Bessèges

Bessèges in Occitan Bessèja , is a common French, located in the department of the Gard and the area Languedoc-Roussillon.

Geography

Bessèges is a commune of the department of Gard crossed by the Cèze.

Very tourist city during the summer period, it was very industrial until the middle of the 20th century especially thanks to the extraction of the coal whose Bessèges was a continuity of the Houillère S of the basin of Alès.

Terminus of splendid small the Line Ales-Bessèges of the SNCF.

History

Under the Old-Mode, Bessèges is not other than a hamlet of the parish of Robiac.

The rise of Bessèges begins with the mine, open in 1809 and increased after the installation of an iron and steel plant in 1833; the railway that point reaches in 1857.

The common one was created in 1858 starting from several districts of common neighbors.

The considerable development that took carboniferous and metallurgical industries of the area hastened the development of the commune of Bessèges, which became place chief of canton in February 1868. The population of Bessèges exceeded the figure of 11.000 inhabitants, which classified it 3rd city of Gard after Nimes and Alès. A Verre laughs, a foundry of cast iron and of bronze, a factory of mechanical engineering supplement the industrial basin at the end of the 19th century. It is the apogee.

The decline comes at once afterwards, marked by closings of the glassmaking in 1920 and the foundry in 1922. The steel-works enter the group the Lorraine-Scheldt in 1953, pass to Usinor then Vallourec, and firm in 1987. The coal mining are abandoned in 1964. The population, drops some since the Twenties but still with 5.300 inhabitants in 1975, always in spite of the absorption of the small commune of Foussignargues in 1972 decreases. The railway junction towards Alès however is maintained (Ligne Ales-Bessèges).

The saving in Bessèges, today, is turned especially towards the Tourisme.

Administration

Demography

Places and monuments

Sports events

Bessèges is the place of the first cycle race to stages of the French professional season, the Star of Bessèges. It is run at the beginning of February, the shortly after the Grand Prix of opening the Marseillaise.

See too

Common of Gard
Line the SNCF Ales-Bessèges

External bonds

http://www.citaenet.com/besseges/ Town of Bessèges

http://www.tourisme.fr/office-de-tourisme/besseges.htm Tourist office
Bessèges on the site of the national geographical Institute
Bessèges on the site of INSEE
Bessèges on the site of Quid
Localization of Bessèges on a chart of France and communes bordering
Plane on Bessèges on Mapquest

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