Le Grau-du-Roi
Encyclopedia
Le Grau-du-Roi is a commune
in the Gard
department in southern France
. It is the sole commume in Gard to have a frontage on the Mediterranean. To the west is Herault
and La Grande-Motte
, and to the east is the department of Bouches-du-Rhone
. Looking from the sea, the commune may be divided into the Plage de Dive droite, the Village, the Plage de Rive Gauche, Port Camargue and L'Espiguette. Immediately landwards are the large shallow étangs, which separate it from Aigues Mortes, the mediaeval walled city that used to be a port. The étangs are home to numerous flamingo
es.
gradus), which refers to the opening of an étang (shallow saline lake), or the watercourse from an etang into the sea. Roi is the French
word for King. Aigues-Mortes means literally 'dead water'.
. The etangs are named les étang du Ponant, étang du Médard, étang du Repausset Levant), and lake de Salonique. To the west of the town, the coastal strip is breached where the Vidourle
empties into the Mediterranean, and to the east is that of the Petit Rhone. The course of these two rivers had been subject to change and reversal.The Rhone had flowed into the etangs further to the west and at one point, the Vidourle flowed into it rather than the sea, The route in the 12th Century was through the Grau Louis and the Old Channel. In 1570, a new breach occurred at point called Gagne-Petit and it is around this grau that the settlement was formed. The area of the town, between the étangs and the sea, was settled by Italian immigrants at the end of the 19th century. From then till the 1920s the economy was based entirely on fishing, but then tourism became important, culminating in the construction of Port-Camargue. The resort is proud of its 18 km of fine sand.
The sand dunes on the Pointe de Éspiguette make an important wild life habitat, and the étangs are noted for their birdlife which includes flamingo
es.
The city of Aigues-Mortes
gained importance during the crusades when it was a royal port. King Louis IX of France had no other port available to him on the Mediterranean. The ships docked alongside the ramparts of the city and passed through a circuitous channel, (the Old Channel) through the Étang de Repausset to the sea at Grau Louis (La Grande Motte
). In 1570, a storm surge from the Rhone
entered the etang and breached the costal strip forming a new grau. A six kilometre channel was created from the city directly to the sea. In 1640 this was named the Grau du Roi, and although the name changes several times, it revert to this name. In 1772 two moles were constructed out of stone. There was continual work to maintain this channel. It was formalised into a canal in 1845.
There was an old lighthouse in the village which got a new copper lantern in 1828, and a second was constructed at l´Espiguette
in 1867. The village, based round fishermans cottages gained some administrative buildings and was recognised as a section of Aigues-Mortes in 1867 and it became a separate communes in 1879. The village of fisherman and workers on the land turned to tourism at the end of the century. It was the extension of the Nîmes Aigues-Mortes railway line in 1909 that boosted this industry, bathers arrived on mass, and on the 26 April 1924 the President of the Republic decreed that Le Grau-du-Roi was a "station climatique et balnéaire ". The rail line enabled local producers to market nationally their white grapes and fish.
The second world war affected the village profoundly. Axis troops were stationed in the village, and the local council dissolved. By 1942, many of the inhabitants had fled, the coast was the front line and bristled with tank traps and minefields. The village was controlled by blockhouses, the canal was blocked. Wood from houses was used in the defences. Grau du Roi was liberated in August 1944, and the coast started to rebuild itself focussing on tourism. The effort was co-ordinated by the plan Racine. in charge, the architect, Jean Balladur designed structures capables of support a mass influx of toutists while supporting the local way of life and the environment. Part of the plan was the new marina at Port Camargue. This was launched in 1968 and finished in 1985
Le Grau-du-Roi is a commune
in the Gard
department in southern France
. It is the sole commume in Gard to have a frontage on the Mediterranean. To the west is Herault
and La Grande-Motte
, and to the east is the department of Bouches-du-Rhone
. Looking from the sea, the commune may be divided into the Plage de Dive droite, the Village, the Plage de Rive Gauche, Port Camargue and L'Espiguette. Immediately landwards are the large shallow étangs, which separate it from Aigues Mortes, the mediaeval walled city that used to be a port. The étangs are home to numerous flamingo
es.
gradus), which refers to the opening of an étang (shallow saline lake), or the watercourse from an etang into the sea. Roi is the French
word for King. Aigues-Mortes means literally 'dead water'.
