Alès


Alès is a commune in the Gard department in the Occitanie region in southern France. It is one of the sub-prefectures of the department. It was formerly known as Alais.

Geography

Alès lies north-northwest of Nîmes, on the left bank of the Gardon River, which half surrounds it. It is located at the foot of the Cévennes, near the Cévennes National Park.

History

Alès may be the modern successor of Arisitum, where, in about 570, Sigebert, King of Austrasia, created a bishopric. In his campaign against the Visigoths, the Merovingian king Theudebert I conquered part of the territory of the Diocese of Nîmes. His later successor Sigebert set up the new diocese, comprising fifteen parishes in the area controlled by the Franks, which included a number of towns to the north of the Cevenne: Alès, Le Vigan, Arre, Arrigas, Meyrueis, Saint-Jean-du-Gard, Anduze, and Vissec. The diocese disappeared in the 8th century with the conquest of the whole of Septimania by the Franks. No longer a residential bishopric, Arisitum is today listed by the Catholic Church as a titular see.
After the Edict of Nantes, Alès was one of the places de sûreté given to the Huguenots. Louis XIII took back the town in 1629, and the Peace of Alès, signed on 29 June of that year, suppressed the political privileges of the Protestants, while continuing to guarantee toleration.
At the request of Louis XIV, a see was again created at Alais by Pope Innocent XII, in 1694. The future Cardinal de Bausset, Bossuet's biographer, was Bishop of Alais from 1784 to 1790. It was suppressed after the French Revolution, and its territory was divided between the diocese of Avignon and the diocese of Mende.

Population

Economy

Alès is the center of a mining district and hosts the École des Mines d'Alès.
Historically, according to the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition :

Personalities

did his research on the silkworm disease at Alès, and the town dedicated a bust to his memory. There is also a statue of the chemist J.B. Dumas. Alphonse Daudet was master study at the College of Ales and was written "le petit chose".

Sports

The town has one association football team called Olympique Alès who currently play in the Championnat National.
Former France and Paris Saint-Germain manager Laurent Blanc was also born in Alès.
Morocco and Leganés voetballer Nabil El Zhar was also born in Alès.

Sights

Historically, according to the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition:
Alès was the birthplace of:

Twin towns — sister cities

Alès is twinned with: