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101-571: 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

202-603: A Fachhochschule ). Of the 1,487 who completed tertiary schooling, 53.2% were Swiss men, 29.3% were Swiss women, 11.0% were non-Swiss men and 6.5% were non-Swiss women. As of 2000, there were 835 students in Martigny who came from another municipality, while 502 residents attended schools outside the municipality. Martigny is home to the Médiathèque Valais - Martigny library. The library has (as of 2008) 57,756 books or other media, and loaned out 144,524 items in

303-573: A disciple of Hilary of Poitiers , establishing the monastery at Ligugé . He was consecrated as Bishop of Caesarodunum (Tours) in 371. As bishop, he was active in the suppression of the remnants of Gallo-Roman religion , but he opposed the violent persecution of the Priscillianist sect of ascetics. The contemporary hagiographer Sulpicius Severus wrote a Life of St. Martin . Some of the accounts of his travels may have been interpolated into this book to validate early sites of his cult . He

404-646: A magnificent new reliquary donated by Charles VII of France and Agnes Sorel . During the French Wars of Religion , the basilica was sacked by the Protestant Huguenots in 1562. It was disestablished during the French Revolution . It was deconsecrated, used as a stable, then utterly demolished. Its dressed stones were sold in 1802 after two streets were built across the site, to ensure the abbey would not be reconstructed. While Martin

505-410: A man dressed as St. Martin rides on a horse in front of the procession. The children sing songs about St. Martin and about their lanterns. The food traditionally eaten on the day is goose , a rich bird. According to legend, Martin was reluctant to become bishop, which is why he hid in a stable filled with geese. The noise made by the geese betrayed his location to the people who were looking for him. In

606-534: A national pilgrimage to Tours that attracted people from all of France. The devotion to St. Martin was amplified in the dioceses of France, where special prayers were offered to the patron saint. When the armistice was signed on Saint Martin's Day, 11 November 1918, the French people saw it was a sign of his intercession in the affairs of France. He is the patron saint of beggars (because of his sharing his cloak), wool-weavers and tailors (also because of his cloak), he

707-423: A new commanding officer (away from antichristian Julian and to Christ), along with reluctance to receive Julian's pay just as Martin was retiring, prohibited his taking the money and continuing to submit to the authority of the former now, telling him, "I am the soldier of Christ: it is not lawful for me to fight." He was charged with cowardice and jailed, but in response to the charge, he volunteered to go unarmed to

808-629: A popular ritual, even in Protestant areas of Germany and the Netherlands, although most Protestant churches no longer officially recognize Saints . In Portugal , where the saint's day is celebrated across the country, it is common for families and friends to gather around the fire in reunions called magustos , where they typically eat roasted chestnuts and drink wine , jeropiga (a drink made of grape must and aguardente ) and aguapé (a sort of weak and watered-down wine). According to

909-484: A provisional government of national defense was established, and France's Third Republic was proclaimed. Paris was evacuated due to the advancing enemy and for a brief time (September–December 1870), Tours became the effective capital of France. During the French Third Republic, he was seen as a patron saint of France. St Martin was promoted by the clerical right as the protector of the nation against

1010-424: A short distance upstream from Tours on the opposite shore of the river Loire . Martin introduced a rudimentary parish system in his diocese. Once a year, the bishop visited each of his parishes, traveling on foot, or by donkey or boat. He continued to set up monastic communities, and extended the influence of his episcopate from Touraine to such distant points as Chartres, Paris, Autun, and Vienne. In one instance,

1111-731: 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

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1212-496: A total of 4,947 votes were cast, of which 412 or about 8.3% were invalid. The voter participation was 57.0%, which is similar to the cantonal average of 59.88%. Martigny is the headquarters of the Groupe Mutuel  [ fr ] and is the headquarters of the watch brand 121TIME  [ fr ] . The city is surrounded by vineyards and orchards and field crops. The relatively warm Valais (for Switzerland) sunshine

1313-665: A wedge between the Church and the Republic. By 1905, the influence of Rene Waldeck-Rousseau and Emile Combes , combined with deteriorating relations with the Vatican , led to the separation of church and state. St. Martin's popularity was renewed during the First World War. Anticlericalism declined, and priests served in the French forces as chaplains. More than 5,000 of them died in the war. In 1916, Assumptionists organized

1414-500: Is a net importer of workers, with about 1.9 workers entering the municipality for every one leaving. Of the working population, 10.4% used public transportation to get to work, and 58.8% used a private car. From the 2000 census, 11,089 or 77.2% were Roman Catholic , while 715 or 5.0% belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church . Of the rest of the population, there were 115 members of an Orthodox church (or about 0.80% of

