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Saint-Martin-d'Ardèche | |
|---|---|
 The riverArdèche | |
 Location of Saint-Martin-d'Ardèche | |
  Saint-Martin-d'Ardèche  Saint-Martin-d'Ardèche | |
| Coordinates:44°18′16″N4°33′59″E / 44.3044°N 4.5664°E /44.3044; 4.5664 | |
| Country | France |
| Region | Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes |
| Department | Ardèche |
| Arrondissement | Privas |
| Canton | Bourg-Saint-Andéol |
| Intercommunality | CC du Rhône aux Gorges de l'Ardèche |
| Government | |
| • Mayor(2022–2026) | Daniel Archambault[1] |
Area 1 | 5.53 km2 (2.14 sq mi) |
| Population (2022)[2] | 941 |
| • Density | 170/km2 (441/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
| INSEE/Postal code | 07268 /07700 |
| Elevation | 41–210 m (135–689 ft) (avg. 46 m or 151 ft) |
| 1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. | |
Saint-Martin-d'Ardèche (French pronunciation:[sɛ̃maʁtɛ̃daʁdɛʃ];Occitan:Sant Martin d'Ardecha) is acommune in thedepartment ofArdèche in SouthernFrance.
Saint-Martin-d'Ardèche is situated at the Southern entrance of theArdèche Canyon, theGorges de l'Ardèche.
Saint-Martin-d'Ardèche is member of the intercommunality of Rhône aux Gorges de l'Ardèche together with nearbyArdèche communes ofBidon,Bourg-Saint-Andéol,Gras,Larnas,Saint-Montan,Saint-Just,Saint-Marcel-d'Ardèche,Saint-Remèze andViviers at the very south-eastern end of department.
| Year | Pop. | ±% p.a. |
|---|---|---|
| 1968 | 365 | — |
| 1975 | 336 | −1.18% |
| 1982 | 380 | +1.77% |
| 1990 | 537 | +4.42% |
| 1999 | 642 | +2.00% |
| 2007 | 834 | +3.32% |
| 2012 | 942 | +2.47% |
| 2017 | 979 | +0.77% |
| Source: INSEE[3] | ||
A few kilometres from the main trail of theRhône Valley between Northern Europe and the Mediterranean coast, a Gateway toProvence, Saint-Martin-d'Ardèche lies underneath the silhouette of medievalAiguèze at the outlet of theArdèche Gorges carved through the limestoneplateau de Gras (average 300 m high, culminating at the 719 m highDent de Rez, i.e.saw tooth) (reïsse=saw in provençal). About 30 km (19 mi) betweenVallon-Pont-d'Arc with the magnificent natural stone arch on the river and Saint-Martin-d'Ardèche. Since 1960, a panoramic road follows the canyon up the hill through thegarrigue, the common Mediterranean vegetation when arriving from the North, and ends in Saint-Martin-d'Ardèche with a view of the river flowing towards theRhône in the direction of the (Fuji-Yama silhouette) of the 1900 m highMont Ventoux inProvence.
Originally a settlement of peasants, fishermen and boatmen at a ford on the river,Petra and/orSant Martin de la Peyre (St. Martin of the rocks) belonged over the centuries to the baronets of Aiguèze, whose fortress overlooked the whole valley down to the delta ofArdèche into theRhône, at the time in the duchy ofUzès. It only became a separatecommune after the French Revolution, when Départements were created with the river here as the border: Aiguèze indépartement Gard, Saint-Martin-de-la-Pierre as Saint-Martin-d'Ardèche indépartement Ardèche.
Its location on a ford had made the village an early stop for pilgrims and travellers. A church was built in the 11th and 12th centuries (up to the 19th-century bell tower). The river would finally be spanned by a stone bridge built in 1895 - which would be destroyed five years later by one of the furious swellings theArdèche was accustomed to after autumn rains, before it would be regulated and dammed in theCévennes. In September 1900, the bridge collapsed and was replaced in 1905 by a hanging bridge.[citation needed]
The economy of the village was mainly agricultural during the 19th and early 20th centuries which comprised silkworms, fruit, wine, wood floating and charcoal transport on the river, plus fishing. Change occurred in the second half of the 20th century with the transformation of the nearby Rhône Valley with the construction of the canal on the Rhône, atomic industries inMarcoule byBagnols-sur-Cèze andEurodif inPierrelatte, the A7 highway from Lyon to Spain and theFrench Riviera, plus theTGV railway construction. The local economy is now based on wine and tourism. The southernCôtes du Rhône vineyards andKayak and camping trips down the gorge are common in summer.[citation needed] Saint-Martin-d'Ardèche at the crossroads of fourdépartements,Ardèche,Gard,Drôme,Vaucluse, with its river beaches, canoe trips, hiking and riding on the surrounding hills, plus historical towns and villages nearby,megalithic sites withdolmens, caves, medieval chapels, Renaissance buildings etc, provide a tourist gateway toProvence.
Situated less than 200 km (120 mi) south of Lyon, 50 km (31 mi) northwest ofAvignon, 70 km (43 mi) northeast ofNîmes, 50 km from the RomanPont du Gard), and 110 km (68 mi) from Mediterranean sea, Saint-Martin-d'Ardèche offers, with nearbyAiguèze (mainly in the high season from March to November),
Nearby sites:
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