. The etangs are named les étang du Ponant, étang du Médard, étang du Repausset Levant), and lake de Salonique. To the west of the town, the coastal strip is breached where the Vidourle
empties into the Mediterranean, and to the east is that of the Petit Rhone. The course of these two rivers had been subject to change and reversal.The Rhone had flowed into the etangs further to the west and at one point, the Vidourle flowed into it rather than the sea, The route in the 12th Century was through the Grau Louis and the Old Channel. In 1570, a new breach occurred at point called Gagne-Petit and it is around this grau that the settlement was formed. The area of the town, between the étangs and the sea, was settled by Italian immigrants at the end of the 19th century. From then till the 1920s the economy was based entirely on fishing, but then tourism became important, culminating in the construction of Port-Camargue. The resort is proud of its 18 km of fine sand.
The sand dunes on the Pointe de Éspiguette make an important wild life habitat, and the étangs are noted for their birdlife which includes flamingo
es.
The city of Aigues-Mortes
gained importance during the crusades when it was a royal port. King Louis IX of France had no other port available to him on the Mediterranean. The ships docked alongside the ramparts of the city and passed through a circuitous channel, (the Old Channel) through the Étang de Repausset to the sea at Grau Louis (La Grande Motte
). In 1570, a storm surge from the Rhone
entered the etang and breached the costal strip forming a new grau. A six kilometre channel was created from the city directly to the sea. In 1640 this was named the Grau du Roi, and although the name changes several times, it revert to this name. In 1772 two moles were constructed out of stone. There was continual work to maintain this channel. It was formalised into a canal in 1845.
There was an old lighthouse in the village which got a new copper lantern in 1828, and a second was constructed at l´Espiguette
in 1867. The village, based round fishermans cottages gained some administrative buildings and was recognised as a section of Aigues-Mortes in 1867 and it became a separate communes in 1879. The village of fisherman and workers on the land turned to tourism at the end of the century. It was the extension of the Nîmes Aigues-Mortes railway line in 1909 that boosted this industry, bathers arrived on mass, and on the 26 April 1924 the President of the Republic decreed that Le Grau-du-Roi was a "station climatique et balnéaire ". The rail line enabled local producers to market nationally their white grapes and fish.
The second world war affected the village profoundly. Axis troops were stationed in the village, and the local council dissolved. By 1942, many of the inhabitants had fled, the coast was the front line and bristled with tank traps and minefields. The village was controlled by blockhouses, the canal was blocked. Wood from houses was used in the defences. Grau du Roi was liberated in August 1944, and the coast started to rebuild itself focussing on tourism. The effort was co-ordinated by the plan Racine. in charge, the architect, Jean Balladur designed structures capables of support a mass influx of toutists while supporting the local way of life and the environment. Part of the plan was the new marina at Port Camargue. This was launched in 1968 and finished in 1985
Le Grau-du-Roi is a commune
in the Gard
department in southern France
. It is the sole commume in Gard to have a frontage on the Mediterranean. To the west is Herault
and La Grande-Motte
, and to the east is the department of Bouches-du-Rhone
. Looking from the sea, the commune may be divided into the Plage de Dive droite, the Village, the Plage de Rive Gauche, Port Camargue and L'Espiguette. Immediately landwards are the large shallow étangs, which separate it from Aigues Mortes, the mediaeval walled city that used to be a port. The étangs are home to numerous flamingo
es.
gradus), which refers to the opening of an étang (shallow saline lake), or the watercourse from an etang into the sea. Roi is the French
word for King. Aigues-Mortes means literally 'dead water'.
. The etangs are named les étang du Ponant, étang du Médard, étang du Repausset Levant), and lake de Salonique. To the west of the town, the coastal strip is breached where the Vidourle
empties into the Mediterranean, and to the east is that of the Petit Rhone. The course of these two rivers had been subject to change and reversal.The Rhone had flowed into the etangs further to the west and at one point, the Vidourle flowed into it rather than the sea, The route in the 12th Century was through the Grau Louis and the Old Channel. In 1570, a new breach occurred at point called Gagne-Petit and it is around this grau that the settlement was formed. The area of the town, between the étangs and the sea, was settled by Italian immigrants at the end of the 19th century. From then till the 1920s the economy was based entirely on fishing, but then tourism became important, culminating in the construction of Port-Camargue. The resort is proud of its 18 km of fine sand.
The sand dunes on the Pointe de Éspiguette make an important wild life habitat, and the étangs are noted for their birdlife which includes flamingo
es.
