Prefecture of the Nièvre department, Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, France
This article is about the prefecture and commune. For other uses, seeNevers (disambiguation).
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Nevers first enters written history asNoviodunum, a town held by theAedui atRoman contact. The quantities of medals and other Roman antiquities found on the site indicate its importance.[3] In 52 BCE,Julius Caesar made Noviodunum, which he describes as a convenient position on the banks of theLoire, a depot (B. G. vii. 55). There, he had his hostages, corn and military chest, with the money in it allowed him from home for the war, his own and his army's baggage and a great number of horses which had been bought for him in Spain and Italy.
After his failure beforeGergovia, the Aedui at Noviodunum massacred those who were there to look after stores, the negotiators and the travellers who were in the place. They divided the money and the horses among themselves, carried off in boats all the corn that they could and burned the rest or threw it into the river.
Thinking they could not hold the town, they burned it. That was a great loss to Caesar, and it may seem that he was imprudent in leaving such great stores in the power of treacherous allies. However, he was in straits that year, and probably he could not have done other than he did.[citation needed]
Dio Cassius (xl. 38) tells the story of Caesar out of the affair of Noviodunum. He states incorrectly what Caesar did on the occasion, and he shows that he neither understood his original nor knew what he was writing about.[citation needed]
The city was later calledNevirnum, as the name appears in theAntonine Itinerary. In theTabula Peutingeriana, it is corrupted intoEbrinum. In still other sources the name appears asNebirnum orNivernum.
It became the seat of a bishopric at the end of the 5th century. Thecounty dates at least from the beginning of the 10th century. The citizens of Nevers obtained charters in 1194 and 1231. For a short time in the 14th century the town was the seat of a university, transferred fromOrléans, to which it was restored.[3]
In 1565, the town became the seat of a branch of theGonzaga family, who in 1627 succeeded to theDuchy of Mantua. This line of the Gonzaga Dukes of Nevers itself died out in 1708.
Nevers has anoceanic climate (KöppenCfb) in spite of being far inland. In spite of moderate averages, temperatures are highly variable depending on weather patterns, with a temperature amplitude of 64.8 °C (116.6 °F) for its records since 1946.[5] While summer nights frequently fall into the single digits, every month between April and October has reached 30 °C (86 °F) during the afternoon at some point.[5]
Climate data for Nevers (1991–2020 averages), extremes since 1946
Narrow winding streets lead from the quay through the town where there are numerous old houses dating from the 14th to the 17th century.[3]
Among the ecclesiastical buildings the most important is theCathédrale of Saint Cyr-Sainte Julitte, dedicated toSaint Quiricus and Saint Julietta, which is a combination of two buildings, and possesses twoapses. The apse and transept at the west end are the remains of aRomanesque church, while the nave and eastern apse are in theGothic style and belong to the 14th century. There is no transept at the eastern end. The lateral portal on the south side belongs to the late 15th century; the massive and elaborately decorated tower which rises beside it dates to the early 16th century.[3]
The church ofSaint Étienne is a specimen of the Romanesque style ofAuvergne of which the disposition of the apse with its three radiating chapels is characteristic. It was consecrated at the close of the 9th century, and belonged to a priory affiliated toCluny.[3]
TheDucal Palace (now occupied by the courts of justice and an important ceramic museum) was built in the 15th and 16th centuries and is one of the principal feudal edifices in central France. The façade is flanked at each end by aturret and a round tower. A middle tower containing the great staircase has its windows adorned by sculptures relating to the history of theHouse of La Marck by the members of which the greater part of the palace was built.[3]
Behind the palace lies an open space with a fine view over theLoire Valley. The Porte du Croux, a square tower, with corner turrets, dating from the end of the 14th century, is among the remnants of the old fortifications; it now contains a collection of sculptures and Roman antiquities.[3]
Atriumphal arch from the 18th century, commemorating the victory ofFontenoy and the hôtel de ville, a 19th-century building which contains the library, are of some interest.[7] The Loire is crossed by a modern stone bridge, and by an iron railway bridge.[3]
Nevers is the seat of abishopric, of tribunals of first instance and of commerce and of acour d'assises and has achamber of commerce and a branch of theBank of France. Its educational institutions include several lycées, a training college for female teachers, ecclesiastical seminaries, a school of art (Esaab)[8] and an automotive and transports engineering school (Institut supérieur de l'automobile et des transports) being part of theUniversity of Burgundy. The town manufactures porcelain, agricultural implements, chemical manures, glue, boilers and iron goods, boots and shoes and fur garments, and has distilleries, tanneries and dye works. Its trade is in iron and steel, wood, wine, grain,livestock, etc.hydraulic lime,kaolin and clay for the manufacture of faience are worked in the vicinity.[3]
TheRossignol Skis Group produces 89% of its Look Brand alpine ski bindings in Nevers.[9]
The anonymous French woman (played byEmmanuelle Riva) who is the main character in the filmHiroshima mon amour byAlain Resnais is from Nevers, and the film features many flashbacks to her youth there during World War II. In the final scene of the film, herJapanese lover tells her "You are Nevers". There is a lot of play on the English translation of the town's name throughout the film, with dialogue such as"Nevers ? Jamais !" ("Nevers? Never!")
Most of the scenes in the filmRosalie Blum were filmed in Nevers between March and April 2015, with the exception of the end scenes, which were filmed atLeffrinckoucke in theNord.
