Location within France

Valence is a commune in south-eastern France, the capital of the département of Drôme, situated on the left bank of the Rhône, 65 miles south of Lyon on the railway to Marseille. Formerly the duchy of Valentinois, it was ruled by the Duke of Valentinois, a title which is still claimed by the Sovereign Prince of Monaco, though he has no actual administrative control over the area. The commune is an administrative division of France. ... The départements (or departments) are administrative units of France, roughly analogous to British counties and are now grouped into 22 metropolitan and four overseas régions. ... Drôme is a département in southeastern France named after the Drôme River. ... Length 800 km Elevation of the source 1753 m Average discharge 1800 m³/s Area watershed 100,200 km² Origin Rhône glacier Mouth Mediterranean Sea Basin countries Switzerland, France The River Rhône (Latin Rhodanus, French Rhône, Occitan Rose, German Rotten) is one of the major rivers (ca. ... This article is about the French city. ... Marseilles redirects here. ... Duke of Valentinois (French: Duc de Valentinois; Italian: Duca Valentino), formerly Count of Valentinois, is an extinct title in the French peerage, and is currently one of the many hereditary titles of the Prince of Monaco. ... The Sovereign Prince of Monaco is the sovereign monarch and head of state of the Principality of Monaco. ...

History

Known in ancient times as Valentia, the city was the capital of the Segalauni, and the seat of a celebrated school prior to the Roman conquest. It became a colony under Augustus, and was an important town of Viennensis Prima under Valentinian. It was the seat of a bishopric perhaps as early as the 4th century. In politics and in history, a colony is a territory under the immediate political control of a geographically-distinct state (or city, in ancient times). ... Augustus (plural Augusti) is Latin for majestic or venerable. Although the use of the cognomen Augustus as part of ones name is generally understood to identify the Emperor Augustus, this is somewhat misleading; Augustus was the most significant name associated with the Emperor, but it did not actually represent... Valentinian was the name of several Roman emperors: Valentinian I Valentinian II Valentinian III This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... In some Christian churches, the diocese is an administrative territorial unit governed by a bishop, sometimes also referred to as a bishopric or episcopal see, though more often the term episcopal see means the office held by the bishop. ... (3rd century - 4th century - 5th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 4th century was that century which lasted from 301 to 400. ...

It was ravaged by the Alani and other barbarians, and fell successively under the power of the Burgundians, the Franks, the Arabs of Spain, the sovereigns of Arles, the emperors of Germany, the dukes of Valentinois, the counts of Toulouse, as well as its own bishops. These bishops were often in conflict with the citizens and the dukes of Valentinois, and to strengthen their hands against the latter the pope in 1275 united their bishopric with that of Die. The Alans or Alani were an Iranian nomadic group among the Sarmatian people, warlike nomadic pastoralists of mixed backgrounds, who spoke an Iranian language and shared, in a broad sense, a common culture. ... Barbarian was originally a Greek term applied to any foreigner, one not sharing a recognized culture or degree of polish with the speaker or writer employing the term. ... The Burgundians or Burgundes were an East Germanic tribe which may have emigrated from Scandinavia to the island of Bornholm, whose old form in Old Norse still was Burgundarholmr (the Island of the Burgundians), and from here to mainland Europe. ... The Franks were one of several west Germanic tribes who entered the late Roman Empire from Frisia as foederati and established a lasting realm in an area that covers most of modern-day France and the region of Franconia in Germany, forming the historic kernel of both these two modern... Map of western Mediterranean, showing location of Arles Arles (Arle in Provençal) is a France, in the Bouches-du-Rhône département, of which it is a sous-préfecture, in the former province of Provence. ... After the Visigothic Kings of Aquitaine (409 - 508), the Merovingian kings were kings and dukes in Aquitaine and dukes of Toulouse. ... Events Eleanor de Montfort is captured by pirates in the employ of Edward I of England to prevent her marriage to Llywelyn the Last, prince of Jews over the age of 7 to wear the yellow badge and makes usury illegal Jean de Meun writes the second portion of the... Die is a commune and a sous-préfecture of the Drôme département in southeastern France. ...

