Privas
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Privas (; , also ) is a city located in
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
, in the department of
Ardèche Ardèche (; , ; ) is a Departments of France, department in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Southeastern France. It is named after the river Ardèche (river), Ardèche and had a population of 328,278 as of 2019.prefecture A prefecture (from the Latin word, "''praefectura"'') is an administrative jurisdiction traditionally governed by an appointed prefect. This can be a regional or local government subdivision in various countries, or a subdivision in certain inter ...
(capital of a department). It was the location of the 1629 Siege of Privas. Today, Privas is known for the purée made from the local
chestnut The chestnuts are the deciduous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Castanea'', in the beech family Fagaceae. The name also refers to the edible nuts they produce. They are native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Description ...
s, and for its sweetened marron glacé.


History

The earliest traces of the commune are attested in the hamlet of Lac where recent archaeological excavations have revealed a
Roman villa A Roman villa was typically a farmhouse or country house in the territory of the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire, sometimes reaching extravagant proportions. Nevertheless, the term "Roman villa" generally covers buildings with the common ...
dating to the beginning of the
Empire An empire is a political unit made up of several territories, military outpost (military), outposts, and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a hegemony, dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the ...
, as well as a medieval burying-ground. Moulds for counterfeiting coinage found in the 19th century on the slopes of Mont-Toulon have not been interpretable as signifying a local centre of population. Privas possibly comes from the old Gallic word ''briva'' meaning thoroughfare, or more specifically a wooden causeway over a ravine or water. This may refer to a river crossing now spanned by the ''Pont Louis XIII'', just to the south of the town centre. Privas inhabitants are called ''Privadois''. The earliest ''bourg'' of Privas developed around the church of Saint-Thomas (place de la République), a dependency of the
Cluniac Cluny Abbey (; , formerly also ''Cluni'' or ''Clugny''; ) is a former Order of Saint Benedict, Benedictine monastery in Cluny, Saône-et-Loire, France. It was dedicated to Saint Peter, Saints Peter and Saint Paul, Paul. The abbey was constructed ...
priory of Rompon. The
château A château (, ; plural: châteaux) is a manor house, or palace, or residence of the lord of the manor, or a fine country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally, and still most frequently, in French-speaking re ...
(''castri'') of Privas on the site of the present ''collège-couvent des Récollets'' is not attested prior to the 13th century, when the town was walled. Laid waste in 1621 and again following the siege of 1629, nothing of it remains. In the twelfth century Privas belonged to the seigneurie of the Poitiers-Valentinois, comtes de Valence, whose liege lords were the
counts of Toulouse The count of Toulouse (, ) was the ruler of county of Toulouse, Toulouse during the 8th to 13th centuries. Originating as vassals of the kingdom of the Franks, Frankish kings, the hereditary counts ruled the city of Toulouse and its surrounding ...
. Aymar de Poitiers, in 1281, and his son in 1309, granted charters to the town, guaranteeing its traditional liberties, and its fiscal, economic and military rights. In the 13th century the town expanded from two originals centres, Bize and Clastre, to develop on the level towards the east, in two new quarters, Claux and Mazel. In the 16th century, the
Protestant Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the papacy and ...
took swift and deep roots in Privas, among common people, the high bourgeoisie and the nobles alike. Fierce repression was organized: many Protestant inhabitants were killed, and others fled to
Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...
. Nevertheless, the reform movement spread, and for nearly seventy years no
Catholic mass The Mass is the central liturgical service of the Eucharist in the Catholic Church, in which bread and wine are consecrated and become the body and blood of Christ. As defined by the Church at the Council of Trent, in the Mass "the same Christ ...
was said at Privas, where the church itself was demolished in 1570 and the French garrison refused entry. There were no Saint Bartholomew's Day Massacres at Privas. Though the king's mistress Diane de Poitiers was made baronne of Chalencon and of Privas, and in 1566 the barony was divided between her two daughters, the elder retaining the honour of Privas, in the
French Wars of Religion The French Wars of Religion were a series of civil wars between French Catholic Church, Catholics and Protestantism, Protestants (called Huguenots) from 1562 to 1598. Between two and four million people died from violence, famine or disease di ...
Privas remained a major centre of
Huguenots The Huguenots ( , ; ) are a Religious denomination, religious group of French people, French Protestants who held to the Reformed (Calvinist) tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, ...
, called the "Rampart of Reform", and the "Geneva of the country", a symbol of resistance to the Catholic monarchy. The seigneurie was sold to Jacques de Chambaud, a head of the Protestants, who became the first Huguenot seigneur of Privas. In the
Huguenot rebellions The Huguenot rebellions, sometimes called the Rohan Wars after the Huguenot leader Henri, Duke of Rohan, Henri de Rohan, were a series of rebellions of the 1620s in which French people, French Calvinist Protestants (Huguenots), mainly located in ...
of 1621–29, Privas was besieged in 1629 by royal forces, with
Louis XIII Louis XIII (; sometimes called the Just; 27 September 1601 – 14 May 1643) was King of France from 1610 until his death in 1643 and King of Navarre (as Louis II) from 1610 to 1620, when the crown of Navarre was merged with the French crown. ...
in attendance. Defended by Montbrun with 800 men, the city was taken and destroyed. During the siege of 1629, the town of Privas was well defended by walls and ditches. Privas also has gorges to its south, east and north that provide a natural defence. Given this topography, the Huguenots in the town did not believe that a strong attack from the east was possible. Nevertheless, on 22 May, the Swiss mercenaries of the attacking Royalist Catholic army of
Cardinal Richelieu Armand Jean du Plessis, 1st Duke of Richelieu (9 September 1585 – 4 December 1642), commonly known as Cardinal Richelieu, was a Catholic Church in France, French Catholic prelate and statesman who had an outsized influence in civil and religi ...
managed to haul by hand six huge pieces of artillery, each weighing about four tons, from Tauléac across the Ouvèze river and up the zig-zag path onto the plateau of Le Vanel, to the east of the town walls. From this decisive vantage point they bombarded the town until its surviving defenders were forced to evacuate and take their last stand on Mont Toulon on its west. During the siege, five hundred Royalist attackers and one thousand Protestant defenders were killed. Surviving defenders were executed, imprisoned, or deported to be galley slaves. By fire or cannon, the majority of the buildings in the town were destroyed. Privas was a ghost town for many years after. It is estimated that as a result of the defeat of the Huguenots in the region, one-fifth of the Protestant population of the Ardèche emigrated. After the defeat of the Camisard revolt (1702–1715) a further 50,000 Archèche Protestants left France. Many fled to England or Switzerland. During the French Revolution in the 1790s a guillotine was erected in the Place de la République. A number of clerics were executed. With the administrative reordering of the French Revolution, Privas, in alternation with
Annonay Annonay (; ) is a Communes of France, commune and largest city in the north of the Ardèche department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of southeastern France. It is the most populous commune in the Ardèche department although it is not the ...
, Aubenas, Bourg-Saint-Andéol and Tournon-sur-Rhône, became an administrative centre of Ardèche. After a brief interval as ''chef-lieu'' of its district, it was attached to the district of Coiron. Before about 1870 only a minority of people in the area spoke (or even referred to themselves as) French. They spoke a Provençal-Occitan patois, similar to Catalan. 'Les français' were the incomers or the educated middle-class, who spoke French as their main language. There was also a cultural divide between the people of the Ardèche plateau (known as ''Padgels'') and the valley inhabitants (known as a ''Royols'').