1515-679: Is accessible from Martigny in one-and-a-half hours using the narrow-gauge tracks of the "Mont Blanc Express". Martigny is twinned with: Montreux Too Many Requests If you report this error to the Wikimedia System Administrators, please include the details below. Request from 172.68.168.226 via cp1108 cp1108, Varnish XID 217493615 Upstream caches: cp1108 int Error: 429, Too Many Requests at Thu, 28 Nov 2024 07:45:32 GMT Martin of Tours Martin of Tours ( Latin : Martinus Turonensis ; 316/336 – 8 November 397), also known as Martin

1616-487: Is also the patron saint of the US Army Quartermaster Corps (also because of sharing his cloak), geese (some say because they gave his hiding place away when he tried to avoid being chosen as bishop, others because their migration coincides with his feast), vintners and innkeepers (because his feast falls just after the late grape harvest), and France. He was proclaimed patron of Italian volunteering by

1717-646: Is best known for the account of his using his sword to cut his cloak in two, to give half to a beggar clad only in rags in the depth of winter. His shrine in Tours became a famous stopping-point for pilgrims on the road to Santiago de Compostela in Spain. His cult was revived in French nationalism during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870/1, and as a consequence he was seen as a patron saint of France during

1818-477: Is good for growing strawberries, apricots, asparagus, and the wine grapes which grow on the adjacent hills and steep slopes. The nearby Dranse River drains to the Rhône in the valley where Martigny lies. As of  2010, Martigny had an unemployment rate of 6.5%. As of 2008, there were 251 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 74 businesses involved in this sector. 2,211 people were employed in

1919-495: Is often that of a goose, whose annual migration is about late autumn. By the early 9th century, respect for Saint Martin was well-established in Ireland. His monastery at Marmoûtiers became the training ground for many Celtic missions and missionaries. Some believe that St. Patrick was his nephew and that Patrick was one of many Celtic notables who lived for a time at Marmoûtiers. St. Ninian definitely studied at Marmoûtiers and

2020-426: Is the second most common (602 or 4.2%) and Italian is the third (597 or 4.2%). There are 227 people who speak German and 9 people who speak Romansh . As of 2008, the gender distribution of the population was 48.7% male and 51.3% female. The population was made up of 5,114 Swiss men (32.4% of the population) and 2,566 (16.3%) non-Swiss men. There were 5,830 Swiss women (37.0%) and 2,268 (14.4%) non-Swiss women. Of

2121-523: The French Third Republic . Sulpicius Severus , a contemporary Christian writer, who knew Martin personally wrote a hagiography of the early life of the saint. It contains, among other things, descriptions of supernatural events such as interactions with the Devil and various miracles performed by the saint such as the casting out of demons, the healing of a paralytic and the raising of

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2222-492: The Middle Ages , the supposed relic of St. Martin's miraculous cloak ( cappa Sancti Martini ) was carried by the king even into battle, and used as a holy relic upon which oaths were sworn. The cloak is first attested to in the royal treasury in 679, when it was conserved at the palatium of Luzarches , a royal villa that was later ceded to the monks of Saint-Denis by Charlemagne , in 798/99. The priest who cared for

2323-493: The SP (13.5%) and the SVP (13.39%). In the federal election, a total of 5,030 votes were cast, and the voter turnout was 56.9%. In the 2009 Conseil d'État/Staatsrat election a total of 4,057 votes were cast, of which 335 or about 8.3% were invalid. The voter participation was 46.4%, which is much less than the cantonal average of 54.67%. In the 2007 Swiss Council of States election

2424-635: The dead . Other miracle stories described are: turning back the flames from a house while Martin was burning down the Roman temple it adjoined; deflecting the path of a felled sacred pine ; the healing power of a letter written by Martin. Martin was born in AD 316 or 336 in Savaria in the Diocese of Pannonia (now Szombathely, Hungary). His father was a senior officer ( tribune ) in the Roman military. His father

2525-469: The pagans agreed to fell their sacred pine tree, if Martin would stand directly in its path. He did so, and it miraculously missed him. Sulpicius, a classically educated aristocrat, related this anecdote with dramatic details, as a set piece. Sulpicius could not have failed to know the incident the Roman poet Horace recalls in several Odes of his own narrow escape from a falling tree. The churches of other parts of Gaul and in Spain were being disturbed by

