Saint-Nicolas-de-la-Grave

History

The surroundings of Saint-Nicolas-de-la-Grave have been occupied since Roman times; the ruins of a villa were found near a place called Marcassus, 2.9 km by road on the left bank of the Sère (Stream) and a capital Corinthian order in white marble was discovered at a place called es Arênes. Fragments of tile, pottery and amphorae were found to the west of the village and at a place called les Patots, a very old path was an old Roman road. In the 12th century, the monks of Moissac built a castle on the left bank of the Garonne, facing the confluence of the Tarn, on the edge of the plateau which dominates the alluvial plain. Because the town is a strategic crossroads, it is disputed by the viscounts of Lomagne. Around the castle, an agglomeration develops little by little, with a port at the base of the castle. In 1135, Guillaume, Abbot of Moissac joins the viscount Saxetus de Lomagne and the viscountess Sybille d'Auvillar to grant a charter to this village which becomes the "sauveté" of Saint Nicolas (a sauveté is an agglomeration founded by the monasteries prior to the movement of creation of the bastides): the inhabitants are free within the enclosure from the city. In an additional act to the charter, the Viscount of Lomagne swears to the monks and inhabitants of Saint-Nicolas never to take away their city or their castle and to protect them against invaders. Around 1185, during his victorious campaign in Quercy during which he conquered sixteen castles, the king of England, Richard Cœur-de-Lion stayed at the castle and had the front tower, known as the Tour des Anglais, built there. Abbot Bernard de Montaigu, who held the abbey chair of Moissac from 1260 to 1295, built the west wing of the castle and its two four-meter towers with heights of 25 and 28 metres.…

Most-observed species

• Eurasian Blackbird

  Turdus merula Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  656
• Common Wood-Pigeon

  Columba palumbus Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  639
• Great Tit

  Parus major Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  587
• Carrion Crow

  Corvus corone Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  554
• European Robin

  Erithacus rubecula (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  543
• Gray/Purple Heron

  Ardea cinerea Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  509
• Mallard

  Anas platyrhynchos Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  498
• Common Chaffinch

  Fringilla coelebs Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  471

Most recent

• M 2.5 — 2002-06-12
  4 km SSW of Le Sequestre, France
• M 3.3 — 2001-09-21
  4 km NNE of Portet-sur-Garonne, France