Montélimar is a town in the South-East of France in the Drôme department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region between Valence and Avignon. Montélimar is a connected city and ideal for disconnecting in the heart of Provence. 2nd city of the Drôme, Montélimar is the destination between city and countryside. Live the experience of slow tourism, where you take the time to live, real epicureanism. Take the time to taste the best nougat in the world, go shopping in our town center, have a coffee in our Provence colorful market.

Montélimar is about 45 minutes (by road) from Valence and Avignon, 1 hour 30 minutes from Lyon, Marseille, Grenoble, Montpellier, the Alps and the Mediterranean Sea. The area of the municipality is 4,681 ha (46.81 km); its altitude varies between 56 and 213 m. The highest point of the town is located east-south-east of the city center, on the edge of the town, near the Bondonneau plateau. The town is located on the promontories of Géry and Narbonne from where one could control, at this place, all the plain of the valley of the Rhone.

The Montélimar basin stretches from the Cruas – Meysse pass in the north to the Donzère pass in the south and over the Valdaine plain and its foothills. The town is located at the confluence of two rivers, the Jabron and the Roubion. Among the other rivers that cross the town, we can note the Meyrol and the Manson. The Montélimar bypass canal passes through the town between the city center and the Rhône, itself bordering the far west of the town.

The Nationale 7 was diverted in 1968 by the A7 motorway. 1h30 from Lyon and Marseille. Since the arrival of the TGV (1981), the development of the Allées Provençales (1995), then the opening of the city center to the Saint-Martin district (2008), Montélimar has undergone a metamorphosis, with its fountains, garden of scents, and contemporary works of art.

History
Historically, the city is linked to the Dauphiné. With 39,097 inhabitants identified in 2017, Montélimar is the second most populous city in the Drôme after Valence. Belonging to the kingdom of Burgundy-Provence, the country of Montélimar entered the Holy Roman Empire in 1032. This period saw the rise of the Adhémar-de-Monteil family who built a vast palace and gave the city its name. Contracted Monteil-Adhémar becomes Montélimar. In 1449, Montélimar was integrated into the Dauphiné by the future Dauphin Louis XI.

In the 19th century, the ramparts were demolished, the public garden was designed, the railway reached Montélimar in 1854. Émile Loubet, mayor of Montélimar was elected President of the Republic in 1899 The nougat industry is developing and contributing to the city’s reputation. A new era begins with the development of transport: the famous traffic jams on the holiday route were the delight of the many nougat stores that punctuated it then.

From the Middle Ages to the Revolution
Towards the VII century, one sees the family of Adhemar in some sources. An unfounded genealogy mentions Lambert Adhémar de Monteil, born around 685, Duke of Genoa, baron and Lord of Monteil. Genealogy Adhemar is really established that since the XII century. The Adhemar possess the lordship of Monteil from the XI century. In 1070, Guillaume-Hugues Adhémar was lord of Montélimar (“lord of Monteil”). He could be the brother of Adhémar de Monteil, bishop of Le Puy andapostolic legate for the first crusade. This kinship is discussed. In the XII century, Adhemar they build their castle on the headland of Narbonne in the place of an older castle. The family will dominate the Montelimar area until XIV century.

Between the XI century and the XIV century, Adhemar will acquire, construct or expand around their main stronghold, many castles: Grignan, Châteauneuf-du-Rhône, Rochemaure, La Garde-Adhemar), etc. At their peak, they will control around thirty seigneuries. Grignan, for example, enters their possessions from the XII century. In the XII century, Montelimar is part of the marquisate of Provence which stretches to the confluence of the Isère and Rhône. In 1198, the seigneury of Montélimar was shared between two brothers, Giraud and Lambert Adhémar. From the middle of XII century, the city of Adhemar is referred to as “Monteil of Aimar”.

When the counts of Toulouse lose their possessions on the left bank of the Rhone at the end of the so-called crusade “Albigensian”, they pass the Avignon popes and Montelimar remain under their suzerainty until the XIV century. In 1312, the goods of the commandery of the Templars were collected by the order of Saint John of Jerusalem. In 1365, most of the city (which is a co-lordship) is transferred by Giraud Adhemar to Pope Urban V. He had the stately palace renovated and the ramparts maintained.

The popes wishing to extend their State (the Comtat Venaissin) towards the north and to unify it geographically, Clement VII exchanges Montélimar, in 1383, against Grillon (see Enclave of the popes). However, the popes retain certain feudal rights over the city of Montélimar and its castle. In 1376, Gregory XI brought the papacy back to Rome. From then on, for the popes, the possessions of Avignon and Dauphinoise became less strategic. In 1447, Pope Nicolas V cedes his rights over Montélimar to the Dauphin, future Louis XI, son of Charles VII who then becomes master of the city and its castle.

