Valence, Drôme
Valence is a
commune in south-eastern
France, the capital of the
département of
Drôme, situated on the left bank of the
Rhône, 65 miles south of
Lyon on the railway to
Marseille. Its inhabitants are called
Valentinois.
Formerly the
duchy of Valentinois, it was ruled by the
Duke of Valentinois, a title which is still claimed by the
Sovereign Prince of Monaco, though he has no actual administrative control over the area.
Known in ancient times as
Valentia, the city was the capital of the
Segalauni, and the seat of a celebrated school prior to the Roman conquest. It became a
colony under
Augustus, and was an important town of
Viennensis Prima under
Valentinian I. It was the seat of a
bishopric perhaps as early as the
4th century.
It was ravaged by the
Alans and other
barbarians, and fell successively under the power of the
Burgundians, the
Franks, the Arabs of Spain, the sovereigns of
Arles, the emperors of Germany, the
counts of Valentinois, the
counts of Toulouse, as well as its own bishops. These bishops were often in conflict with the citizens and the counts of
Valentinois, and to strengthen their hands against the latter the pope in
1275 united their bishopric with that of
Die.
The citizens put themselves under the protection of the
dauphin, and in
1456 had their rights and privileges confirmed by
Louis XI and put on an equal footing with those of the rest of
Dauphiné, the bishops consenting to recognize the suzerainty of the dauphin. In the 16th century Valence became the center of
Protestantism for the province in
1563. The town was fortified by
King Francois I. It became the seat of a celebrated university in the middle of the
15th century; but the revocation of the
Edict of Nantes in
1685 struck a fatal blow at its industry, commerce and population.
|
View across Rhône from Valence |
|
Champs de Mars and Kiosque Peynet in Valence |
The
cathedral of
St. Apollinaris, which has an interesting
apse, was rebuilt in the
11th century in the
Romanesque style of
Auvergne and consecrated in
1095 by pope
Urban II. It suffered extensive damage in the
French Wars of Religion, but it was restored in the first decade of the
17th century. The porch and the stone tower above it were rebuilt in
1861. The church contains the monument of
Pius VI, who died at Valence in
1799. The library and the museum containing Roman antiquities, sculptures and a picture gallery, are housed in the old ecclesiastical seminary.
[Valence Cathedral:[
1],[
2]]
The most notable of the monuments erected it this city to its natives include those to
Émile Augier the dramatist by the duchess of
Uzès (1897), and to
General Championnet.
The industries of the city include metallurgical products, textiles, leather goods, jewelry and munitions, and it also serves as a processing and trade center for the surrounding agricultural region.
Some of the big hi-tech companies settled here are leading in their domains like
Thales (Former
Thomson-CSF, electronic systems for avionics and defence),
Crouzet/
Schneider (Automatic systems),
Alcatel space (Aerospatial systems),
Ascom Monetel (Automatic paytax systems), etc.
Valence is now developing its high level educational role in the Drôme/
Ardèche area with one
INPG engineering school (
ESISAR), one
IUT (
Institut Universitaire de Technologie) and annexes of three universities (UPMF,
UJF,
Stendhal). Many other and more specialized schools are also located in Valence.
Valence is twinned with:
*
Asti,
Italy since 1966
*
Biberach an der Riß,
Germany since 1967
*
Clacton-Tendring,
United Kingdom since 1969
*
Itchevan,
Armenia since 1996
*
Gedera,
Israel since 1997
*
Official website*
Office of Tourism
