At first, my name was Iulii
Walking through my streets and alleys is like diving into one of the oldest cities in France. Yes, I know what you're thinking: I don't look my age! However, my founders, the Romans, have long since disappeared... but I'm still here.
Protected by my dear Provençals, I have resisted the centuries. Today, I am full of ancient and modern monuments.
The people of Fréjus have forged a unique bond with their heritage. This heritage, which is two thousand years old, is a source of pride that they would like to share with you.
Fréjus, the soul of a city that never dies
Fréjus, from the Forum Iulii to the Renaissance: the art of meeting challenges
More than two thousand years ago, Fréjus appeared for the first time in stories. Since then, twenty centuries have sculpted its history, filled with great deeds and trials, evoked by so many authors throughout the pages. But these stories often highlight the grandeur of its origins, its monuments and its illustrious characters, without always recalling how Fréjus knew, against all odds, to be reborn from its wounds.
Forum Iulii, founded by Julius Caesar, was a flagship port of the Roman Empire, keeping within it the trace of this glorious past: the amphitheater, the aqueduct, the fishpond recall this ancient splendor. However, with the silting up of the port, Fréjus lost its access to the sea, gradually falling into oblivion. It would have been easy to think that the city would disappear like this, erased like a Roman mirage… But Fréjus has this art of resisting, of getting back up, again and again.
When the Roman Empire collapsed, it became a Christian stronghold, one of the first bishoprics of Gaul, under the leadership of Saint Leontius. Later, faced with the Saracen invasions that ravaged the city, Bishop Riculfe ordered the reconstruction of the bishopric and the cathedral. The plague decimated its population? The faith and fervor of Saint Francis of Paula brought the city back to life. Even after the bombings, when Fréjus was nothing more than ruins, its inhabitants raised the stones one by one, restoring its dignity.
Fréjus, a city on the rise: from Malpasset to today's glory
Then there was Malpasset, the tragedy that could have signed its demise. But Fréjus got back up. "Let Fréjus be reborn!" wrote General de Gaulle, and the city took a breath, transforming its wounds into a new chapter. From its lands ploughed by the waters, it has made a seaside town proud of its renovated port, of a rediscovered identity.
This is Fréjus: a city of resilience and rebirth. It has been forged through trials to become the city we know today, this radiant face of a city that lives fully from its heritage and history, its sun and its beaches, which it generously offers to those who come to discover it. This is what Fréjus is: a city that tirelessly gets back up to better share its treasures.
Whispers from the Past: An Exploration of the History of Fréjus' Cultural Heritage
Immerse yourself in the fragments of history of Fréjus' heritage, where each monument, each vestige, tells a living page of the past.
Through these texts, we invite you to discover not only historical facts, but also daily life in the past, its sounds, its smells, its rhythms.
Through the details, often invisible, that remain in the stones and ruins, let yourself be carried away by the imagination, on a journey where time fades to make way for escape. These fragments of history do not simply seek to inform, but to make us dream, to awaken in us another era, where each stone whispered stories of life, trade, celebrations and struggles.