–705 ft) (avg. 50 m/160 ft) |
| Land area1 | 28.97 km2 (11.19 sq mi) |
| Population2 | 4,588 (2008) |
| - Density | 158 /km2 (410 /sq mi) |
| INSEE/Postal code | 30062/ 30420 |
| 1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. | |
| 2 Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once. | |
Calvisson is a commune in the Gard department in the Languedoc-Roussillon region in southern France.
It lies between Nîmes, Montpellier, the Cevennes and the Camargue and has a strong Protestant history.
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Calvisson is a commune in Gard 17 km (11 mi) west of Nîmes. It is in the northern foothills of the Vaunage, a fertile valley surrounded by a rim of limestone hills rising to 200 m. The most prominent hill is the Rock of Gachone, which was the site of an important oppidum, or a fortified town, under the Romans. The natural vegetation is classic garrigue; today the valley is used for vineyards and horticulture. A tiny stream, the Escattes, flows through the village [1]. Calvisson also includes the hamlets of Sinsans and Bizac.
The site is known to have been settled since the Chalcolithic transition (4300–3200 BC)
In 1060, at the time of the domination of Counts de Toulouse, the name Calvisson appears for the first time. At the time, it was a fortified town surmounted by two towers which covered 2000 m². This fortified town controlled all of the Vaunage. In 1304 King Philip IV of France gave to Guillaume de Nogaretas a fiefdom.
From the 16th century, with the beginnings of Reformation, Calvisson was divided by the wars of religion. The village becomes a centre of protestantism. In 1681, the Catholic King Louis XIV, used his troops to re-convert Protestants. On the 30 June 1685, being Protestant became illegal in Nîmes. The religion moved underground, the paid pastor was replaced by the lay prophet. The wars slowly destroyed the castle which, by the middle of the 17th century is used as stone quarry.
In 1703, Calvisson was embroiled in the war of Camisards. The village was used as a base for the royalist troops in the battle of Nages against the forces of Jean Cavalier who was a Protestant prophet. In 1787, the Rock of Gachone which stands above the village is used as triangulation point by Jean-Dominique Cassini for mapping the area.
| Year | 1962 | 1968 | 1975 | 1982 | 1990 | 1999 | 2008 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 1792 | 1802 | 1793 | 2088 | 2725 | 3597 | 4588 |
Bull running happens in Calvisson, according the Carmargues tradition, where no bull gets hurt. The annual event takes place around the 20th July over a period of five days. There are four events, the Abrivado where over ten bulls are run together through the street guided by a group of twelve 'guardians' mounted on white Camargues horses, an Encierro where one bull is released outside the foyer and finds his own way back to the pen, the Bandido where one bull is run accompanied through the streets, and the Bandido de nuit which is the same thing but after dark. Boys and men run with the bulls and try and separate them from the horses, stop them, and physically turn them away from the horses.