Saint-Jean-du-Gard

Commune

Bridge over the Gardon

Coat of arms

Saint-Jean-du-Gard

Location within Occitanie region

Saint-Jean-du-Gard

Coordinates: 44°06′20″N 3°53′13″E / 44.1056°N 3.8869°ECoordinates: 44°06′20″N 3°53′13″E / 44.1056°N 3.8869°E

Country

Government

• Mayor (2008–2014)

Michel Anthérieu

Area¹

41.64 km² (16.08 sq mi)

Population (2008)²

2,671

• Density

64/km² (170/sq mi)

Time zone

CET (UTC+1)

• Summer (DST)

CEST (UTC+2)

INSEE/Postal code

30269 /30270

Elevation

168–817 m (551–2,680 ft)
(avg. 189 m or 620 ft)

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.

¹ French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Saint-Jean-du-Gard is a commune in the Gard department in southern France.

This city of the Cévennes, first mentioned in a 12th-century papal bull (San Johannis de Gardonnenca cum villa), was very much influenced by Protestantism in the 16th century and became the Mecca of the camisards' resistance.

Thanks to the silk industry, the village experienced a period of prosperity that lasted from the 19th century to the 20th century. This city now owes much of its economy to tourism. A heritage railway runs from Saint-Jean-du-Gard to Anduze with a stop at the Bambouseraie de Prafrance, which attracts 150,000 tourists a year.

The Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson reached the town on 3 October 1878, as recounted in his book Travels with a Donkey in the Cévennes. Here he sold his donkey Modestine, and took a stagecoach to Alès:

It was a long descent upon St. Jean du Gard, and we met no one but a carter, visible afar off by the glint of the moon on his extinguished lantern. Before ten o'clock we had got in and were at supper; fifteen miles and a stiff hill in little beyond six hours! ... On examination, on the morning of October 4th, Modestine was pronounced unfit for travel. She would need at least two days' repose according to the ostler; but I was now eager to reach Alais for my letters; and, being in a civilised country of stagecoaches, I determined to sell my lady-friend and be off by the diligence that afternoon. Our yesterday's march, with the testimony of the driver who had pursued us up the long hill of St. Pierre, spread a favourable notion of my donkey's capabilities. Intending purchasers were aware of an unrivalled opportunity. Before ten I had an offer of twenty-five francs; and before noon, after a desperate engagement, I sold her, saddle and all, for five-and-thirty. The pecuniary gain is not obvious, but I had bought freedom into the bargain.

...
Wikipedia