The city of Aigues-Mortes
gained importance during the crusades when it was a royal port. King Louis IX of France had no other port available to him on the Mediterranean. The ships docked alongside the ramparts of the city and passed through a circuitous channel, (the Old Channel) through the Étang de Repausset to the sea at Grau Louis (La Grande Motte
). In 1570, a storm surge from the Rhone
entered the etang and breached the costal strip forming a new grau. A six kilometre channel was created from the city directly to the sea. In 1640 this was named the Grau du Roi, and although the name changes several times, it revert to this name. In 1772 two moles were constructed out of stone. There was continual work to maintain this channel. It was formalised into a canal in 1845.
There was an old lighthouse in the village which got a new copper lantern in 1828, and a second was constructed at l´Espiguette
in 1867. The village, based round fishermans cottages gained some administrative buildings and was recognised as a section of Aigues-Mortes in 1867 and it became a separate communes in 1879. The village of fisherman and workers on the land turned to tourism at the end of the century. It was the extension of the Nîmes Aigues-Mortes railway line in 1909 that boosted this industry, bathers arrived on mass, and on the 26 April 1924 the President of the Republic decreed that Le Grau-du-Roi was a "station climatique et balnéaire ". The rail line enabled local producers to market nationally their white grapes and fish.
The second world war affected the village profoundly. Axis troops were stationed in the village, and the local council dissolved. By 1942, many of the inhabitants had fled, the coast was the front line and bristled with tank traps and minefields. The village was controlled by blockhouses, the canal was blocked. Wood from houses was used in the defences. Grau du Roi was liberated in August 1944, and the coast started to rebuild itself focussing on tourism. The effort was co-ordinated by the plan Racine. in charge, the architect, Jean Balladur designed structures capables of support a mass influx of toutists while supporting the local way of life and the environment. Part of the plan was the new marina at Port Camargue. This was launched in 1968 and finished in 1985
Communes of France
The commune is the lowest level of administrative division in the French Republic. French communes are roughly equivalent to incorporated municipalities or villages in the United States or Gemeinden in Germany...
in the Gard
Gard
Gard is a département located in southern France in the Languedoc-Roussillon region.The department is named after the River Gard, although the formerly Occitan name of the River Gard, Gardon, has been replacing the traditional French name in recent decades, even among French speakers.- History...
department in southern France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. It is the sole commume in Gard to have a frontage on the Mediterranean. To the west is Herault
Hérault
Hérault is a department in the south of France named after the Hérault river.-History:Hérault is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790...
and La Grande-Motte
La Grande-Motte
La Grande-Motte is a commune in the Hérault département in Languedoc-Roussillon in southern France. It is a popular seaside resort and port, built in the 1960s and 1970s on a greenfield site, La Grande-Motte is characterized by a homogeneous architecture, the most visible are the buildings in the...
, and to the east is the department of Bouches-du-Rhone
Bouches-du-Rhône
Bouches-du-Rhône is a department in the south of France named after the mouth of the Rhône River. It is the most populous department of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Its INSEE and postal code is 13.-History of the department:...
. Looking from the sea, the commune may be divided into the Plage de Dive droite, the Village, the Plage de Rive Gauche, Port Camargue and L'Espiguette. Immediately landwards are the large shallow étangs, which separate it from Aigues Mortes, the mediaeval walled city that used to be a port. The étangs are home to numerous flamingo
Flamingo
Flamingos or flamingoes are gregarious wading birds in the genus Phoenicopterus , the only genus in the family Phoenicopteridae...
es.
Etymology
Le Grau-du-Roi comes from the occitan word grau (latinLatin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
gradus), which refers to the opening of an étang (shallow saline lake), or the watercourse from an etang into the sea. Roi is the French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
word for King. Aigues-Mortes means literally 'dead water'.
Geography
Le Grau-du-Roi to the south of Aigues-Mortes, in the department of Gard. It is in the canton d'Aigues-Mortes which was originally in Herault, but it was exchanged for the canton de Ganges. It separated from Aigues-Mortes, by a series of saline lakes or étangs, and a bend in the river VidourleVidourle
The Vidourle is a river in southern France, flowing into the Mediterranean Sea in Le Grau-du-Roi. Its source is in the Cévennes mountains, northwest of Saint-Hippolyte-du-Fort, at Saint-Roman-de-Codières. It flows generally southeast...