2626-402: The secondary sector and there were 188 businesses in this sector. 7,812 people were employed in the tertiary sector , with 871 businesses in this sector. There were 7,227 residents of the municipality who were employed in some capacity, of which females made up 44.2% of the workforce. In 2008 the total number of full-time equivalent jobs was 8,663. The number of jobs in the primary sector

2727-579: The syndics (but no judges, as justice lay with the bishopric until 1798). The economy of Martigny was traditionally based on agriculture and viticulture . The town was often flooded by the Dranse, most severely in 1595 and in 1818. From 1798 to 1802, Martigny was part of the imperialist Napoleonic Republic of Valais , then in the Rhodanic Republic , which passed to France from 1810 to 1814. The Valais/Wallis passed to Switzerland in 1815. In

2828-654: 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

2929-625: The 1840s, Martigny was the stage of a confrontation between the liberal-radical "Young Switzerland" and the conservative "Old Switzerland" movements, culminating in the Battle at the Trient of 21 May 1844, taking place a few kilometres outside town. The town was split into independent municipalities of Martigny-Ville , Charrat , Martigny-Bourg and Martigny-Combe in the 1830s. La Bâtiaz and Trient were further split off Martigny-Combe in 1845 and 1899, respectively. This administrative fragmentation of

3030-421: The 1870s, the procession to St. Martin's tomb at Tours became a display of ecclesiastical and military cooperation. Army officers in full uniform acted as military escorts, symbolically protecting the clergy and clearing the path for them. Anti-clerics viewed the staging of public religious processions as a violation of civic space. In 1878, M. Rivière, the provisional mayor of Tours, with anticlerical support banned

3131-603: The Arians with so much zeal that he was publicly whipped and forced to leave. Returning from Illyria , he was confronted by Auxentius , the Arian Archbishop of Milan , who expelled him from the city. According to the early sources, Martin decided to seek shelter on the island then called Gallinaria, now Isola d'Albenga , in the Ligurian Sea , where he lived the solitary life of a hermit. Not entirely alone, since

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3232-598: The Emperor. Martin died in Candes-Saint-Martin , Gaul (central France) in 397. After he died, local citizens of the Poitou region and residents of Tours quarreled over where Martin would be buried. One evening after dark, several residents of Tours carried Martin's body to a waiting boat on the river Loire , where teams of rowers ferried his body on the river to Tours, where a huge throng of people waited on

3333-567: The Gallo-Roman Museum, houses a car museum. The building was constructed around the remains of a former Roman temple built on top of Roman ruins. The foundation hosts three painting exhibitions every year, with works by renowned masters. In the 2007 federal election the most popular party was the FDP which received 37% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the CVP (26.23%),

3434-463: The German threat. Conservatives associated the dramatic collapse of Napoleon III's regime as a sign of divine retribution on the irreligious emperor. Priests interpreted it as punishment for a nation led astray due to years of anti-clericalism . They preached repentance and a return to religion for political stability. The ruined towers of the old royal basilica of St. Martin at Tours came to symbolize

3535-689: The Imperial Court. When Hilary was forced into exile from Pictavium (now Poitiers ), Martin returned to Italy. According to Sulpicius, he converted an Alpine brigand on the way, and confronted the Devil himself. Having heard in a dream a summons to revisit his home, Martin crossed the Alps, and from Milan went over to Pannonia. There he converted his mother and some other persons; his father he could not win over. While in Illyricum he took sides against

3636-574: The Italian bishops in the spring of 2021. Beyond his patronage of the French Third Republic , Saint Martin more recently has also been described in terms of "a spiritual bridge across Europe" due to his "international" background, being a native of Pannonia who spent his adult life in Gaul . Martin is most generally portrayed on horseback dividing his cloak with the beggar. His emblem in English art

3737-683: The Merciful , was the third bishop of Tours . He has become one of the most familiar and recognizable saints in France, heralded as the patron saint of the Third Republic . He is the patron saint of many communities and organizations across Europe. A native of Pannonia (in present-day Hungary), he converted to Christianity at a young age. He served in the Roman cavalry in Gaul , but left military service at some point prior to 361, when he became

3838-550: The November procession in honor of St. Martin. President Patrice de Mac-Mahon was succeeded by the Republican Jules Grévy , who created a new national anticlerical offensive. Bishop Louis-Édouard-François-Desiré Pie of Poitiers united conservatives and devised a massive demonstration for the November 1879 procession. Pie's ultimate hope was that St Martin would stop the "chariot" of modern society, and lead to