During the wars of religion, in 1562, the city was taken and plundered by the baron des Adrets, the garrison was executed in order to avenge the massacres of Orange. The nobles get richer through plunder and the people get poorer. In reaction, the peasants began to assemble to defend their common interests at the end of the year 1577. The22 August 1578, the inhabitants of Montélimar refuse entry to the extractor responsible for taking the size. At the end of 1579, the peasants formed armies which expelled the troops of soldiers from the Rhône valley, before the nobiliary and royal repression crushed the movement in blood the following year.

In 1587, the city, defended by the Catholics Laurent de Maugiron and François de La Baume, was besieged by the Huguenot troops of the Duke of Lesdiguières who made it master. In 1599, the city was almost entirely Protestant; there are only 10% Catholics left.

With the Counter-Reformation, the number of Catholics returned to 50% in 1673, following the sermons and conversions imposed by the dragonnades.

In the 17th century, famines disappear but the subsistence crises regularly cause food shortages and outbreaks of mortality. Montélimar thus experiences peaks in mortality in 1760, 1764, 1767, 1772, 1779, 1782 and 1786. The three main ones are those of 1760 (more than 250 deaths during the winter), 1779 (nearly 400 deaths) and 1786 (idem).

Before 1790, Montélimar was one of the ten towns of the Dauphiné, whose consuls sat at the head of the deputies of the third order, in the states of this province, the capital of an election and a subdelegation and the seat of a senechaussee and a local government. Montélimar was also a parish of the diocese of Valence, whose church, under the name of Sainte-Croix, was the seat of a chapter or collegiate church, which, founded in 1444 by the Dauphin Louis (future King Louis XI), was composed of a dean, a sacristan acting as parish priest and eight canons, who had two-thirds of the tithes of Montélimar, of which the other third belonged to the diocesan bishop. Prior to the XIV century, there were at least two parishes in Montelimar, including one under the name of St. Peter (qv).

From the Revolution to the present day
The winter of 1788-1789 is very cold: the Rhône freezes from December 27 to February 26. This frost prevents the mills from running and exacerbates the famine caused by an insufficient harvest..

In 1790, Montélimar became the capital of a district comprising the cantons of Châteauneuf-de-Mazenc, Dieulefit, Donzère, Grignan, Marsanne, Montélimar, Pierrelatte, Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux, Sauzet, Suze-la-Rousse and Taulignan. The reorganization of the year VIII made it the capital of an arrondissement comprising the cantons of Dieulefit, Grignan, Marsanne, Montélimar, Pierrelatte and Saint-Paul-Trois-Chàteaux; and that of a canton comprising the municipalities of Allan, Ancône, Châteauneuf-du-Rhône, Espeluche, Montboucher, Montélimar, Portes, Puygiron, Rac, Rochefort and la Touche.

With the Consulate and the reforms of Napoleon Bonaparte, Montélimar became a sub-prefecture, capital of the arrondissement of Montélimar in 1800, and the rest until 1926.

In 1854, the railway arrived with the creation of the Montélimar station, then served by trains from the Valence – Avignon section of the Compagnie du chemin de fer de Lyon à la Méditerranée. The city is also served by a line of short line to meter gauge of railroads county of Drôme, which connects to Dieulefit from 1893 to 1936.

After the landing of Provence, the Germans tried to block the advance of the Allies during the battle of Montélimar from 21 to August 28, 1944.

Economy
The local nougat is one of the 13 desserts of Provence and highly appreciated throughout the country. Montelimar nougat is mentioned in the opening lines of the Beatles’ “Savoy Truffle” from The White Album. Travellers used to buy nougat de Montélimar on their way to the south of France (or when returning) as the city is next to the Rhône and to the primary route N7.

The Nougat de Montélimar is composed of almonds, honey, and a light mousse of egg whites. The latter lightens the dough and gives it the traditional whitish color of the Nougat. Traditionally, nougat was baked at home, not by skilled nougat makers (in French nougatiers). In 1701, when they were coming back from Spain on horseback, Louis, Duke of Bourgogne, and Charles, Duke of Berry stopped in Montélimar. The inhabitants offered them one quintal of Nougat (equivalent to 95 lbs). The sweet’s reputation spread from this point.

The success of Montélimar nougat is mainly due to Montélimar’s mayor, Emile Loubet, who was later elected President of France (1899–1906). During this period, he undertook a huge campaign promoting the nougat. He offered nougats to all crowned royalty in France, as well as to foreign Presidents coming to the Élysée Palace. Through these efforts, the reputation of nougat became international. In 1968, the A7 autoroute was built and the Nougatiers took advantage of this opportunity. They set up shop in the Montélimar rest area, which is the largest in Europe, and sold their Nougat to travellers passing by. In 1993, the federation for the Nougatiers applied for Nougat de Montélimar to be designated a Protected Geographical Indication (PGI). The application was granted in February 2003.

