Théziers
Théziers is a commune with 1071 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2011 ) in the department of Gard of the Languedoc -Roussillon region.
Geography
The municipality is located in the east of the department of Gard, in three to four kilometers from the Rhône. It is located 25 km from Nîmes and 20 km from Avignon, approximately in the middle of the canton of Aramon.
History
The area in the 6th century colonized by the Greeks before Christ. At that time the village was called Thédis ( altgr. for construction, erection ). Due to its location on a hill, the village was at various times the site of a fortress, or at least a fortified settlement. The Celts settled during their invasions in the 2nd century BC here and founded a camp in the hills. The Romans drove the Celts and founded a temple in its place the Chapel Saint- Amant would be built later. On top of the hill there was a small Gallo- Roman village called Volpellières, which had only a dozen inhabitants. Below the castle then existing were about 300 to 400 houses. The place was then called Thédusia. Later, the village would be conquered several times, in the 8th century by the Saracens. They destroyed the castle. In 736, the Saracens were defeated by Théziers and Montfrin by Charles Martel in the battle. During the Middle Ages the village and the fortress belonged to several rulers were and were repeatedly destroyed in the train several wars. The community was also badly hit by the plague that spread inland from Marseille. 1630 was decided to build a hospital because of its strategic location in Théziers. The people prayed to St. Roch, he would deliver them from the plague. The village was actually spared. Every year since then is thought the Saints on August 16 in Théziers. Before the French Revolution, the village was in a dire economic situation. In winter 1788/1789 of the Rhone was frozen, the olive trees were destroyed. But who played an important role in the local economy: In the village there were four or five mills for the production of olive oil. Today, there are of them still. The wheat harvest time was also affected by the harsh winter. During the French Revolution it was not the use of violence in Théziers. In the 19th century, agriculture recovered, but the most important grape variety was infested by phylloxera. Then they started with the creation of apricot trees, for which the village is known today. 1942, the village was occupied by the Wehrmacht. On the hill German soldiers built bunkers. Due to the severe winter of 1956 all olive trees have been destroyed again. Then the olive oil production was abandoned and was limited to Wine, grapes and apricots.
Culture and sights
- Church of Saint- Grégoire from the 12th century
- Chapel Saint -Amant
- Former schools in the village