3939-479: The Priscillianists, an ascetic sect, named after its leader, Priscillian . The First Council of Saragossa had forbidden several of Priscillian's practices (albeit without mentioning Priscillian by name), but Priscillian was elected bishop of Avila shortly thereafter. Ithacius of Ossonoba appealed to the emperor Gratian , who issued a rescript against Priscillian and his followers. After failing to obtain

4040-467: 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 km (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

4141-520: The Rhone valley in which Martigny lies. One railroad goes west to Chamonix, France, crossing the border at Le Chatelard. The other railroad goes southeast to Chable and Orsieres. The regional transportation agency known as TMR SA (Transports de Martigny et Regions) operates this service and the ski trains known as the Mount-Blanc Express (to Chamonix) and the St. Bernard Express (to Orsieres). See

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4242-445: The abbey was destroyed by fire on several occasions and ransacked by Norman Vikings in 853 and in 903. It burned again in 994, and was rebuilt by Hervé de Buzançais, treasurer of Saint Martin, an effort that took 20 years to complete. Expanded to accommodate the crowds of pilgrims and to attract them, the shrine of St. Martin of Tours became a major stopping-point on pilgrimages . In 1453 the remains of Saint Martin were transferred to

4343-606: The angels, "Martin, who is still but a catechumen , clothed me with this robe." ( Sulpicius, ch 2 ). In another version, when Martin woke, he found his cloak restored to wholeness. The dream confirmed Martin in his piety, and he was baptised at the age of 18. The part kept by himself became the famous relic preserved in the oratory of the Merovingian kings of the Franks at the Marmoutier Abbey near Tours . During

4444-751: The boards of directors of MO and MC decided to combine for common management, however each company would maintain an independent status. Two new trains were started: the Saint-Bernard Express for the MO, and the Mont Blanc Express for the MC. Later the Octodure-Voyages and Orsières-Octodure-Transports companies were taken over. TMRSA is an important employer in the region with some 180 permanent staff. The French holiday resort of Chamonix

4545-452: The chronicles indicate that he would have been in the company of a priest, a man of great virtues , and for a period with Hilary of Poitiers , on this island, where the wild hens lived. Martin lived on a diet of herbs and wild roots . With the return of Hilary to his see in 361, Martin joined him and established a hermitage at what is now the town of Ligugé south of Poitiers , and soon attracted converts and followers. The crypt under

4646-493: The church in great numbers. As Martin was a man's saint, the devotion to him was an exception to this trend. For men serving in the military, Martin of Tours was presented by the Catholic Right as the masculine model of principled behavior. He was a brave fighter, knew his obligation to the poor, shared his goods, performed his required military service, followed legitimate orders, and respected secular authority. During

4747-465: The cloak in its reliquary was called a cappellanu , and ultimately all priests who served the military were called cappellani . The French translation is chapelains , from which the English word chaplain is derived. A similar linguistic development took place for the term referring to the small temporary churches built for the relic. People called them a "capella", the word for a little cloak. Eventually, such small churches lost their association with

4848-553: The cloak, and all small churches began to be referred to as "chapels". The veneration of Martin was widely popular in the Middle Ages , above all in the region between the Loire and the Marne , where Le Roy Ladurie and Zysberg noted the densest accretion of place names commemorating Martin. Venantius Fortunatus had earlier declared, "Wherever Christ is known, Martin is honored." When Bishop Perpetuus took office at Tours in 461,

4949-466: The construction rate of new housing units was 6.2 new units per 1000 residents. The vacancy rate for the municipality, in 2010, was 2.72%. The historical population is given in the following chart: The Centre valaisan du film, La Bâtiaz Castle , the three museums (Musée gallo-romain, Musée des voitures, Fondation Pierre Gianadda ) and the Roman era city are listed as Swiss heritage site of national significance . The entire town of Martigny-Ville and

5050-535: The context in which the Life of St Martin was brought from Gaul to Ireland at an early date, and could explain how Columbanus was familiar with it before he ever left Ireland. Founded by Martin of Tours in 360, Ligugé Abbey is one of the earliest monastic foundations in France. The reputation of the founder attracted a large number of disciples to the new monastery; the disciples initially living in locaciacum or small huts, this name later evolved to Ligugé. Its reputation

5151-407: The creation of a France where the religious and secular sectors merged. The struggle between the two men was reflective of that between conservatives and anti-clerics over the church's power in the army. From 1874, military chaplains were allowed in the army in times of peace, but anti-clerics viewed the chaplains as sinister monarchists and counter-revolutionaries. Conservatives responded by creating

