Tourism : Frejus on the french riviera

Fréjus

Overview

Fréjus is a coastal town on the Côte d'Azur and commune in the Var department, in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southern France. It neighbours Saint-Raphaël, Var, effectively forming one town. The north of the commune forms part of the Estérel Massif. Its population in 2004 was 50,536. At the 1999 census it had an official population of 46,801 inhabitants. Its land area is 102.27 km² (39.487 sq mi). On December 2, 1959, the Malpasset Dam, on the Reyran river above Fréjus, ruptured, killing over 400 people.

History:

Frejus contains a medieval city as well as a popular seaside resort. Created by the Romans Frejus attracts many tourists because of its history, cultural and artistic qualities, its well kept beaches, the sea and sporting facilities. There are numerous places of interest in the area, all are reasonably accessible from Frejus because of its convenient location. At present its habitants total 45,000 and the town offers a broad spectrum of activities. The history of Frejus is very similar to that of Provence, it has lived through many Saracens invasions which took place between the 7th and the 9th century. It has been destroyed many times in spite of the presence of the Roman Legion. In 49 BC Julius Cesar decided to have the Adrian Way built to link Italy through to Spain.In those days the Phoceans of Marseille had already set up a colony on the site, but it was the Roman emperor who gave the port its prosperity and the city its name of 'Forum Julii' meaning 'Jules market' and the port Claustra Maris (The sea bolt). It went on to become one of the most important ports in the Mediterranean, until the Pax Romana, by denying Forum Julii its military activity, marked the beginning of its decline. The decay of Rome led to that of the cities of its empire. The sea encroached on the land while invasions by the Saracens and pirates left the monuments in ruin. By the 10th century there was very little left of the colony, mostly rubble. Sea-borne silt clogged up the port and led to the formation of a huge swampy plain, which then separated the village from the sea.


This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Fréjus - See Authors history list.

SightSeeing

• Malpasset
  The dam, which was a doubly-curved equal angle arch type with variable radius, began construction in April 1952 and finished in 1954 to supply water and irrigation for the region. Delays haunted construction,[...]

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