Subprefecture and commune in Bourgogne-Franche-Comte, France
Clamecy
(
French pronunciation:
[klamsi]
ⓘ
) is a
commune
in the
Nievre
department
in central France.
[3]
Clamecy is the capital of an arrondissement in the department of Nievre,
[3]
at the confluence of the
Yonne
and
Beuvron
and on the
Canal du Nivernais
, 74 kilometres (46 mi) N.N.E. of
Nevers
.
Clamecy is locally described as the capital of the valleys of the
Yonne
and classified under the French tourist criteria "Station Verte de Vacances" (centre for outdoor activity–based vacations) and among the "Plus Beau Detour de France" (most beautiful routes in France).
History
[
edit
]
The earliest literary mention under the name of Clamiciacus, a possession of the bishops of Auxerre, is in the bequest by
Pallade
,
Bishop of Auxerre
, in 634, founding an abbey in the suburbs of Auxerre, dedicated to the Virgin, Saint Andrew and Saint Julien, martyr, and supported by lands in Clamiciacus and other places.
[5]
Clamecy continued to belong to the abbey of
St Julian
at
Auxerre
until the eleventh century, when it passed to the counts of Nevers and
of Auxerre
, one of whom,
Herve
, enfranchised the inhabitants in 1213.
The crusading Count
William IV of Nevers
promised the
bishop of Bethlehem
that if Bethlehem should ever fall, he would welcome him in Clamecy. After the capture of
Jerusalem
by
Saladin
in 1188, the bequest of the now deceased count was honoured and the Bishop of Bethlehem duly took up residence in the hospital of Panthenor, Clamecy, which remained the continuous (if somewhat idiosyncratic) seat of the
Bishopric
of Bethlehem until the
French Revolution
.
[6]
The town was sacked and substantially rebuilt in the 14th century during the
Hundred Years' War
.
Clamecy enjoyed great prosperity thanks to the development, by
Jean Rouvet
, of the 'Flottage du bois', by which timber from the immense forests of the
Morvan
national park were processed and floated down river to Paris. The 'Flottage' which started in the 16th century continued until the beginning of the 20th century (the last floating 'log train' left Clamecy in 1923).
There is also an interesting hereditary link between
Jean de Clamecy
(later to become
John II, Count of Nevers
) and
Henry VIII of England
, via Jean de Clamecy's daughter,
Elizabeth of Nevers
, who married
John I, Duke of Cleves
and was consequently
Anne of Cleves
great grandmother.
Sights
[
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]
The medieval centre of Clamecy has been classed by the French government as a "Secteur Sauvegarde" (protected sector) in entirety; the only such protected area in the whole of the department of the Nievre.
The town has evolved in the typical concentric French manner, with a town centre consisting of 13th- to sixteenth-century houses (still remarkably intact), surrounded by nineteenth-century houses and buildings with 20th-century developments forming an outer ring.
Its principal building is the church of
St Martin
which dates chiefly from the 13th, 14th and 15th centuries. The tower and facade are of the 16th century. The
chevet
, which is surrounded by an
aisle
, is rectangular?a feature found in few French churches.
After a period of neglect following the French revolution, the church underwent significant restoration under the auspices of
Eugene Viollet-le-Duc
and was classified as a historic monument in 1840.
[
citation needed
]
Of the old castle of the
counts of Nevers
(site now occupied by the 19th century Mairie), only the vaulted cellars remain. A church in the suburb of
Bethleem
(Bethlehem), dating from the 12th and 13th centuries, now serves as part of a hotel.
Culture
[
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]
In recent years, Clamecy has attracted numerous artists from around Europe, who have set up their homes and studios in the historic town centre. In recognition of this, in the summer of 2008, the tourism committee opened a new, contemporary gallery space, in which international and established local artists showcase their work. Resident international Artists include
Candl
(Czech republic), Horatio Holzbein (UK),
Moree
(Netherlands),
Jane Witheridge
(UK) and
Lee Woods
(UK). Local artists of renown include
Remi Cholet
, who is best known for his work with the
Moulin Rouge
in Paris.
Clamecy is also home to a well-respected music college.
In the summer months, Clamecy is home to the
Festival des Perthuis
[7]
- a one-month-long music festival, in which a variety of venues scattered across the town play host to visiting musicians (two or three times a week) catering for all musical tastes.
The afternoon of
Bastille Day
(July 14) is also the date on which the
Tournament du Roi Sec
takes place on the
Yonne River
at Clamecy. The tournament is a light-hearted, waterborne
jousting
competition, in which the last person left standing on their specially adapted rowing boat at the end of the afternoon is crowned 'the dry King', and carried through the streets by his opponents. This activity is only practiced in two other towns throughout France.
Economy
[
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]
Clamecy was once the site of saw-mills, fulling-mills and flour-mills, tanneries, and manufactories of boots and shoes and chemicals. It was known for trade in wine and cattle and in wood and charcoal, which was conveyed principally to Paris, by way of the Yonne.
Most of this industry mentioned came to an end in the first two decades of the 20th century. Apart from a few modern industrial units on the edge of town and the remnants of a small
acetone
production facility, little remains.
Considerable investment by successive local administrations has seen the transformation of the town from a logging centre into a pretty, medieval tourist attraction and favourite tie-up for leisure users of the
Canal du Nivernais
, which runs from
Auxerre
to
Decize
.
The modern economy of Clamecy (and the surrounding countryside), is derived from tourism and agriculture, with a high proportion of inhabitants commuting to larger towns such as
Auxerre
and Paris.
Demographics
[
edit
]
Historical population
Year
| Pop.
| ±% p.a.
|
---|
1968
| 5,741
| ?
|
---|
1975
| 5,922
| +0.44%
|
---|
1982
| 5,590
| ?0.82%
|
---|
1990
| 5,284
| ?0.70%
|
---|
1999
| 4,806
| ?1.05%
|
---|
2007
| 4,424
| ?1.03%
|
---|
2012
| 4,097
| ?1.52%
|
---|
2017
| 3,759
| ?1.71%
|
---|
Source: INSEE
[8]
|
People
[
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]
- Jean Rouvet
(16th century), responsible for dramatic increase in the prosperity of Clamecy when he launched the first 'rafts' of Morvan timber to be floated down the Yonne river to Paris
- Eleonore de Grandmaison
(1620?1692), pioneer in
Nouvelle France
- Roger de Piles
(1635?1709), painter, writer, influential art critic, diplomat, spy (allegedly) and painting buyer to Louis XIV
- Jean Nee de la Rochelle
(1692?1772), historian
- Andre Giroud de Villette
(1752?1787), One of a duo, who were the first men to 'fly' - in a montgolfier (hot air balloon), paris, 1783.
- Louis Antoine Francois de Marchangy
(1782?1826), writer
- Claude Tillier
(1801?1844), political pamphleteer and novelist
- Edouard Seguin
(1812?1880), chemist
- Hippolyte Marie-Davy
(1820?1893), scientist and inventor
- Theodore Tenaille-Saligny
(1830?1889), lawyer, civil servant and politician
- Gabriel Alapetite
(1854?1932), prefect, ambassador and minister
- Romain Rolland
(1866?1944), writer and winner of the
Nobel Prize in Literature
in 1915
- Alain Colas
(1943?1978), yachtsman
- Arnaud Montebourg
(b. 1962), politician
Twin towns
[
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]
Institutions
[
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]
The public institutions include the sub-prefecture,
[3]
tribunals of first instance and of commerce and a communal college.
[
needs update?
]
See also
[
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]
References
[
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]
External links
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]
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International
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National
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Geographic
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Other
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