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5252-414: The crowd; that may account for complaints by a few that his appearance was too disheveled to be commensurate with a bishopric, but the critics were hugely outnumbered. As bishop, Martin set to enthusiastically ordering the destruction of pagan temples, altars and sculptures: [W]hen in a certain village he had demolished a very ancient temple, and had set about cutting down a pine-tree, which stood close to

5353-674: The decline of traditional Catholic France. With the government's relocation to Tours during the Franco-Prussian War , 1870, numerous pilgrims were attracted to St. Martin's tomb. It was covered by a temporary chapel built by archbishop Guibert . The popular devotion to St. Martin was also associated with the nationalistic devotion to the Sacred Heart . The flag of Sacre-Coeur, borne by Ultramontane Catholic Pontifical Zouaves who fought at Patay, had been placed overnight in St. Martin's tomb before being taken into battle on 9 October 1870. The banner read "Heart of Jesus Save France" and on

5454-478: The eastern part of the Belgian province of East Flanders (Aalst) and the western part of West Flanders ( Ypres ), traditionally children receive presents from St. Martin on November 11, instead of from Saint Nicholas on December 6 or Santa Claus on December 25. They also have lantern processions, for which children make lanterns out of beets . In recent years, the lantern processions have become widespread as

5555-440: The emperor into such matters. He prevailed upon the emperor to spare the life of the heretic Priscillian. At first, Maximus acceded to his entreaty, but, when Martin had departed, yielded to Ithacius and ordered Priscillian and his followers to be beheaded (in 385). Martin then pleaded for a cessation of the persecution of Priscillian's followers in Spain. Deeply grieved, Martin refused to communicate with Ithacius, until pressured by

5656-471: The established faith of "patriotic Republicanism". St. Martin has long been associated with France's royal heritage. Monsignor René François Renou (Archbishop of Tours, 1896–1913) worked to associate St. Martin as a specifically "republican" patron. Renou had served as a chaplain to the 88 Régiment des mobils d'Indre-et-Loire during the Franco-Prussian war and was known as the "army bishop". Renou

5757-647: The feast day, people ate and drank very heartily for a last time before they started to fast. This fasting time was later called " Advent " by the Church and was considered a time for spiritual preparation for Christmas. On St. Martin's Day, children in Flanders , the southern and northern parts of the Netherlands , and the Catholic areas of Germany and Austria participate in paper lantern processions. Often,

5858-454: The front of the troops. His superiors planned to take him up on the offer, but before they could, the invaders sued for peace, the battle never occurred, and Martin was released from military service. Martin declared his vocation, and made his way to the city of Caesarodunum (now Tours ), where he became a disciple of Hilary of Poitiers ' Christian orthodoxy. He opposed the Arianism of

5959-521: The historian to pin down the exact date of Martin's exit from military service. Still, historian Andre Mertens has provided this guidance: "He [Martin] served under the Roman emperor Constantine II (ruled 337-61) and afterwards under Julian (ruled 355-60)." Regardless of the difficulties in chronology, Sulpicius reports that just before a battle in the Gallic provinces at Borbetomagus (now Worms, Germany) , Martin determined that his switch of allegiance to

6060-517: The intervention of St Martin with his success, and with several following triumphs, including the defeat of Alaric II . The popular devotion to St Martin continued to be closely identified with the Merovingian monarchy: in the early seventh century Dagobert I commissioned the goldsmith Saint Eligius to make a work in gold and gems for the tomb-shrine. The bishop Gregory of Tours wrote and distributed an influential Life filled with miraculous events of St. Martin's career. Martin's cultus survived

6161-422: The little chapel over Martin's grave, built in the previous century by Martin's immediate successor, Bricius , was no longer sufficient for the crowd of pilgrims it was already drawing. Perpetuus built a larger basilica , 38 m (125 ft) long and 18 m (59 ft) wide, with 120 columns. Martin's body was taken from the simple chapel at his hermitage at Candes-St-Martin to Tours and his sarcophagus

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6262-622: 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 . Octodurus was conquered by the Roman Republic in 57 BC, and occupied by Servius Galba with

6363-527: The mid-7th century contains the text of a mass for St Martin. In the Life of Columba , Adamnan mentions in passing that St Martin was commemorated during Mass at Iona . In his Ireland and Her Neighbours in the Seventh Century , Michael Richter attributes this to the mission of Palladius seen within the wider context of the mission of Germanus of Auxerre to Britain around 429. Thus, this could be