The citizens put themselves under the protection of the dauphin, and in 1456 had their rights and privileges confirmed by Louis XI and put on an equal footing with those of the rest of Dauphiné, the bishops consenting to recognize the suzerainty of the dauphin. In the 16th century Valence became the center of Protestantism for the province in 1563. The town was fortified by King Francois I. It became the seat of a celebrated university in the middle of the 15th century; but the revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685 struck a fatal blow at its industry, commerce and population. The Dauphin was the heir apparent to the throne of France under the Valois and Bourbon dynasties. ... Events July 7 - Joan of Arc acquitted (but she had already been executed). ... Louis XI Louis XI the Prudent (French: Louis XI le Prudent) (July 3, 1423 - August 30, 1483), also informally nicknamed luniverselle aragne (old French for universal spider), was a King of France (1461 - 1483). ... Dauphiné is a former province in southeastern France, roughly corresponding to the present départements of the Isère, Drôme, and Hautes-Alpes. ... Protestantism is a general grouping of denominations within Christianity. ... Events February 18 - The Duke of Guise is assassinated while besieging Orléans March - Peace of Amboise. ... Francis I (French: François Ier) (September 12, 1494 – July 31, 1547), called the Father and Restorer of Letters (French: le Père et Restaurateur des Lettres), was crowned King of France in 1515 in the cathedral at Reims and reigned until 1547. ... (14th century - 15th century - 16th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 15th century was that century which lasted from 1401 to 1500. ... The Edict of Nantes was issued on April 13, 1598 by Henry IV of France to grant French Protestants (also known as Huguenots) substantial rights in a Catholic nation. ... Events February 6 - James Stuart, Duke of York becomes King James II of England and Ireland and King James VII of Scotland. ...

Highlights

The cathedral of St. Apollinaris, which has an interesting apse, was rebuilt in the 11th century in the Romanesque style of Auvergne and consecrated in 1095 by pope Urban II. It suffered extensive damage in the French Wars of Religion, but it was restored in the first decade of the 17th century. The porch and the stone tower above it were rebuilt in 1861. The church contains the monument of Pius VI, who died at Valence in 1799. The library and the museum containing Roman antiquities, sculptures and a picture gallery, are housed in the old ecclesiastical seminary. A cathedral is a Christian church building, specifically of a denomination with an episcopal hierarchy (such as the Roman Catholic Church or the Anglican churches), which serves as the central church of a bishopric. ... APSE standing for Ada Programming Support Environment is a program or set of programs to support software development in the Ada programming language. ... (10th century - 11th century - 12th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 11th century was that century which lasted from 1001 to 1100. ... Romanesque St. ... Auvergne coat of arms Auvergne (Occitan: Auvèrnha) was the name of an historically independent county in the center of France, as well as later a province of France. ... Events The county of Portugal is established for the second time. ... Urban II, né Otho of Lagery (or Otto or Odo) (1042 - July 29, 1099), pope from 1088 to July 29, 1099, was born into nobility in France at Lagery (near Châtillon-sur-Marne) and was church educated. ... The French Wars of Religion were a series of conflicts fought between the Catholic League and the Huguenots from the middle of the sixteenth century to the Edict of Nantes in 1598. ... (16th century - 17th century - 18th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 17th century was that century which lasted from 1601-1700. ... 1861 is a common year starting on Tuesday. ... Pius VI, born as Giovanni Angelo Braschi, (December 27, 1717 - August 29, 1799), pope from 1775 to 1799, was born at Cesena. ... 1799 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ...

The most notable of the monuments erected it this city to its natives include those to Émile Augier the dramatist by the duchess of Uzès (1897), and to General Championnet. Guillaume Victor Émile Augier (September 17, 1820 - October 25, 1889), was a French dramatist. ... Uzès is a picturesque town and commune in the Gard département, Languedoc, about 15 miles north-northeast of Nîmes. ...

Economy

The industries of the city include metallurgical products, textiles, leather goods, jewelry and munitions, and it also serves as a processing and trade center for the surrounding agricultural region.

Some of the big hi-tech companies settled here are leading in their domains like Thales (Former Thomson-CSF, electronic systems for avionics and defence), Crouzet/Schneider (Automatic systems), Alcatel space (Aerospatial systems), Ascom Monetel (Automatic paytax systems), etc. The Thales Group is a global electronics company serving aerospace, defence, and information technology markets worldwide. ... Thomson-CSF was a major electronics and defense contractor. ... Schneider (tailor in English; literally someone who cuts, from the verb schneiden to cut) is a very common family name in German. ... This article or section should include material from Alcatel cellular telephones Alcatel SA (NYSE: ALA) is a French company that makes telecommunications transmission equipment, including multiplexers and fiber optic terminal equipment and integrated circuits. ...

Colleges and universities

Valence is now developing its high level educational role in the Drôme/Ardèche area with one engineering school, one IUT (Institut Universitaire de Technologie), three universities (UPMF, UJF, Stendhal) and many schools. Ardèche is a département in south-central France named after the Ardèche River. ... Marie-Henri Beyle (January 23, 1783 - March 23, 1842), better known as Stendhal, was a 19th century French writer. ...

External link

• http://www.tourisme-valence.com/

This article incorporates text from the public domain 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica. The public domain comprises the body of all creative works and other knowledge—writing, artwork, music, science, inventions, and others—in which no person or organization has any proprietary interest. ... The Eleventh Edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica ( 1911) in many ways represents the sum of knowledge at the beginning of the 20th century. ...