Since the construction of the A7 autoroute, many nougat factories have been forced to close as tourists no longer stop in Montélimar but bypass it instead. In Montélimar, there are still dozens of Nougatiers. The annual production is around 4,500 tons, and the Nougat industry employs about 300 workers.

Old Town
The town has a classic Gallo-Roman town plan, with a north-south axis (the Cardo), formerly Grand’rue and today called rue Pierre-Julien (in honor of Pierre Julien8, resistant during the Second War world), crossed in the center of the city by the east-west axis (the Decumanus), the current rue Saint-Gaucher extended by the rue Montant-au-Château. At the crossroads of these two main axes, one generally finds, in the Roman cities, the forum, high place of the economic life of the city.

Subsequently, around these two axes of Roman origin, the city was built according to a circular plan typical of the Middle Ages. The plan of the city center therefore resembles a target: a circle crossed out with a cross, and a crossing point in the middle. The outer circular periphery of the city, modeled on the layout of the old ramparts, is made up of the Aristide-Briand, Marre-Desmarais, Meynot, and Fust boulevards. It is commonly called Allées Provençales. From 2001, under the leadership of Mayor Franck Reynier, vast development projects for commercial areas were launched. In particular, the city has a double artisanal zone, to the north and to the south, which forms a very extensive suburb compared to the city center with a limited surface area.

Historical heritage
Chateau des Adhemar (MH) of the XII century changed the XIV and XVI centuries, with the tower and the citadel of Narbonne (keep the XII century).
Chapel of Notre-Dame-de-la-Rose. The chapel is a Romanesque building (XII - XIII century) located near the Porte Saint-Martin. Partly destroyed at the end of the XVI century. THE façade was rebuilt in the XVII century in baroque style, with the addition of two side chapels.
Chapelle Saint Margaret of XIV century (in the castle): arch cul-de-four frescoes (XV century).
Remains of the covered way.
Old Collegiate Holy Cross: apse of the XV century bell tower of the XVI century pieta XI century.
Convent of the Trappistines of Maubec.
Old quarters: mullioned windows, spiral staircases, ironwork.
The so-called house of Diane de Poitiers: facade, roof, office with wall paintings (first floor) (IMH) of the XV and XVI centuries.
Old mansions, fortified houses.
The Porte Saint-Martin (IMH) from 1763.
Chateau Serre du Parc (XVIII century).
Notre-Dame-du-Rhône Church in Montélimar.
Church of Saint-James de Montélimar.
Protestant temple of Montélimar: former chapel of the Ursuline convent, which became national property during the Revolution. The building is attributed to the Protestants inJuly 1802.
The Montelimar station.

The inventory of historical monuments lists around ten Montilian sites:
Hôtel du Puy-Montbrun, “registered” sinceJuly 31, 1989;
Arcade gallery, “inscribed” since May 7, 1982;
Hôtel de Chabrillan (old), “registered” since March 2, 1981;
Collegiate Church of the Holy Cross, “inscribed” sinceMay 13, 2008;
Domaine de Serre-de-Parc, “classified” sinceMay 30, 1997;
Gallo-Roman thermal spa complex (remains), “registered” since July 31, 1986;
Tour de Narbonne, “classified” since October 5, 1938;
Porte Saint-Martin, “inscribed” since October 11, 1930;
House known as Diane de Poitiers, “registered” sinceDecember 28, 1956;
Castle of the Adhémar or the Popes, “classified” since 1889. It is an important example of medieval architecture in the middle Rhône valley. Among its architectural elements: a chapel of the XI century and home of the XII century in exceptional surroundings. Since 2000, it has hosted a contemporary art center. Since its creation, around fifty temporary exhibitions have been held with renowned artists (John Armelder, Daniel Buren, Felice Varini, Ann Veronica Janssens, Olga Kisseleva…) and young designers (Delphine Balley, Le Gentil Garçon, Marie Hendriks, Emmanuel Régent…).

In addition, the inventory of historical monuments in Montélimar lists 39 “classified” objects.

Cultural Heritage
Montélimar has many cultural places: the contemporary art center of the Adhémar castle, the Saint-Martin contemporary art museum. Every summer, since 2008, the Saint-Martin Contemporary Art Museum has organized an exhibition around great names in contemporary art: 2011 Bernard Cathelin, 2013 Pierre Boncompain, 2015 Fondation Maeght – estampes, 2016 Ben, 2017 Pop art, 2018 donation Pierre Boncompain, the Miniature Museum, the micro-miniature of Anatoly Konenko, the Espace Chabrillan art center, the theatrical space notebook, the Conservatory of Music and Theater, the Michel-Petrucciani auditorium auditorium, the Templar cinema.

