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Martigny
Martigny (French pronunciation: [maʁtiɲi]; German: Martinach, pronounced [ˈmaʁtiːnaːx]; Latin: Octodurum) is the capital city of the district of Martigny, canton of Valais, Switzerland. It lies at an elevation of 471 meters (1,545 ft), and its population is approximately 20,000 inhabitants (Martignerains or "Octoduriens"). It is a junction of roads joining Italy, France and Switzerland. One road links it over the Great St. Bernard Pass to Aosta (Italy), and the other over the col de la Forclaz to Chamonix (France). In winter, Martigny is known for its numerous nearby Alp ski resorts such as Verbier.
Martigny lies at an elevation of 471 meters (1,545 ft), about 33 kilometers (21 mi) south-southeast of Montreux. It is on the left foothills of the steep hillsides of the Rhone Valley, at the foot of the Swiss Alps, and is located at the point where the southwestern-flowing Rhone turns ninety degrees northward and heads toward Lake Geneva. The river La Drance flows from the southern Valais Alps (Wallis) through Martigny and joins the Rhone from the left just after Rhone's distinctive, almost rectangular change in direction.
Martigny has an area, (as of the 2004/09 survey), of 32.6 km2 (12.59 sq mi). Of this area, 31.5% is used for agricultural purposes, while 39.8% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 23.3% is settled (buildings or roads) and 5.3% is unproductive land.
In 1964 the current municipality was created with the merger of Martigny-Ville and Martigny-Bourg.
On 1 January 2021 the former municipality of Charrat merged into the municipality of Martigny.
The Gaulish name of the settlement in the 1st century BC was either Octodurus or Octodurum (whence Martigny is sometimes also called Octodure in French), an oppidum or vicus of the Veragri.[citation needed] Octodurus was conquered by the Roman Republic in 57 BC, and occupied by Servius Galba with the twelfth legion and some cavalry in order to protect the strategically important pass of Poeninus (now known as the Great St. Bernard), by which road the mercatores had used to travel at great risk as well as paying great tolls. (B. G. iii. 1.) Galba, after capturing many local strongholds and receiving the submission of the people, sent troops into the country of the Nantuates, and with his remaining army determined to winter in Octodurus. Galba gave one part of the town to the Gauls to winter in, and assigned the other to his troops. He fortified himself with a ditch and rampart, and thought he was safe. He was, however, suddenly attacked by the Gauls before his defences were complete or all his supplies were brought into the camp, resulting in the Battle of Octodurus, and a very indecisive Roman victory; the Romans estimated the Gaulish force at more than 30,000, and Caesar says that more than a third part were destroyed; nevertheless Galba, "declining to try fortune too often" (B. G. iii. 6), burned the hamlet and retreated to the Province the next day.
Octodurus was later on joined to the Roman Empire, as part of the Alpes Poeninae province. Pliny (iii. c. 20) says that the Octodurenses received the Latinitas (Latio donati). Octodurus declined over the following decades, and between AD 41 and 47 (during the reign of Claudius), a new Roman colony named Forum Claudii Augusti, later renamed 'to Forum Claudii Vallensium, was established nearby to take the role of capital of the Vallis Poenina province. The town appears in the Antonine Itinerary and in the Tabula Peutingeriana. In the Notit. Prov., the place is called Civitas Vallensium Octodurus. At a later period it was called Forum Claudii Vallensium Octodurensium, as an inscription shows.
An episcopal see was established here in the 4th century (moved in the 6th century to Sion), making the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sion the oldest bishopric in what is now Switzerland. The first historically attested bishop of Octodurus was Theodulus (died in 391), who was present at the Council of Aquileia in 381. A restored Roman amphitheatre, temples, citizen living quarters, and thermal baths can be seen in Martigny today. One authority speaks of the remains of a Roman aqueduct at Martigny. Many coins, and other memorials of the Roman time, have been found about the place.
