Draguignan

Template:Short description Template:Infobox French commune

Draguignan (Template:IPA; Template:Langx) is a commune in the Var department in the administrative region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (formerly Provence), southeastern France.

Draguignan was founded in antiquity. The city stands out because of its long history and great location, just Template:Convert from the Mediterranean Sea and nestled between the French Riviera and the Verdon Regional Natural Park. The city is Template:Convert from Saint-Tropez, and Template:Convert from Nice. Its population is approximately 40,000. Additionally, the city serves as the administrative center of the Dracénie Provence Verdon urban community, which includes twenty-three municipalities and more than 110,000 residents.

The city is currently home to two military schools, the Infantry School and the Artillery School.

Name and motto

According to legend, the name of the city is derived from the Latin name "Draco/Draconem" (dragon): a bishop, called Saint Hermentaire, killed a dragon and saved people.

The Latin motto of Draguignan is Alios nutrio, meos devoro (I nourish others, I devour my own).

Geography

The elevation is 200 m. The highest hill near Draguignan is Malmont (551 m). The main river near Draguignan is the Nartuby.

The city is set in a valley NW-SE, about Template:Convert wide.

Climate

Under the Köppen climate classification, Draguignan falls within the Mediterranean climate zone (Csa), with mild and wet winters, and hot and dry summers, with most of the precipitation occurring during the autumn months of October and November. Frost is rare and temperatures rarely fall below freezing. Furthermore, the town is protected from wind by the Malmont peak and the western massif of the Selves.

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Geology

The hills downstream of Draguignan date from the Middle Triassic, while those that rise upstream belong to the Upper Triassic.

Up North, we can see a long bar of stony plateau, with summits made of Jurassic limestones, sometimes intersected by deep canyons. This northern region of the "baous" or also called massive mountainous barriers, deeply wrinkled and fractured, reveals successive basins in the east–west direction.

Draguignan is in a zone of moderate risk of seismicity.<ref>Didacticiel de la règlementation parasismique, www.planseisme.fr, Le site internet de la prévention du risque sismique Template:Webarchive</ref>

Communication routes

Roads

There is no highway going through the city of Draguignan but the town is directly connected by the D 1555 to a major highway, the A8.

A bypass route makes it possible to avoid the city center from the south when arriving from Trans-en-Provence and to get to the hospital in the north of the city more quickly.

The city is located 869 km away from Paris, 141 km from Marseille, 89 km from Nice, 86 km from Toulon, 30 km from Fréjus, 105 km from Digne-les-Bains and about 35 km from the Gulf of Saint-Tropez.

Rail transport

Since 1981, the closest railway station is Les Arcs–Draguignan, which is served by the TGV and is located twelve kilometers from the city center. Bus shuttles have been set by the agglomeration community of Draguignan from the former railway station of Draguignan, which was converted into a bus station. Draguignan train station features two turnstiles: one for SNCF and another for the transport of the agglomeration.

Another station is currently under development in the municipality of Le Muy.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Public transport services

TEDBUS

Urban transports are managed by the TED community, which offers three urban lines as well as lines to other municipalities such as Les Arcs-Draguignan, Ampus, Flayosc, Le Muy and Lorgues. The buses of the General Council of the Var serve from Draguignan the cities of Toulon, Brignoles, Aups, Fayence, Fréjus and Le Luc.

A project by BHNS is being studied, to connect Draguignan city center to Les Arcs-Draguignan station in 17 minutes instead of 25 minutes currently. Currently, TEDBUS line 5 provides access to the station.

Zou !

The Zou! network offers both rail and intercity bus services. There are three local lines that pass through Draguignan:<ref>https://itineraires-zou.maregionsud.fr/fr/</ref> to Aups 812, towards Le Luc 826, towards Saint-Raphaël 845.

History

The name of Draguignan ("Draconianum") appeared for the first time in 909. During the Middle-Ages, Draguignan was a small village whose people lived from olive and grape cultivation. The Hôtel de Ville is situated within the grounds of the former Convent of the Cordeliers which dates from 1265.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Draguignan became the "prefecture" of the Var in 1790, at the beginning of the French Revolution. This was despite the town by far not being the biggest city in the department. It remained the seat of the prefecture until 1974. In the 19th century and during a large part of the 20th century, the people of Draguignan (in French: "Dracénois", in English: "Draceners") voted for liberal parties (Radical-Socialist Party, Socialist Party).

The town was occupied by the Wehrmacht in 1942-44 and freed in August 1944, after Operation Dragoon. The city welcomed the "École nationale d'artillerie" (Artillery School) in 1976, then the "École nationale d'infanterie" (Infantry School) in 2010. The arrival of the military involved the development of the city : the small town became a city in the second part of the 20th century : 13,400 citizens in 1954, 33,000 in 2000, 38,000 in 2010. On June 15, 2010, the city was flooded. Torrential rain caused the deaths of 12 people in the town and 25 in the neighborhoods.

Population

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Major attractions

Museum of Artillery (Napoleonic Wars, World War I, World War II, Indochina, etc.)
Museum of "Arts et traditions populaires"
Museum of Fine Arts
Rhone American Cemetery and Memorial (American World War II cemetery) (see operation Dragoon)
The Eglise St Michel
Eglise Notre-Dame du Peuple
The Dolmen Pierre de la fée (fairy's Stone), also known as the fruit rock.

Personalities connected to Draguignan

Nicolas Agnesi, born in Draguignan
Karl "Psycho" Amoussou, MMA fighter in Bellator Fighting Championships, born in Draguignan.
Jean-Marie Auberson, died in Draguignan
Sébastien Bouin, rock climber, born in Draguignan
Patricia Burke, a British actress, died in Draguignan
Georges Clemenceau, was a politician of Draguignan: deputy of the district of Draguignan (1885–1893) and senator of the same district (1902–1920), French prime minister in 1906-1909 and 1917–1920
Alain Connes, born in Draguignan
Michel Constantin, died in Draguignan
Abel Douay, born in Draguignan
Michaël Fabre, born in Draguignan
Gustave Ferrié, studied in Draguignan
Estève Garcin, born in Draguignan
Claude Gay, born in Draguignan
Maximin Isnard, was a politician of Draguignan
Michel Lafourcade, died in Draguignan
Hippolyte Mège-Mouriès, born in Draguignan
Charlotte Morel, born in Draguignan
Louis Moréri, studied in Draguignan
Henri Mulet, French organist and composer, spent the last 30 years of his life in Draguignan, as organist of the cathedral there.
Émile Ollivier, was a politician of Draguignan: deputy of the district of Draguignan, then prime minister in 1870
Lily Pons, born in Draguignan
Ronald Searle, a British artist, died in Draguignan
Philippe Seguin, studied in Draguignan
Georges Thill, died in Draguignan
Christopher Tolkien, lived in Draguignan from 1975 until his death in January 2020

Twin towns

Template:Flagicon Tuttlingen, Germany

Pictures

The Dolmen Pierre de la fée.
The Town Theatre of Draguignan (Théatre Municipal).
The old Railway Station, which is still called Gare SNCF even though the tracks from Les Arcs to Draguignan have gone
Organ in the church of Saint Michael
The church of Saint Michael
Art pieces on the street in Draguignan
Draguignan In the old city