Manosque

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Manosque
Manosque Coat of Arms
Manosque (France)
Manosque
region Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur
Department Alpes-de-Haute-Provence
Arrondissement Forcalquier
Community association Durance-Luberon-Verdon agglomeration
Coordinates 43 ° 50 '  N , 5 ° 47'  E Coordinates: 43 ° 50 '  N , 5 ° 47'  E
height 279-730 m
surface 56.73 km 2
Residents 22,333 (January 1, 2017)
Population density 394 inhabitants / km 2
Post Code 04100
INSEE code 04112
Website www.ville-manosque.fr

View of Manosque

Template: Infobox municipality in France / maintenance / different coat of arms in Wikidata

Manosque is a French municipality with 22,333 inhabitants (at January 1, 2017) in the department of Alpes-de-Haute-Provence in the region Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur . It belongs to the Arrondissement Forcalquier .

geography

Manosque is located in the southwest of the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department on the right bank of the Durance . The city is located in the Luberon Regional Nature Park and borders the neighboring Verdon Regional Nature Park , with which it is associated as an access point.

history

The fact that the city was invaded and sacked by the Saracens around the year 900 is the first surviving written record of the city's history. Nevertheless, we know a little more about the origins of the city: it is known that it already existed in Roman times.

It seems that the name of the city kelto-Ligurian of the tribe is derived from "Mountain, Hill" and the suffix asq "People who live here" means.

The first documented event in Manosque is the occupation of the city by the Saracens . During this time, the residents fled to the five neighboring villages, of which “Le Château” on Mont d'Or and “Toutes-Aures” on the hill of the same name are the most important.

In the Middle Ages , Manosque was divided into four quarters: les Ebréards, le Palais, les Payans et les Martels.

The coat of arms of Manosque is decorated with four hands under the motto "Omnia in manu dei sunt" (Everything is in God's hands).

The city's largest employer is the cosmetics group L'Occitane en Provence .

Population development

year 1962 1968 1975 1982 1990 1999 2006 2017
Residents 10,080 16,281 19,150 18,760 19,107 19,603 21,162 22,333
Sources: Cassini and INSEE

Attractions

City gates

The old town, which is surrounded by less beautiful modern industrial settlements, has the shape of a pear and originally had four city gates:

  • Porte Saunerie (Salztor) in the south, Romanesque from 1382 ( Location → )
  • Porte Soubeyran in the north from the 14th century , the tower of which was built in 1830 ( Location → )
  • Porte Guillempierre to the west was destroyed and recently reconstructed
  • Porte d'Aubette destroyed in the east

The boulevards reflect the course of the former city ​​wall , of which few remains are evidence.

Churches

The old town of Manosque has two churches:

The Romanesque church Notre-Dame de Romigier with a Renaissance portal is located on the Place de l'Hôtel de Ville ( Location → ). It was built where the first traces of settlement of the city from the 3rd century were found. The church was first mentioned in a document towards the end of the 10th century. It was built in the 13th century and rebuilt in the 14th, 17th and 19th centuries. It was the only parish church in the village until the 12th century. It has been classified as a Historic Monument since May 3, 1966. The church has a Renaissance portal. The Romanesque nave was rebuilt in the 12th century and the side aisles were added at the same time. The altar is a "sarcophagus" called L'Anastasis made of Carrara marble from the end of the 4th / beginning of the 5th century, which shows depictions of the apostles. The sarcophagus was classified as a Historic Monument on January 25, 1898. It is awarded to the workshop of Guy Barruol from Arles. As a high relief , the sky is symbolized by stars, under which the twelve apostles worship the sign of the resurrection, the "Cross of Anastasis" (the resurrection). This cross had a crown, but it disappeared in the course of a restoration of the grave.

