Montélimar
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| Commune of Montélimar | |
| Location | |
| Longitude | 04° 45' 06" E |
| Latitude | 44° 33' 34" N |
| Administration | |
|---|---|
| Country | France |
| Region | Rhône-Alpes |
| Department | Drôme |
| Arrondissement | Valence |
| Canton | Chief town of 2 cantons |
| Mayor | Franck Reynier (2001-2008) |
| Statistics | |
| Altitude | 56 m–213 m (avg. 81 m) |
| Land area¹ | 46.81 km² |
| Population² (1999) |
31,344 |
| - Density (1999) | 669/km² |
| Miscellaneous | |
| INSEE/Postal code | 26198/ 26200 |
| ¹ French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 mi² or 247 acres) and river estuaries. | |
| ² Population sans doubles comptes: single count of residents of multiple communes (e.g. students and military personnel). | |
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Montélimar (Latin name: Acumum) is a commune of southern France in the Drôme département. It is the second largest town in the département after Valence.
The site where the city of Montélimar stands today has been inhabited since the Celtic era. It was reconstructed during the Roman reign, including a basilica, aqueducts, thermae and a forum. The Adhémar family reigned over the city in the Middle Ages and built a castle (Château des Adhémar) which dominates the city silhouette even today.
It was the birthplace of the French navigator Louis de Freycinet and the hometown of Émile Loubet, President of France from 1899 till 1906, who worked also as the mayor of Montélimar.
Montélimar is widely regarded as the world capital of nougat.[citation needed] The local nougat is one of the 13 desserts of Provence and highly appreciated throughout the country. Travellers used to buy nougat de Montélimar on their way to the south of France (or when returning) as the city is next to the Rhône river and to the primary route N7. Since the construction of the A7 autoroute, many nougat factories have been obliged to close as the tourists no longer stop in Montélimar but bypass it instead.
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