Last modified: 2005-06-17 by ivan sache
Keywords: var | frejus | god: hermes |
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The city of Fréjus (35,000 inhabitants) is located in the lower valley of river Argens, which separates the mountains of Maures and Esterel. The center of the city is now 1,500 m away from the Mediterraean Sea, but there is a sea resort named Fréjus-Plage (Fréjus-Beach).
Fréjus was in the Roman times Forum Julii, probably
founded by Julius Caesar in 49 BC. The city became an important
military harbour in 39 BC, when Octavius (later Emperor Augustus)
set up there an arsenal where rapid and light galleys were built and
crews trained to fight. The galleys helped him to defeat the heavy
and slow galleys of Antonius and Cleopatra during the Actium battle.
The city was then renamed Colonia Octavanorum. The amphitheater and
parts of the theater, aqueducts and city walls have been preserved
until now.
The city became less important during the Pax Romana but
remained a rich trading port. A bishopric was created there by
Emperor Constantine at the end of the IVth century. In the Xth
century, the city was trashed by the Sarracens, and rebuilt in 990 by
Bishop Riculf. The medieval fortified center of Fréjus
included the cathedral and its cloister (XII-XIIIth centuries, early
Provencal Gothic style) and baptistry (Vth century, one of the
oldest ones in France), and the Bishop's palace (XIVth century, now
the city hall).
Under King Henri II (1547-1559), an Admiralty was established in Fréjus. However, the port and waterways lacked upkeep and malaria developed in the area. During the Revolution, the port was sold as bien national (national good) and eventually filled in, thus explaining the location of the modern city.
Ivan Sache, 24 July 2001
The flag of Fréjus shows the municipal logotype on a white field, with the name FREJUS written in black below the logotype.
The logotype of Fréjus is derived from a bicephalous Roman statue.
The statue is a marble bicephalous Hermes, which was discovered in
1970. It is now exhibited in the Archaeological Museum of
Fréjus. The statue is also shown on a French postage stamp
released on 13 June 1988 (face value: 3.70 FRF, YT 2548, M 88-35).
The designer Roger Druet and the line-engraver Eugène Lacaque
received the Prize of Philatelic Art for their artwork. The stamp is
a long rectangle of 88 x 25 mm and shows on a blue background three
views of Hermes (both heads facing the viewer, flanking a profile
view showing the two opposite heads.)
Ivan Sache, 24 July 2001