. The etangs are named les étang du Ponant, étang du Médard, étang du Repausset Levant), and lake de Salonique. To the west of the town, the coastal strip is breached where the Vidourle
Vidourle
The Vidourle is a river in southern France, flowing into the Mediterranean Sea in Le Grau-du-Roi. Its source is in the Cévennes mountains, northwest of Saint-Hippolyte-du-Fort, at Saint-Roman-de-Codières. It flows generally southeast...
empties into the Mediterranean, and to the east is that of the Petit Rhone. The course of these two rivers had been subject to change and reversal.The Rhone had flowed into the etangs further to the west and at one point, the Vidourle flowed into it rather than the sea, The route in the 12th Century was through the Grau Louis and the Old Channel. In 1570, a new breach occurred at point called Gagne-Petit and it is around this grau that the settlement was formed. The area of the town, between the étangs and the sea, was settled by Italian immigrants at the end of the 19th century. From then till the 1920s the economy was based entirely on fishing, but then tourism became important, culminating in the construction of Port-Camargue. The resort is proud of its 18 km of fine sand.
The sand dunes on the Pointe de Éspiguette make an important wild life habitat, and the étangs are noted for their birdlife which includes flamingo
Flamingo
Flamingos or flamingoes are gregarious wading birds in the genus Phoenicopterus , the only genus in the family Phoenicopteridae...
es.
History
Aigues-Mortes
Aigues-Mortes is a commune in the Gard department in southern France.The medieval city walls surrounding the city are well preserved.-History:...
gained importance during the crusades when it was a royal port. King Louis IX of France had no other port available to him on the Mediterranean. The ships docked alongside the ramparts of the city and passed through a circuitous channel, (the Old Channel) through the Étang de Repausset to the sea at Grau Louis (La Grande Motte
La Grande-Motte
La Grande-Motte is a commune in the Hérault département in Languedoc-Roussillon in southern France. It is a popular seaside resort and port, built in the 1960s and 1970s on a greenfield site, La Grande-Motte is characterized by a homogeneous architecture, the most visible are the buildings in the...
). In 1570, a storm surge from the Rhone
Rhône
Rhone can refer to:* Rhone, one of the major rivers of Europe, running through Switzerland and France* Rhône Glacier, the source of the Rhone River and one of the primary contributors to Lake Geneva in the far eastern end of the canton of Valais in Switzerland...
entered the etang and breached the costal strip forming a new grau. A six kilometre channel was created from the city directly to the sea. In 1640 this was named the Grau du Roi, and although the name changes several times, it revert to this name. In 1772 two moles were constructed out of stone. There was continual work to maintain this channel. It was formalised into a canal in 1845.
There was an old lighthouse in the village which got a new copper lantern in 1828, and a second was constructed at l´Espiguette
Phare de l'Espiguette
The Phare de l'Espiguette is a 27-meter-high square tower. Built in 1869, the lighthouse is found on the Pointe de l'Espiguette, near to Le Grau-du-Roi on the Gulf of Lion in Languedoc-Roussillon, France.-Geography:...
in 1867. The village, based round fishermans cottages gained some administrative buildings and was recognised as a section of Aigues-Mortes in 1867 and it became a separate communes in 1879. The village of fisherman and workers on the land turned to tourism at the end of the century. It was the extension of the Nîmes Aigues-Mortes railway line in 1909 that boosted this industry, bathers arrived on mass, and on the 26 April 1924 the President of the Republic decreed that Le Grau-du-Roi was a "station climatique et balnéaire ". The rail line enabled local producers to market nationally their white grapes and fish.
The second world war affected the village profoundly. Axis troops were stationed in the village, and the local council dissolved. By 1942, many of the inhabitants had fled, the coast was the front line and bristled with tank traps and minefields. The village was controlled by blockhouses, the canal was blocked. Wood from houses was used in the defences. Grau du Roi was liberated in August 1944, and the coast started to rebuild itself focussing on tourism. The effort was co-ordinated by the plan Racine. in charge, the architect, Jean Balladur designed structures capables of support a mass influx of toutists while supporting the local way of life and the environment. Part of the plan was the new marina at Port Camargue. This was launched in 1968 and finished in 1985
Le Grau-du-Roi is a commune
Communes of France
The commune is the lowest level of administrative division in the French Republic. French communes are roughly equivalent to incorporated municipalities or villages in the United States or Gemeinden in Germany...
