Ville de Crest

Knowing the city

Sandrine — 2008-11-13T21:12:45Z

Place : Crest
Population : 8074 inhabitants
Inhabitants :
The Crestois (m.) ; The Crestoises (f.)
Postcode : 26400
Departement : Drôme
Region : Rhône Alpes
Altitude : 195 metres
Particularity : Medieval town
Superficies of the entire district : 2338 hectares

Places of interest

The highest Tower in France
The longest wooden bridge in France
The Old Town

Local specialities

The “couve” (a cake made at Easter time)
The “défarde” (tripe)

Twin cities

Cromer (England)
Nidda (Germany)
Ponte San Nicolo (Italy)

10. History

Sandrine — 2008-11-13T21:12:43Z

At the crossroads of two prestigious and historical routes, the Route des Dauphins which goes North-South and the Hannibal Road which goes East -West, Crest is the traditional stopping place for the visitor. How long has its Tower been dominating the City and who built it?

Many writers and historians have focused their attention on this picturesque place in the Drôme. All of them agree that the foundation of Crest dates back to the 10th Century, after a period of disturbances which happened at the end of the Roman occupation. At that time, the successive and repeated Barbarian forays had incited towns to settle at the top of the hills or surround themselves by walls.

However it is likely that the Tower was prior to the City and that it already existed in Roman times. Nowadays we talk about La Tour de Crest as if there were only one tower. At the end of the 19th Century, Local historians among whom the Minister Eugene Arnaud is the most representative, suggested the possibility that a watch tower be raised on the site of the current one. In fact, the study of its foundation led to the conclusion – one that has still to be confirmed -that it was built in the 4th Century AD. One thing is sure: The tower was built in order to guard the road from Valence to Italy. This is the famous “Hannibal Road” which played an important part in Antiquity.

The City of Crest was officially first mentioned in March 1120 when Pope Calixte ll stopped there. He wrote to the Bishops of Coimbra and Salamanque from “le château fortifié de Crest” (the fortified castle of Crest).

The foundation of Crest is attributed to the Arnauds. The name “Crest” comes from the latin “Crista Analdorum” meaning “Crête des Arnaud”. The Arnauds were a noble family who owned several castles in the region. They also owned Crest on a “franc alleu” basis which meant without paying any tax to anyone. But, in 1145. Arnaud of Crest named himself “Vassal of Hugues ll” in return for 1200 sols (the currency in Valence and Die) and forgiveness of his sins. Then, the Arnaud family was succeeded by the Poitiers, Earls of Valentinois and Diois. In 1138, Adémar de Poitiers granted “his people of Crest” a Charter of freedom and franchises while we learn from another charter in 1178 that the Bishop of Die had half of the city under his authority As early as 1170, the Bishops ruled the City and granted the inhabitants a few privileges. This situation led to frequent quarrels, which were to last for about two centuries. These opposed the Bishops and the Earls of Valentinois who wanted complete possession of the land and the fortified buildings. In 1217, the Albigesian war had some consequences for Crest: Simon de Montfort seized the city twice in five years. The Episcopal war ended in 1347 with the victory of Aymar VI de Poitiers. In order to reward the inhabitants who had remained faithful to him, he abolished some of their taxes. In 1382, Louis II de Poitiers moved his royal mint to the third floor of the dungeon. In 1419, he made Charles, Dauphin of the Viennois and son of the French king Charles VI sole legatee. In 1426, Crest became French. All through the following centuries, the sovereigns momentarily and briefly let the Valentinois which had become a dukedom slip from their authority. In consequence they also left Crest to Caesar Borgia (1498), to Diane de Poitiers (1548), and for a longer time to the Grimaldis, who were lords of Crest from 1643 to the French Revolution, in 1789.

On 26th January 1632, Louis XIII, who had stopped at Crest in 1629 on his way back from the Piedmont campaign, published an edict ordering the complete destruction of the citadel of Crest. This followed Richelieu's order that all feudal fortresses be destroyed.

The local authorities managed to avoid part of this destruction programme: the Castle and the walls were demolished, but the Tower was spared.

It was at about that time that the Tower was turned into a prison where a number of key figures were locked up for political reasons. Following the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes (1684), a great number of Protestants were imprisoned there.

They were followed in the 18th C. by priests, soldiers, public servants and even nobles whose actions were not appreciated by the local authorities. People were imprisoned on a simple lettre de cachet, but they were given a great deal of freedom: the prisoners were allowed to organise receptions and balls and they would invite bigwigs of the city with their ladies. Thanks to these festivities, lots of escapes were recorded, the prisoners swapping their clothes with those of their guests. In 1811 under Napoleon, by Imperial decree, the Tower became the property of the Department, but in 1832 it was transferred to the Army who used it as a military prison. In 1851, on the order of Napoleon III, 600 Republicans were imprisoned in the dungeon. The numerous graffiti they left on the walls attest their faith and passion.

20. The Wooden Bridge

Sandrine — 2008-11-13T21:12:41Z

Rather than continuing renting a metallic bridge initially built to allow a secondary "route" (Itinéraire Bis), the City decided to provide itself with a superb ecological wooden bridge. This new bridge is a two-way bridge which can be crossed by vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians.

The project aimed to :

develop the town northward and southward, according to demanding environmental criteria.
support the development of the timber industry, wood being a natural resource of the region.

This is the first operation of such importance. With its 100 metre-span, it is the longest wooden bridge in France. This innovating conception is the result of a straight partnership between the City and different operators among which the CNDB (National committee for the development of timber), the General Council of Drôme and the Regional Council, the State and the EU. The visitor can appreciate the elegance, the lightness and the technique of this wooden bridge.