6464-423: The most widespread variation of the cloak story, Saint Martin cut off half of his cloak in order to offer it to a beggar and along the way, he gave the remaining part to a second beggar. As he faced a long ride in a freezing weather, the dark clouds cleared away and the sun shone so intensely that the frost melted away. Such weather was rare for early November, so was credited to God's intervention. The phenomenon of

6565-429: The movement and storage of goods, 594 or 9.3% were in a hotel or restaurant, 103 or 1.6% were in the information industry, 740 or 11.5% were the insurance or financial industry, 827 or 12.9% were technical professionals or scientists, 286 or 4.5% were in education and 964 or 15.0% were in health care. In 2000, there were 4,424 workers who commuted into the municipality and 2,362 workers who commuted away. The municipality

6666-487: The municipal coat of arms is Gules, a lion rampant argent bearing a hammer or. Martigny has a population (as of December 2020) of 18,291. As of 2008, 30.6% of the population are resident foreign nationals. During 2000–2010, the population has increased at a rate of 13.1%. It has changed at a rate of 6.7% due to migration and at a rate of 3.5% due to births and deaths. Most of the population (as of 2000) speaks French (12,227 or 85.1%) as their first language, Portuguese

6767-530: The municipality. There were 6,723 married individuals, 922 widows or widowers and 798 individuals who are divorced. As of 2000, there were 6,001 private households in the municipality, and an average of 2.3 persons per household. There were 2,211 households that consist of only one person and 385 households with five or more people. In 2000, a total of 5,766 apartments (84.4% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 900 apartments (13.2%) were seasonally occupied and 168 apartments (2.5%) were empty. As of 2009,

6868-464: The parish church (not the current Abbey Chapel) reveals traces of a Roman villa, probably part of the bath complex, which had been abandoned before Martin established himself there. The monastery became a centre for the evangelisation of the country districts around Poitiers, and later developed into Ligugé Abbey , belonging to the Order of St. Benedict and claiming to be the oldest monastery known in western Europe. In 371, Martin succeeded Litorius,

6969-430: The passage of power to the Merovingians' successors, the Carolingian dynasty. Martin is honored in the Church of England and in the Episcopal Church on 11 November . In 1860 excavations by Leo Dupont (1797–1876) established the dimensions of the former abbey and recovered some fragments of architecture. The tomb of St. Martin was rediscovered on 14 December 1860, which aided in the nineteenth-century revival of

7070-418: The popular devotion to St. Martin. After the radical Paris Commune of 1871, there was a resurgence of conservative Catholic piety, and the church decided to build a basilica to St. Martin. They selected Victor Laloux as architect. He eschewed Gothic for a mix of Romanesque and Byzantine, sometimes defined as neo-Byzantine. The new Basilique Saint-Martin was erected on a portion of its former site, which

7171-575: The population in the municipality 5,162 or about 35.9% were born in Martigny and lived there in 2000. There were 3,554 or 24.7% who were born in the same canton, while 1,439 or 10.0% were born somewhere else in Switzerland, and 3,694 or 25.7% were born outside of Switzerland. The age distribution of the population (as of 2000) is children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 23.8% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 61.3% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 14.8%. As of 2000, there were 5,918 people who were single and never married in

7272-539: The population) belonged to no church, are agnostic or atheist , and 745 individuals (or about 5.19% of the population) did not answer the question. HCV Martigny currently plays in the second tier, Swiss League (SL). Their home arena is the 3,500-seat Forum d'Octodure. FC Martigny-Sports is Martigny's amateur football team. In Martigny about 4,520 or (31.5%) of the population have completed non-mandatory upper secondary education , and 1,487 or (10.4%) have completed additional higher education (either university or

7373-610: The population), there were 13 individuals (or about 0.09% of the population) who belonged to the Christian Catholic Church , and there were 309 individuals (or about 2.15% of the population) who belonged to another Christian church. There were 2 individuals (or about 0.01% of the population) who were Jewish , and 696 (or about 4.85% of the population) who were Islamic . There were 29 individuals who were Buddhist , 18 individuals who were Hindu and 13 individuals who belonged to another church. 769 (or about 5.35% of

7474-495: The position of Abbot to his friend and adviser Alcuin . At this time the abbot could travel between Tours and the court at Trier in Germany and always stay overnight at one of his own properties. It was at Tours that Alcuin's scriptorium (a room in monasteries devoted to the copying of manuscripts by monastic scribes ) developed Caroline minuscule , the clear round hand that made manuscripts far more legible. In later times

