Beaucaire in the Rhône Valley
Beaucaire, a charming town in Southern France, boasts a rich architectural and cultural heritage, earning it the prestigious title of City of Art and History.
Situated on a promontory overlooking the Rhône River, Beaucaire occupies a strategic position in the Rhône Valley, forming a triangle with the historic cities of Nîmes, Arles, and Avignon.
At the crossroads of the historic regions of Languedoc and Provence, Beaucaire exerts an irresistible charm. Originally established in the vast alluvial plain on the right bank of the Rhône, Beaucaire marks the starting point of the Rhône Canal, which winds its way to the sea at Sète.
Despite its predominantly flat terrain, Beaucaire is dotted with a few hills to the north of the town, where a castle and an abbey dedicated to Saint Romain once stood. Over time, the boundaries of Beaucaire expanded, eventually merging with the neighbouring town of Tarascon, located on the left bank of the Rhône, in the Bouches-du-Rhône department in Provence.
Beaucaire, the Roman Ugernum
Let’s begin by exploring the rich history of Beaucaire.
Known as Ugernum in Roman times, Beaucaire was founded in the 7th century BC. It became a crucial stop on the prestigious Via Domitia, a major Roman road built by the proconsul Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus in the early 1st century AD to connect Italy to Spain. In 121 AD, the Via Domitia indeed expanded, branching off into several roads from Ugernum to serve important towns such as Nemausus (modern-day Nîmes), Arelate (Arles), Remoulins, and Pons Aerarium (Saint-Gilles).
To date, archaeologists have unearthed thirty-nine milestones, known as Caesar’s Columns, either intact or fragmentary on the plateau northwest of the town, along the ancient Via Domitia. Each milestone was dedicated to an emperor, and new ones were added alongside existing milestones to mark successive repairs and improvements to the road.
Château de Beaucaire and St. Louis Chapel
Perched some 80 meters above the Rhône, Beaucaire flourished around its medieval castle, once the seat of local lords and the Counts of Toulouse.
While much of it now lies in ruins following its partial dismantling by Cardinal Richelieu after the Wars of Religion in the 17th century, some vestiges still stand and give us a good idea of its past grandeur.
These vestiges include an impressive polygonal keep, clinging to the edge of the cliff, the base of a round corner tower that once served as its counterpart, as well as the foundations of the long-gone manor house and ramparts.
The Château de Beaucaire was listed as a historical monument in 1875, and its impressive ruins regularly serve as a backdrop for historical reenactments.
The Saint-Louis Chapel, the ducal chapel dating to the early 13th century, has escaped the ravages of time and destruction, and boasts a superb Romanesque tympanum and an open bell tower.
Nestled within the heart of the castle, the Musée Auguste Jacquet, a regional museum, was founded within the castle walls.
It displays archaeological treasures, local arts and traditions, nestled in the heart of elegant gardens planted with pines and cypresses.
Foire de la Madeleine in Beaucaire
Let’s go back to the High Middle Ages, when barbarian invasions prompted the inhabitants of Beaucaire to fortify their town with ramparts and transform their village into a formidable stone citadel, aptly named Ugernum, meaning beautiful stone., that evolved into Belle pierre – Beau caire
While the citadel withstood various invasions and upheavals, Beaucaire’s destiny took a decisive turn in the 13th century when Louis IX, known as Saint Louis, incorporated the bailiwick of Beaucaire into the Kingdom of France.
The king’s frequent visits conferred great prestige upon the town, resulting in demographic growth and prosperity.
These led to the creation of the Foire de Beaucaire – Beaucaire Fair in 1217, which would later become France’s largest fair.
Beaucaire benefited from exceptional accessibility by land and river, which gave it an international reputation from the 15th century onward, extending across the Mediterranean basin, the Middle East, and Europe.
The Beaucaire Fair reached its peak in the 17th and 18th centuries. It lasted ten days, from July 15th to 25th, generating a volume of trade comparable to that of the port of Marseille in an entire year.
Renamed the Foire de la Madeleine in honour of Saint Mary Magdalene, the city’s patron saint, whose feast day is July 22nd, the fair attracted French and foreign merchants arriving via the Rhône delta, the Saône, the Rhône, or the Isère rivers.
Initially confined to a vast shopping arcade on the quays, the fair, bolstered by its resounding success, had to expand throughout the entire town in the 18th century.
Beaucaire was transformed into a bustling market, where merchants appropriated every available space, from narrow alleyways to the courtyards of grand townhouses used as warehouses.
Surprisingly, the upheavals of the French Revolution had only a minimal impact on the fair’s operation. However, the arrival of the railway in the mid-19th century marked the end of the golden age of river trade in Beaucaire, resulting in the fair’s decline.
