Saint-Nicolas-de-Port

Commune in Grand Est, France

(2020–2026) Luc Binsinger^[1]Area8.23 km² (3.18 sq mi)Population7,364 • Density890/km² (2,300/sq mi)Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET) • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)INSEE/Postal codeElevation201–292 m (659–958 ft)
(avg. 232 m or 761 ft)¹ French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Saint-Nicolas-de-Port (French pronunciation: [sɛ̃ nikɔla də pɔʁ]) is a commune in the Meurthe-et-Moselle département in north-eastern France.^[3]

The town's basilica, Saint Nicolas, is a pilgrimage site, supposedly holding relics of Saint Nicholas brought from Italy. It is one of France's Monuments historiques, and a minor basilica since 1950.

The town's inhabitants are known as Portois. In the past, the Portois were known as loudmouths; their neighbours across the Meurthe at Varangéville liked to gather on the opposite river bank to bombard them with a chorus indicating a wish to defecate in their mouths:

Booyaî d'Senn 'Colais,

Tend tet ghieule quand je...

which in the local Lorrain dialect means:

Loudmouths of St Nicks,

Open your gob when I'm taking a...^[4]

St Nicholas-de-Port is also known for fossil remains of very early (late Triassic) ancestral mammals.

Population

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1968	7,279	—
1975	7,490	+0.41%
1982	7,482	−0.02%
1990	7,706	+0.37%
1999	7,505	−0.29%
2007	7,597	+0.15%
2012	7,633	+0.09%
2017	7,520	−0.30%
Source: INSEE[5]

People

• André Joly (1706–1781?), court painter

See also

• Communes of the Meurthe-et-Moselle department

References