Saint-Chamas (in Provençal
OccitanOccitan , known also as Lenga d'òc in Occitan or Langue d'oc in French is a Romance language spoken in Occitania, that is, Southern France, the Occitan Valleys of Italy, Monaco and in the Aran Valley of Spain...
:
Sanch Amàs in classical orthography,
Sant Chamas according to Mistralian orthography) is a
communeThe commune is the lowest level of administrative division in the French Republic. The French word commune appeared in the 12th century, from Medieval Latin communia, meaning a small gathering of people sharing a common life; from Latin communis, things held in common.French communes are roughly...
in the department of
Bouches-du-RhôneBouches-du-Rhône is a department in the south of France named after the mouth of the Rhône River.-History of the department:...
in the
Provence-Alpes-Côte d'AzurProvence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur is one of the 26 regions of France...
regionFrance is administratively divided into 25 regions , of which 21 are on mainland France, and four are overseas. Corsica is a territorial collectivity , but is considered a region in mainstream usage, and is even shown as such on the INSEE website...
in southern
FranceFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
.
Saint-Chamas is situated on the shore of the
Étang de BerreThe Étang de Berre is a body of water adjacent to the Mediterranean to the west of Marseille....
, 15 km south of
Salon-de-ProvenceSalon-de-Provence is a commune in the Bouches-du-Rhône department in southern France. It is the location of an important air base.-History:...
and 50 km north-west of
MarseilleMarseille , formerly known as Massalia , is the 2nd most populous French city as well as the oldest city in France...
, in a part of the region that has not been industrialised. The highest point of the town is
Le Verdon at an altitude of 121 metres.
In 1946, its population was only 3,440, but in the census of 1999 there were 6,661
Saint-Chamasséens.
ArchaeologicalArchaeology or archeology is the science that studies human cultures through the recovery, documentation, analysis, and interpretation of material culture and environmental data, including architecture, artifacts, biofacts, and landscapes...
investigation of rock shelters has proved that the site of Saint-Chamas was already occupied in the
PaleolithicThe Paleolithic or Palaeolithic Age, Era, or Period, or Old Stone Age, is a prehistoric era distinguished by the development of the first stone tools, and covers roughly 99% of human technological history...
era.
Saint-Chamas (in Provençal
OccitanOccitan , known also as Lenga d'òc in Occitan or Langue d'oc in French is a Romance language spoken in Occitania, that is, Southern France, the Occitan Valleys of Italy, Monaco and in the Aran Valley of Spain...
:
Sanch Amàs in classical orthography,
Sant Chamas according to Mistralian orthography) is a
communeThe commune is the lowest level of administrative division in the French Republic. The French word commune appeared in the 12th century, from Medieval Latin communia, meaning a small gathering of people sharing a common life; from Latin communis, things held in common.French communes are roughly...
in the department of
Bouches-du-RhôneBouches-du-Rhône is a department in the south of France named after the mouth of the Rhône River.-History of the department:...
in the
Provence-Alpes-Côte d'AzurProvence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur is one of the 26 regions of France...
regionFrance is administratively divided into 25 regions , of which 21 are on mainland France, and four are overseas. Corsica is a territorial collectivity , but is considered a region in mainstream usage, and is even shown as such on the INSEE website...
in southern
FranceFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
.
Geography
Saint-Chamas is situated on the shore of the
Étang de BerreThe Étang de Berre is a body of water adjacent to the Mediterranean to the west of Marseille....
, 15 km south of
Salon-de-ProvenceSalon-de-Provence is a commune in the Bouches-du-Rhône department in southern France. It is the location of an important air base.-History:...
and 50 km north-west of
MarseilleMarseille , formerly known as Massalia , is the 2nd most populous French city as well as the oldest city in France...
, in a part of the region that has not been industrialised. The highest point of the town is
Le Verdon at an altitude of 121 metres.
Demographics
In 1946, its population was only 3,440, but in the census of 1999 there were 6,661
Saint-Chamasséens.
