Just up the street from the train station (toward the
Arena) is the Fontaine Pradier, a lovely outdoor fountain. The woman on top represents Nimes, with a crown like the Arena. The four people below represent the four rivers in the area (thus they give water!).
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| Fontaine Pradier |
Nimes has a strange logo. It is a crocodile chained to a palm tree. We saw this in all sorts of places. The symbol was put on a local coin in the Roman days, representing Caesar's conquest of Egypt. Nothing like playing up to the royalty!
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| Nimes symbol |
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| 3D version |
The
Maison Carree (yes, that means "square house") is a temple dating back to the first years AD. It was constructed in honor of the imperial family and modeled after temples in Rome.
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| Maison Carree |
The temple was at the head of the forum, the local market. The temple was used for worship, though only the priests could enter the building. People brought their offerings to the steps. An altar was set inside, though that is long gone with the passing of time.
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| Less impressive interior |
The exterior was the true glory. They have preserved the capital of one of the columns inside to show the intricate workmanship. The stones were all quarried relatively closely to Nimes.
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| Top of one of the columns |
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| Model of the forum and temple |
The interior has displays about the history of the building and the area. Nimes was a fortified city along the road from Rome to the Atlantic.
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| Roman monuments in Nimes |
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| Nimes as part of the ancient highway system |
The building is still impressive, though probably only worth visiting as part of the three-for-one ticket that includes the
Arena and the
Tour Magne.
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| Great doors |
They can date the building and tell who it is dedicated to by the discovery of a dedication along the top of the building. The text is recreated in the forum area, saying it is for the grandchildren of Caesar Augustus.
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| Dedication |
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| Last view of the temple |
We walked over to the
Tour Magne, or "Great Tower."
Jardin de la Fontaine is a large public space just below the tower. We were amazed how many fish were in the canal.
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| No fishing here, apparently |
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| Statue of Jean Reboul |
We found a secret staircase to start our ascent to the tower.
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| Secret stairs |
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| Tour Magne |
The Tour Magne was part of the Roman walls that surrounded the city. It's still impressive and gives a fantastic view of the city.
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| Info on the tower |
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| View from behind |
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| View from inside |
The climb is not too hard but did take the wind out of me. The views from the top are also breathtaking.
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| Western Nimes |
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| View of the Av. Jean Jaures |
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| The main city |
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| More of the city |
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| You can just see the Arena |
Signs at the bottom of the tower describe the construction and a lot of the history. One interesting anecdote comes from a prophecy of Nostradamus. People interpreted it as saying there was gold and silver buried in the base of the tower. The king of France authorized someone to dig for the wealth. After extensively gutting the tower, nothing was found. The project was abandoned. Eventually they did repairs to the tower so that it would remain standing.
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| Tower construction |
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| Tower destruction |
Back in the gardens, we saw a goose playing with a soccer ball!
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| Nimes waters |
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| Guarding his ball |
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| About to do a header? |
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| More of the water |
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| Another Romanesque statue |
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| A last look at the garden plaza |
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