Economy

In the nineteenth century the town hosted a number of water-powered silk mills. Iron-ore mining was also a major activity, in the Ouvèze valley to the west of Privas. But mining had declined to the point of extinction by the First World War and the silk industry was mostly extinct by the Second. The town used to be linked to the main railway system by a branch line railway, and there were tramways to both
Aubenas Aubenas (; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the southern part of the Ardèche Departments of France, department in Southern France. It is the seat of several government offices. The mountainous and rugged countryside is popular for vacation ...
and Le Pouzin. These rail communications no longer exist. Privas's most famous products today are sugared chestnuts. A little wine is also produced in the area. As a town and a préfecture, many people are employed as administrators. But local employment in the préfecture has been declining since the 1990s because of the amalgamation of many services within the Ardèche and Drôme départements. Tourism is a more vibrant sector for employment.


Tourism

Privas has hotel accommodation, gîtes and camping sites. There are many local walks and other recreational activities. It is also a noted area for fossils. Situated with easy access to both the Rhône Valley and the Ardèche Gorges, tourist activity is increasing in the district.


Population


Personalities

*The French
historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human species; as well as the ...
and
Trotskyist Trotskyism (, ) is the political ideology and branch of Marxism developed by Russian revolutionary and intellectual Leon Trotsky along with some other members of the Left Opposition and the Fourth International. Trotsky described himself as an ...
Pierre Broué was born in Privas. *The French
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
er Cyril Théréau was born in Privas. *The writer Dominique Dunois (1876–1959), winner of the 1928 edition of the
Prix Femina The Prix Femina is a French List of literary awards, literary prize awarded each year by an exclusively female jury. The prize, which was established in 1904, is awarded to French-language works written in prose or Verse (poetry), verse by male ...
, died in Privas. *The
Huguenots The Huguenots ( , ; ) are a Religious denomination, religious group of French people, French Protestants who held to the Reformed (Calvinist) tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, ...
Marie Durand Marie Durand (1711–1776), was a French Protestantism, Protestant. She was famously imprisoned in the Tour de Constance (Aigues-Mortes) from 25 August 1730 for attending a Huguenot assembly with her mother, or perhaps because her brother, Pierre ...
and her brother Pierre were born in Le Bouchet just north of Privas. * René Ladreit de La Charrière (1767-1845), politician and member of Chamber of Deputies.


International relations

Privas is twinned with: *
Tortona Tortona (; , ; ) is a ''comune'' of Piemonte, in the Province of Alessandria, Italy. Tortona is sited on the right bank of the Scrivia between the plain of Spinetta Marengo, Marengo and the foothills of the Ligurian Apennines. Its ''frazione'' of ...
, Italy * Weilburg, Germany *
Wetherby Wetherby ( ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the City of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is close to West Yorkshire county's border with North Yorkshire and lies approximately from Leeds city centre, from ...
, United Kingdom * Zevenaar, Netherlands


See also

*
Communes of the Ardèche department The following is a list of the 335 communes of the Ardèche department of France. The communes cooperate in the following intercommunalities (as of 2025):Official website
{{Authority control Communes of Ardèche Prefectures in France Vivarais Ardèche communes articles needing translation from French Wikipedia