in the Gard
Gard
Gard is a département located in southern France in the Languedoc-Roussillon region.The department is named after the River Gard, although the formerly Occitan name of the River Gard, Gardon, has been replacing the traditional French name in recent decades, even among French speakers.- History...
department in southern France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. It is the sole commume in Gard to have a frontage on the Mediterranean. To the west is Herault
Hérault
Hérault is a department in the south of France named after the Hérault river.-History:Hérault is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790...
and La Grande-Motte
La Grande-Motte
La Grande-Motte is a commune in the Hérault département in Languedoc-Roussillon in southern France. It is a popular seaside resort and port, built in the 1960s and 1970s on a greenfield site, La Grande-Motte is characterized by a homogeneous architecture, the most visible are the buildings in the...
, and to the east is the department of Bouches-du-Rhone
Bouches-du-Rhône
Bouches-du-Rhône is a department in the south of France named after the mouth of the Rhône River. It is the most populous department of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Its INSEE and postal code is 13.-History of the department:...
. Looking from the sea, the commune may be divided into the Plage de Dive droite, the Village, the Plage de Rive Gauche, Port Camargue and L'Espiguette. Immediately landwards are the large shallow étangs, which separate it from Aigues Mortes, the mediaeval walled city that used to be a port. The étangs are home to numerous flamingo
Flamingo
Flamingos or flamingoes are gregarious wading birds in the genus Phoenicopterus , the only genus in the family Phoenicopteridae...
es.
Etymology
Le Grau-du-Roi comes from the occitan word grau (latinLatin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
gradus), which refers to the opening of an étang (shallow saline lake), or the watercourse from an etang into the sea. Roi is the French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
word for King. Aigues-Mortes means literally 'dead water'.
Geography
Le Grau-du-Roi to the south of Aigues-Mortes, in the department of Gard. It is in the canton d'Aigues-Mortes which was originally in Herault, but it was exchanged for the canton de Ganges. It separated from Aigues-Mortes, by a series of saline lakes or étangs, and a bend in the river VidourleVidourle
The Vidourle is a river in southern France, flowing into the Mediterranean Sea in Le Grau-du-Roi. Its source is in the Cévennes mountains, northwest of Saint-Hippolyte-du-Fort, at Saint-Roman-de-Codières. It flows generally southeast...
. The etangs are named les étang du Ponant, étang du Médard, étang du Repausset Levant), and lake de Salonique. To the west of the town, the coastal strip is breached where the Vidourle
Vidourle
The Vidourle is a river in southern France, flowing into the Mediterranean Sea in Le Grau-du-Roi. Its source is in the Cévennes mountains, northwest of Saint-Hippolyte-du-Fort, at Saint-Roman-de-Codières. It flows generally southeast...
empties into the Mediterranean, and to the east is that of the Petit Rhone. The course of these two rivers had been subject to change and reversal.The Rhone had flowed into the etangs further to the west and at one point, the Vidourle flowed into it rather than the sea, The route in the 12th Century was through the Grau Louis and the Old Channel. In 1570, a new breach occurred at point called Gagne-Petit and it is around this grau that the settlement was formed. The area of the town, between the étangs and the sea, was settled by Italian immigrants at the end of the 19th century. From then till the 1920s the economy was based entirely on fishing, but then tourism became important, culminating in the construction of Port-Camargue. The resort is proud of its 18 km of fine sand.
The sand dunes on the Pointe de Éspiguette make an important wild life habitat, and the étangs are noted for their birdlife which includes flamingo
Flamingo
Flamingos or flamingoes are gregarious wading birds in the genus Phoenicopterus , the only genus in the family Phoenicopteridae...
es.
History
Aigues-Mortes
Aigues-Mortes is a commune in the Gard department in southern France.The medieval city walls surrounding the city are well preserved.-History:...
gained importance during the crusades when it was a royal port. King Louis IX of France had no other port available to him on the Mediterranean. The ships docked alongside the ramparts of the city and passed through a circuitous channel, (the Old Channel) through the Étang de Repausset to the sea at Grau Louis (La Grande Motte
La Grande-Motte
La Grande-Motte is a commune in the Hérault département in Languedoc-Roussillon in southern France. It is a popular seaside resort and port, built in the 1960s and 1970s on a greenfield site, La Grande-Motte is characterized by a homogeneous architecture, the most visible are the buildings in the...