Martigny
Martigny (French pronunciation: [maʁtiɲi]; German: Martinach, pronounced [ˈmaʁtiːnaːx]; Latin: Octodurum) is the capital city of the district of Martigny, canton of Valais, Switzerland. It lies at an elevation of 471 meters (1,545 ft), and its population is approximately 20,000 inhabitants (Martignerains or "Octoduriens"). It is a junction of roads joining Italy, France and Switzerland. One road links it over the Great St. Bernard Pass to Aosta (Italy), and the other over the col de la Forclaz to Chamonix (France). In winter, Martigny is known for its numerous nearby Alp ski resorts such as Verbier.
Martigny lies at an elevation of 471 meters (1,545 ft), about 33 kilometers (21 mi) south-southeast of Montreux. It is on the left foothills of the steep hillsides of the Rhone Valley, at the foot of the Swiss Alps, and is located at the point where the southwestern-flowing Rhone turns ninety degrees northward and heads toward Lake Geneva. The river La Drance flows from the southern Valais Alps (Wallis) through Martigny and joins the Rhone from the left just after Rhone's distinctive, almost rectangular change in direction.
Martigny has an area, (as of the 2004/09 survey), of 32.6 km2 (12.59 sq mi). Of this area, 31.5% is used for agricultural purposes, while 39.8% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 23.3% is settled (buildings or roads) and 5.3% is unproductive land.
In 1964 the current municipality was created with the merger of Martigny-Ville and Martigny-Bourg.
On 1 January 2021 the former municipality of Charrat merged into the municipality of Martigny.
The Gaulish name of the settlement in the 1st century BC was either Octodurus or Octodurum (whence Martigny is sometimes also called Octodure in French), an oppidum or vicus of the Veragri.[citation needed] Octodurus was conquered by the Roman Republic in 57 BC, and occupied by Servius Galba with the twelfth legion and some cavalry in order to protect the strategically important pass of Poeninus (now known as the Great St. Bernard), by which road the mercatores had used to travel at great risk as well as paying great tolls. (B. G. iii. 1.) Galba, after capturing many local strongholds and receiving the submission of the people, sent troops into the country of the Nantuates, and with his remaining army determined to winter in Octodurus. Galba gave one part of the town to the Gauls to winter in, and assigned the other to his troops. He fortified himself with a ditch and rampart, and thought he was safe. He was, however, suddenly attacked by the Gauls before his defences were complete or all his supplies were brought into the camp, resulting in the Battle of Octodurus, and a very indecisive Roman victory; the Romans estimated the Gaulish force at more than 30,000, and Caesar says that more than a third part were destroyed; nevertheless Galba, "declining to try fortune too often" (B. G. iii. 6), burned the hamlet and retreated to the Province the next day.
Octodurus was later on joined to the Roman Empire, as part of the Alpes Poeninae province. Pliny (iii. c. 20) says that the Octodurenses received the Latinitas (Latio donati). Octodurus declined over the following decades, and between AD 41 and 47 (during the reign of Claudius), a new Roman colony named Forum Claudii Augusti, later renamed 'to Forum Claudii Vallensium, was established nearby to take the role of capital of the Vallis Poenina province. The town appears in the Antonine Itinerary and in the Tabula Peutingeriana. In the Notit. Prov., the place is called Civitas Vallensium Octodurus. At a later period it was called Forum Claudii Vallensium Octodurensium, as an inscription shows.
An episcopal see was established here in the 4th century (moved in the 6th century to Sion), making the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sion the oldest bishopric in what is now Switzerland. The first historically attested bishop of Octodurus was Theodulus (died in 391), who was present at the Council of Aquileia in 381. A restored Roman amphitheatre, temples, citizen living quarters, and thermal baths can be seen in Martigny today. One authority speaks of the remains of a Roman aqueduct at Martigny. Many coins, and other memorials of the Roman time, have been found about the place.
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