7575-735: 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

7676-529: The remains of a Roman aqueduct at Martigny. Many coins, and other memorials of the Roman time, have been found about the place. There are no records of the town during the early medieval period. In the Middle Ages, the town took Martin of Tours as its patron saint, and became known by the German name Martinach , recorded in Latinized form as Martiniacum in 1018. The church of Martigny, presumably at

7777-569: The reverse side Carmelite nuns of Tours embroidered "Saint Martin Protect France". As the French army was victorious in Patay, many among the faithful took the victory to be the result of divine favor. Popular hymns of the 1870s developed the theme of national protection under the cover of Martin's cloak, the "first flag of France". During the nineteenth-century Frenchmen, influenced by secularism, agnosticism, and anti-clericalism , deserted

7878-461: The river banks to meet and pay their last respects to Martin's body. One chronicle states that "2,000 monks, and nearly as many white-robed virgins, walked in the procession" accompanying the body from the river to a small grove just west of the city, where Martin was buried and where his shrine was established. The shrine chapel at Tours developed into one of the most prominent and influential establishments in medieval France. Charlemagne awarded

7979-498: The same year. It was open a total of 280 days with average of 22 hours per week during that year. Martigny is on the high-speed Simplon line of the Swiss Federal Railway, SBB, which connects Italy (Domodossola) and southern Switzerland to northeastern Switzerland and the cities of Lausanne and Geneva. It also is the origin of narrow gauge railroads and bus routes that climb into the nearby mountains on both sides of

8080-429: The second bishop of Tours . He impressed the city with his demeanour. He was enticed to Tours from Ligugé by a ruse — he was urged to come to minister to someone sick — and was brought to the church, where he reluctantly allowed himself to be consecrated bishop. According to one version, he was so unwilling to be made bishop that he hid in a barn full of geese, but their cackling at his intrusion gave him away to

8181-402: The short-lived Legion de Saint Maurice in 1878 and the society, Notre Dame de Soldats, to provide unpaid voluntary chaplains with financial support. The legislature passed the anticlerical Duvaux Bill of 1880, which reduced the number of chaplains in the French army. Anticlerical legislators wanted commanders, not chaplains, to provide troops with moral support and to supervise their formation in

8282-580: The site of the ancient cathedral, was consecrated to St. Mary in 1177, and to Notre-Dame-des-Champs in 1420. Martigny was placed under the protection of the House of Savoy in 1351, passing to Saint-Maurice in 1475, as the seven tithings ( Sieben Zenden ) in treaty with the bishop of Sion and the canton of Bern seized all of the Lower Valais. The town was granted a degree of autonomy, its citizens being allowed to elect their own local officials, known as

8383-522: The small town of Martigny-Bourg are part of the Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites . The Romans left many archaeological remains in Martigny. The city is known for its amphitheater , which was restored in 1978. Cow fights are held in the amphitheater during early autumn for the "Comptoir". The city is notable for its Pierre Gianadda Foundation (Fondation Pierre Gianadda) museum. This is the most important cultural attraction in Martigny and, in addition to

8484-534: The spread of the religion, it was still a minority faith. As the son of a veteran officer, Martin at 15 was required to join a cavalry ala . At the age of 18 (around 334 or 354), he was stationed at Ambianensium civitas or Samarobriva in Gaul (now Amiens , France). It is likely that he joined the Equites catafractarii Ambianenses , a heavy cavalry unit listed in the Notitia Dignitatum . As

8585-471: The support of Ambrose of Milan and Pope Damasus I , Priscillian appealed to Magnus Maximus , who had usurped the throne from Gratian. Although greatly opposed to the Priscillianists, Martin traveled to the Imperial court of Trier to remove them from the secular jurisdiction of the emperor. With Ambrose, Martin rejected Bishop Ithacius's principle of putting heretics to death—as well as the intrusion of

8686-509: The temple, the chief priest of that place, and a crowd of other heathens began to oppose him; and these people, though, under the influence of the Lord, they had been quiet while the temple was being overthrown, could not patiently allow the tree to be cut down. Sulpicius writes that Martin withdrew from the city to live in Marmoutier ( Majus Monasterium ), a rural monastery which he founded

8787-528: The tomb in the apse , which may have been visible through a fenestrella in the apse wall. St. Martin's popularity can be partially attributed to his adoption by successive royal houses of France. Clovis , King of the Salian Franks , one of many warring tribes in sixth-century France, promised his Christian wife Clotilda that he would be baptised if he was victorious over the Alemanni . He credited