). In 1570, a storm surge from the Rhone
Rhône
Rhone can refer to:* Rhone, one of the major rivers of Europe, running through Switzerland and France* Rhône Glacier, the source of the Rhone River and one of the primary contributors to Lake Geneva in the far eastern end of the canton of Valais in Switzerland...
entered the etang and breached the costal strip forming a new grau. A six kilometre channel was created from the city directly to the sea. In 1640 this was named the Grau du Roi, and although the name changes several times, it revert to this name. In 1772 two moles were constructed out of stone. There was continual work to maintain this channel. It was formalised into a canal in 1845.
There was an old lighthouse in the village which got a new copper lantern in 1828, and a second was constructed at l´Espiguette
Phare de l'Espiguette
The Phare de l'Espiguette is a 27-meter-high square tower. Built in 1869, the lighthouse is found on the Pointe de l'Espiguette, near to Le Grau-du-Roi on the Gulf of Lion in Languedoc-Roussillon, France.-Geography:...
in 1867. The village, based round fishermans cottages gained some administrative buildings and was recognised as a section of Aigues-Mortes in 1867 and it became a separate communes in 1879. The village of fisherman and workers on the land turned to tourism at the end of the century. It was the extension of the Nîmes Aigues-Mortes railway line in 1909 that boosted this industry, bathers arrived on mass, and on the 26 April 1924 the President of the Republic decreed that Le Grau-du-Roi was a "station climatique et balnéaire ". The rail line enabled local producers to market nationally their white grapes and fish.
The second world war affected the village profoundly. Axis troops were stationed in the village, and the local council dissolved. By 1942, many of the inhabitants had fled, the coast was the front line and bristled with tank traps and minefields. The village was controlled by blockhouses, the canal was blocked. Wood from houses was used in the defences. Grau du Roi was liberated in August 1944, and the coast started to rebuild itself focussing on tourism. The effort was co-ordinated by the plan Racine. in charge, the architect, Jean Balladur designed structures capables of support a mass influx of toutists while supporting the local way of life and the environment. Part of the plan was the new marina at Port Camargue. This was launched in 1968 and finished in 1985
Le Grau-du-Roi is a commune
Communes of France
The commune is the lowest level of administrative division in the French Republic. French communes are roughly equivalent to incorporated municipalities or villages in the United States or Gemeinden in Germany...
in the Gard
Gard
Gard is a département located in southern France in the Languedoc-Roussillon region.The department is named after the River Gard, although the formerly Occitan name of the River Gard, Gardon, has been replacing the traditional French name in recent decades, even among French speakers.- History...
department in southern France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. It is the sole commume in Gard to have a frontage on the Mediterranean. To the west is Herault
Hérault
Hérault is a department in the south of France named after the Hérault river.-History:Hérault is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790...
and La Grande-Motte
La Grande-Motte
La Grande-Motte is a commune in the Hérault département in Languedoc-Roussillon in southern France. It is a popular seaside resort and port, built in the 1960s and 1970s on a greenfield site, La Grande-Motte is characterized by a homogeneous architecture, the most visible are the buildings in the...
, and to the east is the department of Bouches-du-Rhone
Bouches-du-Rhône
Bouches-du-Rhône is a department in the south of France named after the mouth of the Rhône River. It is the most populous department of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Its INSEE and postal code is 13.-History of the department:...
. Looking from the sea, the commune may be divided into the Plage de Dive droite, the Village, the Plage de Rive Gauche, Port Camargue and L'Espiguette. Immediately landwards are the large shallow étangs, which separate it from Aigues Mortes, the mediaeval walled city that used to be a port. The étangs are home to numerous flamingo
Flamingo
Flamingos or flamingoes are gregarious wading birds in the genus Phoenicopterus , the only genus in the family Phoenicopteridae...
es.
Etymology
Le Grau-du-Roi comes from the occitan word grau (latinLatin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
gradus), which refers to the opening of an étang (shallow saline lake), or the watercourse from an etang into the sea. Roi is the French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
word for King. Aigues-Mortes means literally 'dead water'.
Geography
Le Grau-du-Roi to the south of Aigues-Mortes, in the department of Gard. It is in the canton d'Aigues-Mortes which was originally in Herault, but it was exchanged for the canton de Ganges. It separated from Aigues-Mortes, by a series of saline lakes or étangs, and a bend in the river VidourleVidourle
The Vidourle is a river in southern France, flowing into the Mediterranean Sea in Le Grau-du-Roi. Its source is in the Cévennes mountains, northwest of Saint-Hippolyte-du-Fort, at Saint-Roman-de-Codières. It flows generally southeast...
