Oppède

Oppède

Oppède-le-Vieux

Coat of arms
Oppède

Coordinates: 43°50′43″N 5°10′10″E / 43.8453°N 5.1694°E / 43.8453; 5.1694Coordinates: 43°50′43″N 5°10′10″E / 43.8453°N 5.1694°E / 43.8453; 5.1694
Country France
Region Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
Department Vaucluse
Arrondissement Apt
Canton Bonnieux
Intercommunality Coustellet
Government
 • Mayor (2000–2014) Albert Calvo
Area1 24.1 km2 (9.3 sq mi)
Population (2006)2 1,343
 • Density 56/km2 (140/sq mi)
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
 • Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
INSEE/Postal code 84086 / 84580
Elevation 103–733 m (338–2,405 ft)
(avg. 300 m or 980 ft)

1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

2 Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once.

Oppède (Occitan: Opèda) is a commune in the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France. Oppidum is the Latin word for 'town'.

History

It is in fact two villages: Oppède-le-Vieux ("the old" in French), built against the Petit Luberon and dating back to the 12th century, and Oppède-les-Poulivets ("nice view" in Provençal), today known as "le village", down in the valley.

The old village, built on a rocky hill, has narrow streets. In winter, the Petit Luberon starts casting its shadow early in the afternoon. Houses beyond the medieval ramparts are dark, humid and tricky to maintain.

From below the village is dominated by the restored church of Notre-Dame-Dalidon and the ruins of the castle.

In the 19th century, the inhabitants had enough and started to move down in the valley, dismantling the roof of their houses to stop paying property taxes.

By the beginning of the 20th century, Oppède-le-Vieux was a ghost village and a new community was officially established in the valley, with larger streets, cosier houses and farmers closer to their fields.

Following the armistice of June 1940, architect Bernard Zehrfuss founded a commune of artists in the old town, a project that attracted French sculptor François Stahly and the writer and artist Consuelo de Saint Exupéry. The commune proved short-lived. It was the basis for Saint Exupéry's fictionalized account, published in 1946, called "Kingdom of the Rocks".[1]

Geography

The commune is traversed by the river Calavon.

Personalities

See also

References

  1. ↑ Saint-Exupéry: a biography By Stacy Schiff, page 381
  2. ↑ "La Provence dit adieu à Jean-Paul Clébert, Jean-Pierre Thiollet, France Soir, 23 September 2011
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