Draguignan


Draguignan is a commune in the Var department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, in southeastern France.
It is a sub-prefecture of the department and self-proclaimed "capital of Artillery" and "Porte du Verdon".
The city is from St. Tropez, and from Nice.

City's name

According to legend, the name of the city is derived from the Latin name "Draco/Draconem" : a bishop, called Saint Hermentaire, killed a dragon and saved people.

Motto

The Latin motto of Draguignan is Alios nutrio, meos devoro.

Geography

The elevation is 200 m. The highest hill near Draguignan is Malmont. The main river near Draguignan is the Nartuby.
The city is set in a valley NW-SE, about wide.

Climate

Draguignan's climate is the same as the normal conditions of the Mediterranean climate. The nights of frost are rare and the negative temperatures occur only a few days a year. Thus the winters are mild and wet, and the summers warm and dry, the town is protected from the winds by the Malmont and the western massif of the Selves. During the summer the precipitation is extremely low whereas autumn is subjected to frequent rains.
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Geology

The hills downstream of Draguignan date from the Middle Triassic, while those that rise upstream belong to the Upper Triassic.
Up North, we can see a long bar of stony plateau, with summits made of Jurassic limestones, sometimes intersected by deep canyons. This northern region of the "baous" or also called massive mountainous barriers, deeply wrinkled and fractured, reveals successive basins in the east-west direction.

Communication routes

Roads

There is no highway going through the city of Draguignan but the town is directly connected by the D 1555 to a major highway, the A8.
A bypass route makes it possible to avoid the city center from the south when arriving from Trans-en-Provence and to get to the hospital in the north of the city more quickly.
The city is located 869 km away from Paris, 141 km from Marseille, 89 km from Nice, 86 km from Toulon, 30 km from Fréjus, 105 km from Digne-les-Bains and about 35 km from the Gulf of Saint-Tropez.

Rail transports

The closest railway station is les Arcs-Draguignan, which is served by the TGV and is located twelve kilometers from the city center. Bus shuttles have been set by the agglomeration community of Draguignan railway station. Now it has been converted into a classic bus station. Draguignan train station features two turnstiles: one for SNCF and another for the transport of the agglomeration.

Public transport services

Urban transports are managed by the TED community, which offers three urban lines as well as lines to other municipalities such as Les Arcs-Draguignan, Ampus, Flayosc, Le Muy and Lorgues. The buses of the General Council of the Var serve from Draguignan the cities of Toulon, Brignoles, Aups, Fayence, Fréjus and Le Luc.
A project by BHNS is being studied, to connect Draguignan city center to Les Arcs-Draguignan station in 17 minutes instead of 25 minutes currently.

Seismicity

There are three zones of seismicities in the Var:
Area 0: Negligible risk. This is the case for many municipalities on the Var coast, as well as part of the communes of the Var center. Nevertheless, these communes are not immune from a tsunami effect, linked to an earthquake at sea.
Area Ia: Very low risk. It mainly concerns the municipalities included in a strip from the Montagne Sainte-Victoire to the Massif de l'Esterel.
Area Ib: Low risk. This highest risk of the department, concerns 21 communes in the north of the department.
The commune of Draguignan, is in the seismic zone of very low risk "Ia3".
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History