Today, while the fair survives as a travelling spectacle with bullfights and various festivities, its historical legacy lives on through the Fêtes de la Madeleine, which begin on July 21 and last at least six days, a must-see celebration!
Beaucaire, City of Art and History
The Foire de la Madeleine propelled Beaucaire to the ranks of the most prosperous towns in France from the 17th to the 19th centuries.
This era of prosperity saw the rise of wealthy merchants, who built fine private mansions that still stand today:
The Hôtel de Clausonnette, Hôtel Domergue, Hôtel de Fermineau, Hôtel de Linage, Hôtel de Margualier (Hôtel des Caryatides), Hôtel Roys de Ledignan andHôtel Dulong … are among the finest mansions.
The town hall, a masterpiece by the renowned architect Jacques Cubizol, built between 1679 and 1683, is equally magnificent. This imposing building housed the Siège des Bureaux des Conservateurs des Privilèges de la Foire (Offices of the Curators of the Privileges of the Fair), thus emphasizing Beaucaire’s central role in the flourishing trade of the time.
Its façade is adorned with sculptures representing the official measuring standards of the era, the Montpellier cane and the French ell, that confirmed Beaucaire as a major centre of commerce. This facade also features a double royal sun, surmounted by a banner bearing the city’s motto, “famous for its fair, illustrious for its loyalty”.
Religious architecture
Beaucaire also boasts a remarkable religious heritage.
Notre-Dame-des-Pommiers, an exquisite 18th-century Baroque collegiate church, stands in the heart of the town and has been a listed historical monument since 1932.
It houses a Romanesque frieze, a precious remnant of an earlier building.
Composed of twenty panels, each 90 cm high and 13.70 meters long, this frieze depicts eleven scenes from the Passion.
The Church of Saint Paul, formerly the chapel of the Cordeliers convent, was built in the 17th century in the heart of Beaucaire to take advantage of the flourishing trade generated by the international fair.
Among its treasures is a masterpiece by Jacques Reattu (1760-1833), a renowned painter from Arles: a striking triptych illustrating the life of Saint Paul: “The Prophecy of Saint Paul,” “The Baptism of Saint Paul,” and “The Resurrection of Utica.”
The Gothic style Oratoire de la Croix Ouverte is an open triangular chapel, built at the end of the 14th century.
It is one of only four remaining in southern France.
Legend has it that this chapel replaced a humble structure that briefly housed the remains of King Saint Louis, who died of the plague off the coast of Tunis during the Eighth Crusade.
The Oratoire de la Croix Verte has been listed as a historical monument since 1904.
Abbey of Saint-Roman
In the 5th century, hermit monks built Saint-Roman Abbey on the cliffs overlooking the Rhône River and its valley, and the Mont Ventoux in the distance.
They carved a chapel into the cliff, a sanctuary intended to house the relics of Saint-Romanus. Legend has it that fragments of the saint’s right hand and foot, as well as remains of Saint-Trophimus‘s right foot, rest in the saint’s tomb.
The abbey propered until 1528, then was abandoned and slowly fell into oblivion. From the monolithic abbey seat to the austere monks’ cells, passing through communal meeting spaces, the cloister, a well-preserved wine press, and the labyrinthine network of cisterns and cellars, each vestige gives us a glimpse into ancient monastic life.
Perched on the upper terrace, the abbey’s necropolis contains more than 150 empty sarcophagi carved into the rock.
Camargue bullfights
Finally, the rich cultural and architectural heritage of Beaucaire and the Camargue is inextricably linked to the renowned bull race tradition, a tradition that dates back to the Middle Ages.
It is essential to clarify, however, that Course Camarguaise – Camargue bull race differs significantly from traditional corridas, as the bulls are not intended to be killed.
Built in 1902, the Paul Laurent arena testifies to Beaucaire’s commitment to this tradition. This arena, designed to accommodate up to 600 spectators, was conceived not only for bullfights but also for a wide variety of sporting events.
Interestingly, the Course Camarguaise, as practised in Beaucaire and throughout the Camargue, is officially recognised as a sport by the French Ministry of Youth and Sports.
Department of Gard
Coordinates: Lat 43.80722 – Long 4.64333
Photos via Wikimedia Commons: Canal du Rhône by Frachet CC BY-SA 3.0 – Townhall – Oratoire Croix Ouverte by Véronique PAGNIER CC BY-SA 3.0 – Colonnes de Cesar by Jclpaca CC BY-SA 3.0 – Abbey St-Roman necropolis by Sreinsch CC BY-SA 3.0 – Abbey St-Roman by GFreihalter CC BY-SA 3.0 – Other images are copyrighted to the town of Beaucaire https://www.beaucaire.fr/
