Saint-Gilles, Gard
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West portal of the abbey church
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 Saint-Gilles
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Location within Occitanie region
Saint-Gilles
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| Coordinates: 43°40′43″N 4°25′54″E / 43.6786°N 4.4317°ECoordinates: 43°40′43″N 4°25′54″E / 43.6786°N 4.4317°E | ||
| Country | France | |
| Region | Occitanie | |
| Department | Gard | |
| Arrondissement | Nîmes | |
| Canton | Saint-Gilles | |
| Intercommunality | Nîmes Métropole | |
| Government | ||
| • Mayor (2010–2014) | Alain Gaido | |
| Area1 | 153.73 km2 (59.36 sq mi) | |
| Population (2012)2 | 13,646 | |
| • Density | 89/km2 (230/sq mi) | |
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) | |
| • Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) | |
| INSEE/Postal code | 30258 /30800 | |
| Elevation | 0–116 m (0–381 ft) (avg. 7 m or 23 ft) |
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1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. 2Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once. |
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1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.
Saint-Gilles or Saint-Gilles-du-Gard is a commune in the Gard department in southern France.
It is the second most populous commune in the Nîmes metropolitan area.
Saint-Gilles is located at the northern edge of the Petite Camargue, between Arles (15 km) and Nîmes (16 km). With a land area of 153.73 km² (59.355 sq mi), it is rather large by continental French standards, although many of the communes in this part of France are among the largest in area in Metropolitan France.
The Benedictine abbey of Saint-Gilles was founded during the seventh century traditionally by the hermit Saint Giles (Latin Ægidius), whose relics the abbey possessed. The commune formed around the nucleus of the abbey, which was the first stopping point for pilgrims bound for Santiago de Compostela in Spain, who were following the via Tolosana that led from Arles to Toulouse and crossed the Pyrenees to join other routes at Puente La Reina, thence to Santiago along the Via Compostelana. The former abbey church was listed in 1998 among the UNESCO World Heritage Sites, as part of the Routes of Santiago de Compostela in France. The abbey church's west portal is among the most beautiful of the great Romanesque portals and a definitive example of the Provençal Romanesque. The church has three naves and a famed spiral staircase of cantilevered stone steps (in the now destroyed part of the church). During the French Wars of Religion the Protestants fortified themselves within the abbey, which was severely damaged.
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