Collias, Village in Gard, France
Collias is a village in the Gard department of southern France, set on a hillside above the Gardon river. Its stone houses with shallow pitched roofs line narrow winding lanes, and a church with a pointed spire stands near the edge of the cluster, with wooded ground below and around.
People have lived in the area since the Paleolithic, and a stela from around the 2nd century AD provides the first known mention of the name Collias. In the Middle Ages, the village grew around a castle, the Castellas, and later passed to the Montpezat family in the 16th century.
The name Collias likely comes from the Greek word Kolias, a nickname for Aphrodite as goddess of springs, which points to the site's old link with water. Today, the village keeps a rural feel, with stone facades and small squares where daily life unfolds slowly around the river.
The village spreads across a slope, so expect some uphill walking between the riverbank and the older streets. Wear shoes with good grip, as the lanes are paved with stone and can be slippery when wet.
The old bridge from the 1920s replaced a suspension bridge built in 1833, and the anchor buildings of the earlier structure still stand near the river. In summer, the number of people in the village can rise to several thousand, far more than the resident population.
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