BEAUCAIRE  , a

town of south-eastern France, in the department of Gard, 17 M . E. by S. of Nimes on the Paris-Lyon railway . Pop . (1906) 7284 . Beaucaire is situated on the right bank of the Rhone, opposite Tarascon, with which it is connected by two handsome bridges, a suspension-bridge of four spans and 1476 ft. in length, and a' railway bridge . A triangular keep, a chapel, and other remains of a chateau (13th and 14th centuries) of the counts of Toulouse stand on the rocky pine-clad hill which rises to the north of the town; the chapel, dedicated to St Louis, belongs to the latest period of Romanesque architecture, and contains fine sculptures . The town derives celebrity from the great July fair, which has been held here annually since the 12th century, but has now lost its former importance (see FAIR) . Beaucaire gives its name to the canal which communicates with the sea (near Aigues-Mortes) and connects it with the Canal du Midi, forming part .of the line of communication between the Rhone and the Garonne . The town is an important port on the Rhone, and its commerce, the chief articles of which are wine, and freestone from quarries in the vicinity, is largely water-borne . Among its industries are distilling and the manufacture of furniture, and the preparation of vermicelli, sausages and other provisions . Beaucaire occupies the site of the ancient Ugernum, and several remains of the Roman city have been discovered, as well as (in 1734) the road that led from Nimes . The present name is derived from Bellum Quadrum, a descriptive appellation applied in the middle ages either to the chateau or to the rock on which it stands .

In 1125 Beaucaire came into the

possession of the counts of Toulouse, one of whom, Raymund VI., established the importance of its fairs by the grant of privileges . In the Wars of the League it suffered severely, and in 1632 its castle was destroyed by Richelieu .