Montélimar Museum
The Montélimar Museum exhibits part of its lapidary collection. These medallions adorned the vault of the entrance to the Maison Marcel erected in 1560 rue des Taules and destroyed at the end of the 19th century. This set of sculpted stones is a witness to the urban history of Montélimar, as well as to the spread of Italian Renaissance forms in Drôme Provençale.

The Musée de Montélimar honors its collections with the Paysages de l’Ecole lyonnaise exhibition, which presents a set of graphic works, landscapes dating from the second half of the 19th century. Largely produced by artists known as the Lyonnaise School, these works show us this moment when the landscape leaves its status as a minor art and becomes the object of new attention from artists. The romantic wave discovers “picturesque France”, its monuments and its countryside. Then the naturalist current describes them in all their precision. Lyon artists of the mid-19th century are characterized by the sobriety, even the thoroughness of their representation.

Saint-Martin Contemporary Art Museum
The Saint-Martin Contemporary Art Museum became intercommunal on January 1, 2015. The influence of its artistic offer extends to the municipalities of the Agglo and its 60,000 inhabitants, in the heart of a living area of more than 140,000 people. At the origin of this cultural establishment, is the Ephemeral Museum, created in 2003, within the walls of the old Saint-Martin barracks, now rehabilitated into a new district with restaurants, several businesses, the tourism and the home of the economy.

Since 2008, this museum has hosted an ephemeral summer exhibition every summer around great names in contemporary art: Georges Braque, Alexander Calder, César, Marc Chagall, Peter Klasen, Yves Klein, Joan Mirò, Jacques Monory, William Sweetlove, Antoni Tàpies, Claude Viallat, Vladimir Veličković, Bernard Cathelin, Toros, Ben… This annual exhibition is also an opportunity to discover art in the street, with monumental sculptures, installed in the heart of the city, an integral part of the MAC’s summer exhibitions.

Chabrillan art center
The Espace Chabrillan art center is a former 17th century chapel now renovated into an exhibition hall. It hosts many annual exhibitions and allows you to discover passionate artists.

The Castle of Adhémar
Located on the site of an old castle motte founded by the Adhémar family in the 10th century, this medieval palace was built by the same family in the 12th century. He wears the name of a prestigious line in Provence and Dauphiné, whose representatives were lords of Montélimar for several centuries. The site consists of a stately home, a Romanesque chapel, a square tower and of a fortified enclosure surmounted by a walkway. Over the centuries, buildings have known many functions: palace, citadel, prison, public cultural place.

Now a listed historical monument, property of the Department of Drôme, it has the subject of successive restorations before being opened to the public in 1983. From 2000 to 2016, it hosts a contemporary art center which is developing a program of exhibitions temporary, accompanied by cultural activities and an artistic education mission inside and outside the walls. The place is also suitable for hosting shows, meetings and conferences throughout the year. On the heights of Montélimar, the Château des Adhémar hosts international exhibitions of contemporary art every quarter as part of the 2l “Les Châteaux de la Drôme” program.

Nougat Museum
Discover the world of nougat, at the heart of the oldest factory in Montélimar. The Nougat Museum is a unique place in Montélimar which traces the history of nougat, that of Montélimar nougat, as well as the heritage of the house of Arnaud Soubeyran. Visit the Arnaud Soubeyran nougat museum, and dive into the Nougat cooking pots. The Arnaud Soubeyran store: A real Ali Baba cave, gourmet version. Tea Room: A place full of charm, original and cozy, where to taste our homemade sweets and cakes, sipping fruit juice or tea…

European Fighter Aviation Museum
The European Museum of Fighter Aviation presents to the public fighter planes and civil aviation aircraft. It is located on the Montélimar-Ancona aerodrome in Montélimar. About sixty planes are presented and many others are stored in hangars. The management of the museum is ensured by an association law of 1901 which brings together mostly volunteers.

Gastronomy
Montelimar is the “capital of nougat ” from the XVII century. It is a confectionery made from honey and almonds, which can be coated and garnished with chocolate, dried fruits and others.
The Farçon.
La Charlotte des Adhémar (cake).

Music
The city has been organizing a “voices and guitars of the world” festival for 15 years. This festival takes place during the month of July in various places, not only in Montélimar but also in the villages that are part of the Montélimar-Sésame agglomeration community. Some scenes are free, this allows everyone to participate.

Cultural events and festivities
Feast: August 15 (for three days). Spring Festival.
Several cultural events are organized in Montélimar and its region, in particular the “Festival of writing on screen” in June, the “Magic Flute of Mozart” inJuly 2013.
The Sesame festival takes place in Montélimar and the towns of the agglomeration.
The town hosted a statue of Android Nougat onSeptember 21, 2016in partnership with Google. This statue is different from the one at the Googleplex.