Technical note

Commissioned by The City of Crest
Contractor : Scetoroute
Architect : Atelier de l'Entre
Engineering : Arborescence
Construction : Entreprises GTM Construction et Fargeot
Partnership : The City and the CNDB (National committee for the development of wood)
General Council of Drôme
Regional council of Rhône-Alpes
State - EU - Fibois/Fibra/CNDB
Budget : 1.5 million €.

Among the different solutions given, the proposition made by both the "Atelier de l'Entre" and "Arborescence" was chosen : An open-air wooden bridge with three spans.

Total length of the superstructure: 92 metres.

Total width between the guard-rails : 8 metres (two 2, 75 m ways for traffic and two 1,25 m pavements.)

Such a bridge, remarkably integrated in the site, is more respectful of the environment, wood being the only natural and renewable material which can stock carbonic gas. Priority was given to the local wood species from the nearby Rhône-Alpes and Massif Central areas (Oak and Douglas Pine), reducing problems of transportation of materials. The embedding of the pillars respects the flow of the river, so that the bed of the river cannot be over deepened.

The "Pont en Bois" was opened on 30th June 2001 after a 10-month construction period.

The people of Crest are proud of it and visitors are enthusiastic about it. The "Pont en bois" was awarded by both the National Observatory of public innovation (Prix Territoria 2001) and the Ministry of The Territory and Environmental Development (Label: "Merci dit la Planète").

30. The arms of Crest

Sandrine — 2008-11-13T21:12:38Z

In 1995 the coat of arms symbolizing the city was modernized and simplified so that it could be reproduced more easily but it was greatly inspired by the historical coat of arms of Crest.

Historians once theorized that a coat of arms enabled a knight to be recognized by his followers during battles. The knights bore the emblems on his shield, then on his tunic (called tabard or surcot) which was the "cotte d'armes". That is the reason why the heraldic emblems were called in English: "Coat of Arms". The prestigious "College of Arms" founded in 1484 by Richard II still exists in England and decides who has the right to bear such or such Coat of Arms.

Heraldry has been defined as the art of blazoning, assigning, and marshalling a coat of arms. The word "Heraldry" is derived from the German "heer" — a host, an army — and "held" — a champion. The term "blason," by which the science of heraldry is denoted in French, English, Italian, and German, is probably derived from the German word "blazen" = to blow the horn. Whenever a new Knight appeared at a tournament, the herald sounded the trumpet, and as the competitors attended with closed visors, it was his duty to explain the bearing of the shield or coat-armour belonging to each. This knowledge of the various devices and symbols was called Heraldry, and as the announcement was accompanied with the sound of a trumpet, it was termed "blazoning the arms" (source : J-B Burke, "the General Armory")

The Coat of Arms of the City of Crest

In the 10th Century, a wealthy and powerful family, the Arnauds, settled in the region and had their castle built close to the Roman tower. The walls delimited a little city which was called "Crista Arnaldorum" (Crête des Arnaud) and later Crest Arnaud.

The Coat of Arms of the city of Crest are: "Silver chief headed with three red cockscombs, blue with the square golden windowed tower, doored and sand masoned, green terrace with a big C "Crista d'or" (Golden crest).
The only still existing example in Crest bears the date of 1530. In the old days, it was embedded in the corner of the old schools house, rue des Ecoles.

The Coat of Arms of the Poitiers

In 1165, after marriages, sharing, exchanges and loans, the Poitiers inherited part of the Arnauds' property. For 250 years, from Guillaume 1er to Louis II (the first and the last earl of the Poitiers dynasty), there were endless fights between them, lords of Valentinois and Diois, and the Bishops of Valence and Die in regard to land, castles and towns they had owned jointly since 1226. This war, called "Guerre des Episcopaux" (Episcopal war), finally ended with the victory of the Poitiers who became the owners of two castles in 1358. They had a fortified citadel built with surrounding walls and doors which, year after year, were destroyed in order to facilitate the traffic.
The "Porte St André" still remains. It was also known as "Porte des Ecus du Diable" from the coat of arms of the Poitiers : "d'azur à six besants d'argent, trois, deux, et un, au chef d'or". (Blue with six silver besants, -three, two and one, with a golden chief). Those were inlaid above, inside and outside of the Porte St André. The ones inside seem to have disappeared recently and the ones outside have been destroyed. There are unfortunately no other examples.

The Coat of Arms of the Princes of Monaco

Honoré de Grimaldi, Prince of Monaco, had been very helpful to the French King, Louis XIII. So the latter, in 1641, contracted (Traité de Péronne) to allow the Princes 80,000 livres in the form of land in Dauphiné, Auvergne and Provence. So doing, he also gave the seneschalsy of Crest and the people of the city became the vassals of the Princes of Monaco. On the walls of the old prisons they owned, you can still see their Coat of Arms carved in stone. They are "d'argent à quinze fusées de gueules" (silver with fifteen red gules) surrounded by a moulding and topped by a prince's crown.

The Arms of the Dauphiné united to France

They are carved in a very fine and hard white stone, surrounded by both the ribbons of St Michel and the Holy Ghost and topped by the Royal Crown. They were on a house which used to stand on the former "Place de l'Ancien Hôpital" commonly called "Place aux Blés", nowadays "Place Frédéric Mistral". In 1860, these Arms were embedded in the mantelpiece of the fireplace in a painter's workshop converted into a private house library.
Those are the Arms which were always used by the French Dauphins.