NIMES (anc: Nemausus), a t. of France, capital of the department of Gard, stands in a fertile plain surrounded by vine-clad hills, 30 in. n.e. of Montpellier, with which it is connected by railway. It consists of the town proper (iil built and dirty), and of three handsome suburbs. In the vicinity are the beautiful remains of the Roman aqueduct called the Pont du Gard. The chief of the modern edifices are the Peals-de-Justice, the theater, and the hospitals. The Grande Place is embellished with one of the most mag nificent fountains in France. Nimes contains numerous and variously-constituted educational institutions, an important public library, Maria Theresa's museum (in the Carree), a museum of natural history, etc. It is the general entrepot for the silks produced in the south of France, and its manufactures are principally silk and cotton fabrics. More than 10,000 looms are constantly in operation in the city, and about 6,000 in the immediate vicinity. Shawls, handkerchiefs, lace, brandy, wines, etc., are made. Within the town are numerous and beautiful Roman remains, the chief of which are the amphitheater; the Maison Carree (square house), a fine specimen of Cor inthian architecture; a temple and fountain consecrated to Diana; La Tour Magne (great tower); the baths, and two Roman gates. See Mcnard's Antiguites de Nimes (1833), and
his Histoire de Nimes (7 vols. 1875). Pop. '76, 60,804.
Previously to the Roman invasion, Nimes—which is supposed to have been founded by a colony from Massilia (Marseille)—was the chief city of the Volc Arecomici. It flourished under the Romans, and was one of the great cities of Gaul. It surrendered to the rule of the Visigoths between 465 and 535, and afterwards to that of the Franks. Subsequently it became a possession of Aragon, but was finally restored to France in 1259 by the treaty of Corbeil. The inhabitants adopted Calvinism in the 16th c., and on many occasions suffered severely for their religious principles. In 1791 and. and 1815, bloody religious and political reactions took place here.