FRANCE	FRANCE
région: Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
département: 13, Bouches-du-Rhône

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• lv: Arla • oc: Arle • lt: Arlis
• el: Αρλ
• bg, mk, sr: Арл • be, ru, uk: Арль

Arles (Arle in Occitan) is situated on the left, east, bank of the river Rhône, about 24 km upstream its mouth into the Atlantic. Just upstream of Arles, the river forks into two branches forming the Camargue delta. Because the Camargue is for a large part administratively part of Arles, the commune as a whole is the largest (758.93 km²) in Metropolitan France. The municipality has a population of about 51,800 (2023).

Arles was called Arelas or Arelate in antiquity (Celtic for "marshy place") and was probably first founded by the Salluvii. In the 6th century BC, the city of Massalia (modern-day Marseille), founded by Greek settlers, established a market place on this site. Toward the end of the 2nd century BC, the area came under Roman control and was established in 46 BC as the Roman military colony Colonia Iulia Paterna Arelate Sextanorum. The town soon rose to great importance, becoming a municipium in 22 BC, competing with Massalia in trade, and reaching its zenith under Emperor Constantine I, who enlarged and embellished Arles. In the 4th and 5th centuries AD, the city served several times as a residence of Roman emperors and was temporarily known as Constantia. In 395, it became the capital of Gaul. Then, in 402, the Praefectura Galliarum, the highest authority of the Western Roman Empire, was moved from Trier to Arles. Arles became a bishopric in the 3rd century and the metropolitan see of the Archdiocese of Arles in 400. In the late 5th century, the city served for a time as the residence of the Visigothic kingdom, in 508, it fell to the Ostrogothic kingdom and in 536 to the Frankish kingdom. In 879, Arles became the capital of the Kingdom of Burgundy and, with it, joined the Holy Roman Empire in 1033. From 933, the city was under the rule of the archbishop, becoming independent from him in 1220 and briefly a Free Imperial City in 1237. In 1251, the city submitted to Charles of Anjou and, in 1481, along with the County of Provence, fell to France. The archbishop moved to Aix-en-Provence in 1801/1822. Arles remained a bishopric until 1801. Arles remained economically important for many years as a major port on the Rhône. In the 19th century, the establishment of railways diminished river trade, leading to the city declining in prominence. Today, the city's main source of income is tourism.

The Abbaye Saint-Pierre de Montmajour [near left, no. 5049] is located about 5 km north of the city centre of Arles, today within the boundaries of the municipality. Until the late Middle Ages, Montmajour was an island protected by marshes and accessible only by boat. As early as the 3rd millennium BC the island was used as a cemetery, with individual graves carved into the rock. In the 9th and 10th centuries the island also served as a sanctuary for the local residents during invasions of the Saracens and the Normans. During the Middle Ages, several legends arose about Montmajour and its founding. Until 943 the island belonged to the Church of St. Trophime in Arles. A monastery was founded in the late 10 century. The first abbey church was built in 1030–1069. The second abbey church was built in the 12 century, likely on the site of the previous one, but this church was left in ruins after the Wars of Religion (1562–1598). In 1693, the church was given to a new Benedictine congregation, the Maurists, a Benedictine reform based at the Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés in Paris, who reconstructed the church.

Glass no. 5050 [near left] shows a portrait of (Joseph Étienne) Frédéric Mistral (1830–1914), Occitan writer and lexicographer of the Provençal form of the language. For his lifelong efforts in restoring the language of Provence, Frédéric Mistral was one of the recipients of the 1904 Nobel Prize for Literature. Mistral devoted his half to the creation of the Museum at Arles, known locally as Museon Arlaten. The museum is considered to be the most important collection of Provençal folk art, displaying furniture, costumes, ceramics, tools and farming implements. In addition, Mistral was awarded the Légion d'honneur. This was a most unusual occurrence since it is usually only awarded for notable achievement on a national level, whereas Mistral was uniquely Provençal in his work and achievement.

[https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arles, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arles; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montmajour_Abbey; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fr%C3%A9d%C3%A9ric_Mistral]