History
ArchaeologicalArchaeology or archeology is the science that studies human cultures through the recovery, documentation, analysis, and interpretation of material culture and environmental data, including architecture, artifacts, biofacts, and landscapes...
investigation of rock shelters has proved that the site of Saint-Chamas was already occupied in the
PaleolithicThe Paleolithic or Palaeolithic Age, Era, or Period, or Old Stone Age, is a prehistoric era distinguished by the development of the first stone tools, and covers roughly 99% of human technological history...
era. During the
Iron AgeIn archaeology, the Iron Age is the prehistoric period in any area during which cutting tools and weapons were mainly made of iron or steel. The adoption of this material coincided with other changes in society, including differing agricultural practices, religious beliefs and artistic styles.The...
, the site was used by the
LiguresThe Ligures were an ancient people who gave their name to Liguria, which once stretched from Northern Italy into southern Gaul. According to Plutarch they called themselves Ambrones which means ¨people of the water¨...
, who constructed an
oppidumOppidum is a Latin word meaning the main settlement in any administrative area of ancient Rome. The word is derived from the earlier Latin ob-pedum, "enclosed space," possibly from the Proto-Indo-European *pedóm-, "occupied space" or "footprint."Julius Caesar described the larger Celtic Iron Age...
(a fortified village), and then by the Celts. The
RomansAncient Rome was a civilization that grew out of a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 10th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea, it became one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
built the
Pont FlavienThe Pont Flavien is a Roman bridge across the River Touloubre in Saint-Chamas, Bouches-du-Rhône department, southern France. The single arch bridge is noted for its fine triumphal arches standing at each entrance....
in the 1st century BC, a
triumphalThe Roman triumph was a civil ceremony and religious rite of ancient Rome. Its origins and development remain obscure: ancient Roman historians placed the first triumph in the mythical past...
bridge which crosses the
River TouloubreThe Touloubre is a river in the southeast of France. It runs from Venelles to the Étang de Berre, over 59 kilometers. Other places along its course are Pélissanne, Salon-de-Provence and Saint-Chamas. It flows into the Étang de Berre, which is connected to the Mediterranean Sea, near...
.
Saint-Chamas owes its name to Sanctus Amantius (Saint Amans, by tradition the first bishop of Rodez), in whose honour a chapel was built in the 7th century. The settlement was initially constructed on the
Baou, a chalk hill which overlooks the Étang de Berre, a site that was easy to defend and from which the surrounding region could be surveyed. In 1564, the castle was sufficiently comfortable to accommodate the king
Charles IXCharles IX born Charles-Maximilien, was King of France, ruling from 1560 until his death. He is best known as king at the time of the St...
and the regent
Catherine de' MediciCatherine de' Medici was born in Florence, Italy, as Caterina Maria Romula di Lorenzo de' Medici. Both of her parents, Lorenzo II de' Medici, Duke of Urbino, and Madeleine de La Tour d'Auvergne, Countess of Boulogne, died within weeks of her birth...
.
The 17th century saw the construction of the modern town. The old village on the
Baou, now felt to be too cramped, was abandoned as soon as the new quarters of
Perthuis and
au Delà were built. A town hall was erected and the port laid out. The parish church of Saint-Léger was built between 1660 and 1668, but the
bell towerA bell tower is a tower which contains one or more bells, or which is designed to hold bells, even if it has none. In the European tradition, such a tower most commonly serves as part of a church and contains church bells. When attached to a city hall or other civic building, especially in...
was not finished until 1740. The church now contains the Saint-Anne
reredosthumb|300px|right|An altar and reredos from St. Josaphat Catholic Church in [[Detroit]], [[Michigan]]. This would be called a [[retable]] in many other languages and countries.There are two common meanings of the word reredos...
which dates from the sixteenth century. In 1690, construction was initiated by
Louis XIVLouis XIV , popularly known as the Sun King , was King of France and of Navarre His reign, from 1643 to his death in 1715, lasted seventy-two years, three months, and eighteen days, and is the longest documented reign of any European monarch.Louis began personally governing France after the death...
on the royal black powder mill,
La Poudrerie; this remained for a long time the town's principal industry until it shut down in 1974.
For several years during the
French RevolutionThe French Revolution was a period of political and social upheaval and radical change in the history of France, during which the French governmental structure, previously an absolute monarchy with feudal privileges for the aristocracy and Catholic clergy, underwent radical change to forms based...
the town was renamed
Port-Chamas. The two main quarters, one of which developed around the town hall, the other in proximity to the port, were linked by a tunnel called
la Goule which collapsed in 1863. Today Saint-Chamas has become a residential and tourist town which has preserved its heritage and its appearance of a Provençal village.
External links