. The etangs are named les étang du Ponant, étang du Médard, étang du Repausset Levant), and lake de Salonique. To the west of the town, the coastal strip is breached where the Vidourle
Vidourle
The Vidourle is a river in southern France, flowing into the Mediterranean Sea in Le Grau-du-Roi. Its source is in the Cévennes mountains, northwest of Saint-Hippolyte-du-Fort, at Saint-Roman-de-Codières. It flows generally southeast...
empties into the Mediterranean, and to the east is that of the Petit Rhone. The course of these two rivers had been subject to change and reversal.The Rhone had flowed into the etangs further to the west and at one point, the Vidourle flowed into it rather than the sea, The route in the 12th Century was through the Grau Louis and the Old Channel. In 1570, a new breach occurred at point called Gagne-Petit and it is around this grau that the settlement was formed. The area of the town, between the étangs and the sea, was settled by Italian immigrants at the end of the 19th century. From then till the 1920s the economy was based entirely on fishing, but then tourism became important, culminating in the construction of Port-Camargue. The resort is proud of its 18 km of fine sand.
The sand dunes on the Pointe de Éspiguette make an important wild life habitat, and the étangs are noted for their birdlife which includes flamingo
Flamingo
Flamingos or flamingoes are gregarious wading birds in the genus Phoenicopterus , the only genus in the family Phoenicopteridae...
es.
History
Aigues-Mortes
Aigues-Mortes is a commune in the Gard department in southern France.The medieval city walls surrounding the city are well preserved.-History:...
gained importance during the crusades when it was a royal port. King Louis IX of France had no other port available to him on the Mediterranean. The ships docked alongside the ramparts of the city and passed through a circuitous channel, (the Old Channel) through the Étang de Repausset to the sea at Grau Louis (La Grande Motte
La Grande-Motte
La Grande-Motte is a commune in the Hérault département in Languedoc-Roussillon in southern France. It is a popular seaside resort and port, built in the 1960s and 1970s on a greenfield site, La Grande-Motte is characterized by a homogeneous architecture, the most visible are the buildings in the...
). In 1570, a storm surge from the Rhone
Rhône
Rhone can refer to:* Rhone, one of the major rivers of Europe, running through Switzerland and France* Rhône Glacier, the source of the Rhone River and one of the primary contributors to Lake Geneva in the far eastern end of the canton of Valais in Switzerland...
entered the etang and breached the costal strip forming a new grau. A six kilometre channel was created from the city directly to the sea. In 1640 this was named the Grau du Roi, and although the name changes several times, it revert to this name. In 1772 two moles were constructed out of stone. There was continual work to maintain this channel. It was formalised into a canal in 1845.
There was an old lighthouse in the village which got a new copper lantern in 1828, and a second was constructed at l´Espiguette
Phare de l'Espiguette
The Phare de l'Espiguette is a 27-meter-high square tower. Built in 1869, the lighthouse is found on the Pointe de l'Espiguette, near to Le Grau-du-Roi on the Gulf of Lion in Languedoc-Roussillon, France.-Geography:...
in 1867. The village, based round fishermans cottages gained some administrative buildings and was recognised as a section of Aigues-Mortes in 1867 and it became a separate communes in 1879. The village of fisherman and workers on the land turned to tourism at the end of the century. It was the extension of the Nîmes Aigues-Mortes railway line in 1909 that boosted this industry, bathers arrived on mass, and on the 26 April 1924 the President of the Republic decreed that Le Grau-du-Roi was a "station climatique et balnéaire ". The rail line enabled local producers to market nationally their white grapes and fish.
The second world war affected the village profoundly. Axis troops were stationed in the village, and the local council dissolved. By 1942, many of the inhabitants had fled, the coast was the front line and bristled with tank traps and minefields. The village was controlled by blockhouses, the canal was blocked. Wood from houses was used in the defences. Grau du Roi was liberated in August 1944, and the coast started to rebuild itself focussing on tourism. The effort was co-ordinated by the plan Racine. in charge, the architect, Jean Balladur designed structures capables of support a mass influx of toutists while supporting the local way of life and the environment. Part of the plan was the new marina at Port Camargue. This was launched in 1968 and finished in 1985