| Le Vigan | |
| Commune Status: | Subprefecture and commune |
| Arrondissement: | Le Vigan |
| Canton: | Le Vigan |
| Insee: | 30350 |
| Postal Code: | 30120 |
| Mayor: | Sylvie Arnal[1] |
| Term: | 2020 - 2026 |
| Intercommunality: | Pays Viganais |
| Coordinates: | 43.9931°N 3.6061°W |
| Elevation M: | 231 |
| Elevation Min M: | 184 |
| Elevation Max M: | 640 |
| Area Km2: | 17.24 |
Le Vigan (in French pronounced as /lə viɡɑ̃/; Occitan (post 1500);: Lo Vigan) is a commune in the Gard department in southern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department.
Le Vigan is located at the south of the Massif Central and near the Mont Aigoual, in the Arre valley. The town is on the southern edge of the Cévennes National Park and is the most populous town within the park.[2]
Le Vigan has a hot-summer Mediterranean climate (Köppen climate classification Csa). The average annual temperature in Le Vigan is . The average annual rainfall is with October as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in July, at around, and lowest in January, at around . The highest temperature ever recorded in Le Vigan was on 28 June 2019; the coldest temperature ever recorded was on 16 January 1985.
See main article: Volcae Arecomici, Gallia Narbonensis and Timeline of Septimania. On a river at the southern edge of the Massif Central, Le Vigan is situated on a natural boundaryline. In the 2nd-3rd centuries BCE, it was situated between the territories occupied by the Volcae Arecomici, the Averni, and the Gabali tribes. In 121 BCE the Romans gained control of much of southern France including the area around Le Vigan. The Volcae Arecomici voluntarily surrendered their territory,[3] and the Arverni gave up much territory in a treaty that nevertheless preserve their independence. Under Roman control, Le Vigan was part of the Roman "Provincia," (hence Provence) called Gallia Narbonensis.
The Visigoths took control of the western half of Gallia Narbonensis in 462 CE, a part known as Septimania which included Le Vigan, and they retained control despite attempts in 586 and 589 by the Frankish (Merovingian) King Guntram to conquer the area from the north. In 587 the region came under Catholic rule with the conversion of the Visigoth king Reccared I. In 719, the Moor Al-Samh conquered Septimania and the Franks struggled to take it back over the next several decades. By 780, Charlemagne had conquered the entire territory.Le Vigan is on the site of an ancient Roman town which may be "Vindomagus",[4] but it is not certain.[5] There is a spring called "la source d'Isis," which has provided water to the city since at least 1069[6] and which was named in honor of the Roman goddess. The town was destroyed during the Moorish invasion of Provence.[7]
As with many towns in the Cévennes, there were many textile industries there in the past. Several quarries south of town above Montdardier were formerly important sources of lithographic limestone. Stone from these quarries earned an honorable mention in the Great Exhibition of 1851.[8] [9]
Le Vigan is a tourist destination during summer time.