Arena of Nîmes

The Arenes de Nîmes is a Roman amphitheater in the French city of Nîmes.

In Nimes, the colonia Nemausus in the province of Gallia Narbonensis of the Roman Empire, the amphitheater between 90 and 120 AD was built on the model of the Roman Colosseum. During the mass migration, it served as a refuge and in 1863 turned into a bullring. Today there other events.

History

The present building stems from the second half of the 1st century after the model of the Roman Colosseum. With a capacity of 25,000 spectators, the amphitheater was divided into four areas. Inside, it counted 34 rows of seats. The building with an oval ground plan has a length of 133 m and a width of 101 m, with a height of 21 m. The major axis of the arena measures 69 m, 38 m, the minor axis. Originally adorned its façade two floors, with 60 sheet positions ( arcades ), which was surmounted by an attic. In ancient times, were in the first rows of seats, the name of the owner engraved, whose seats were so reserved.

In late antiquity, the population fled to the protection of the curtain wall of the building, it was a fortress, with two churches, 220 houses and a small castle.

Today, the Arenes are among the best preserved in the world. Since 2006 the site on behalf of the public will be managed by a private operator ( Culturespaces ); Since then, museum educational measures such as display boards and audio guides were introduced dealing with the history of gladiators and of bullfighting.

Current use

There around 20 bullfights and Camargue, as well as various cultural events are aligned ( such as concerts or history games) every year. Even bands like Rammstein and Metallica occurred already in the theater. The seating capacity is 13,000 seats today. Apart from these events, the amphitheater is open all year for tourists to visit.