8888-708: 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

8989-672: The town was reversed in the 20th century, with a fusion of Martigny-Ville with La Bâtiaz in 1956 and with Martigny-Bourg in 1964. Martigny was connected to the Simplon railway in 1878, with a separate railway station built in 1906. It was connected to the Swiss motorway system in 1981 with the completion of the Great-St-Bernard exit of the A9. Martigny had a population of 2,545 in 1850, of 3,550 in 1900 and of 5,915 in 1950. The blazon of

9090-525: The transportation map provided by the TMR website in the External Links section below. Thanks to Martigny's transport connections the winter sports regions of the "4 Vallées", Portes-du-Soleil and Ovronnaz are easily reached. It has been nearly one century since the two original railway companies Martigny-Orsières (MO) and Martigny-Châtelard (MC) began serving the valleys of Entremont and Trient. In 1990,

9191-456: The unit was stationed at Milan and is also recorded at Trier , it is likely to have been part of the elite cavalry bodyguard of the Emperor, which accompanied him on his travels around the Empire. Martin's biographer, Sulpicius Severus , provided no dates in his chronology, so although he indicated that Martin served in the military "for nearly two years after his baptism," it is difficult for

9292-435: Was 145, of which 137 were in agriculture and 8 were in forestry or lumber production. The number of jobs in the secondary sector was 2,100 of which 897 or (42.7%) were in manufacturing, 2 or (0.1%) were in mining and 1,082 (51.5%) were in construction. The number of jobs in the tertiary sector was 6,418. In the tertiary sector; 1,491 or 23.2% were in wholesale or retail sales or the repair of motor vehicles, 582 or 9.1% were in

9393-481: Was a soldier in the Roman army and stationed in Gaul (modern-day France), he experienced a vision, which became the most-repeated story about his life. One day as he was approaching the gates of the city of Amiens, he met a scantily clad beggar. He impulsively cut his military cloak in half to share with the man. That night, Martin dreamed of Jesus wearing the half of the cloak he had given away. He heard Jesus say to some of

9494-586: Was a strong supporter of St. Martin and believed that the national destiny of France and all its victories were attributed to him. He linked the military to the cloak of St. Martin, which was the "first flag of France" to the French tricolor, "the symbol of the union of the old and new." This flag symbolism connected the devotion to St. Martin with the Third Republic. But, the tensions of the Dreyfus Affair renewed anti-clericalism in France and drove

9595-488: Was concentrated in cities, brought along the trade routes by converted Jews and Greeks (the term 'pagan' literally means 'country-dweller'). Christianity was far from accepted among the higher echelons of society; among members of the army the worship of Mithras would have been stronger. Although the conversion of the Emperor Constantine and the subsequent programme of church-building gave a greater impetus to

9696-576: 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

9797-400: Was profoundly influenced by Martin. Ninian dedicated a new church to Martin. The Book of Armagh contains, among other texts, almost the complete body of writings on Saint Martin by Sulpicius Severus. In Jonas of Bobbio 's Vita Columbani , Jonas relates that Saint Columbanus , while travelling, requested to be allowed to pray at the tomb of St Martin. The Irish palimpsest sacramentary from

9898-551: Was purchased from the owners. Started in 1886, the church was consecrated 4 July 1925. Martin's renewed popularity in France was related to his promotion as a military saint during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–1871. During the military and political crisis of the Franco-Prussian war, Napoleon III 's Second Empire collapsed. After the surrender of Napoleon to the Prussians after the Battle of Sedan in September 1870,

9999-411: Was reburied behind the high altar of the new basilica. A large block of marble above the tomb, the gift of bishop Euphronius of Autun (472–475), rendered it visible to the faithful gathered behind the high altar. Werner Jacobsen suggests it may also have been visible to pilgrims encamped in the atrium of the basilica. Contrary to the usual arrangement, the atrium was situated behind the church, close to

10100-655: Was soon eclipsed by Martin's later foundation at Marmoutier. As of 2013, the Benedictine community at Ligugé numbered twenty-five. From the late 4th century to the late Middle Ages , much of Western Europe , including Great Britain , engaged in a period of fasting beginning on the day after St. Martin's Day , November 11. This fast period lasted 40 days (not including Saturdays and Sundays), and was, therefore, called Quadragesima Sancti Martini , which means in Latin "the forty days of St. Martin". At St. Martin's eve and on

10201-526: Was then allowed veteran status and was given land on which to retire at Ticinum (now Pavia ), in northern Italy, where Martin grew up. At the age of 10 he attended the Christian church against the wishes of his parents and became a catechumen . Christianity had been made a legal religion (in 313) in the Roman Empire . It had many more adherents in the Eastern Empire, whence it had sprung, and

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