You can also see in an icon-like image a beautiful seated, pre-Romanesque Black Madonna depicting Notre Dame de Romigier. The picture dates from the 11th century and is one of the oldest in France, it was classified as a Historic Monument in 1902. The stone cross is a grave cross from the beginning of the 16th century (1516) and was set in the ground in the immediate vicinity of the church. At the beginning of the 19th century it found a new place in the church. Originally the cross stood at right angles to the church wall, but was then implemented parallel to it, because one wanted to hide a macabre, but also picturesque view: on one (visible) side it bears the image of the Mother of God, on the other side of the crucified, whose feet rest on a skull.

Other sights are the gilded altarpiece and the stained glass windows in the choir from 1991.

  • Altar area

  • The Black Madonna

  • View of the chancel

  • A mural

  • The sarcophagus used as an altar

  • The stone cross

The Saint-Sauveur church with its Gothic portal and Romanesque nave ( location → ) has been classified as a "Historic Monument" since July 11, 1975. It was the second parish church in Marosque in the Middle Ages. The foundation stone was laid in 1179, but construction was not completed until late (13th-14th centuries). The inauguration was celebrated in 1372. The church is 40.10 m long and 23.70 m wide. The nave has a ribbed roof with an octagonal dome. The church organ dates from 1625 and was built by the Meissonnier brothers from Avignon next to the pulpit. The price was 400 livre tournois . It had 473 organ pipes. Revisions were due in 1663 and 1812. The well-known Milanese organ builder Lodovico Piantanida overhauled it in 1815. The organ was last restored in 2006. The spire of the church is an architectural feature. It is one of the most elaborate works in the Mediterranean. It dates from 1725 and is the work of the local artist Guillaume Rounard de Rians. The work was originally intended for the old town hall, but was installed on the church tower in 1868 when the town hall was demolished.

  • Daint Sauveur Church

  • Saint Sauveur Church

  • Sculpture of a Black Madonna

  • Interior

  • Aisle

  • Looking Up

  • Stained glass window

  • Stained glass window

  • Stained glass window

  • organ

  • Steeple with spire

  • Steeple

building

  • The later home of the writer Jean Giono , Lou Paraïs , is in the Montée des Vraies Richesses ( location → ). He spent his youth in the town center, 14, rue Grande, until his wedding in 1920. His mother's business, an ironer, was on the ground floor and his father's shoemaker's workshop was on the third floor. In many of his writings, Giono described the house of his youth with a lot of "tenderness".

“Three of them: my father, my mother and I, we had everything we needed: a huge house (Grand Rue 14) with more than 12 rooms, each big enough to ride in; the ceilings higher than the night. We were free as the air. But! Pay attention! It was a wretched house: the floorboards rolled like ship planks. [...] The roof was perforated like a sieve. It was raining in my bed. "

- Extract from Provence perdue (1967)
  • Hôtel de Gassaud: It was in this beautiful late Provence-Renaissance style house, long owned by the Gassaud family, that the future eminent orator of the Third Estate , Mirabeau , received the royal deed of exile for his rampant lifestyle. ( Location → )
  • Hôtel de Ville (City Hall): This building in the center of the city on the square named after him was bought by the city in 1770 from the lawyer for the city council of Aix-en-Provence and replaced the previous city hall next to the church of Saint-Saveur, in which the City councils held council since 1397. Inside the town hall there is a bust that is attributed to the sculptor Pierre Puget and represents Gerhard Sasso . You can also see some watercolors by Louis Denis-Valvérane .
  • Maison Paraïs ( Center Jean Giono ): This Hôtel particulier on the Boulevard Elemir Bourges was built in 1886 and belonged to the then mayor Jean de Raffin (1742–1826). Since 1992 it has housed a cultural center that not only reminds of the literary legacy of the writer.

Durance bridge

To the southeast of the city is the Manosque Bridge , a suspension bridge over the Durance.

anecdote

When François I visited Manosque in 1516, the consul's daughter had to give him the keys to the city. The prince's attention was on her, alarming her modesty. Under the pretext of freshening up her complexion, she disappeared, holding her face in sulfur fumes. The king was so touched that he granted the young woman and her family his favors and liberties. Since then, Manosque has been nicknamed "The Shame One".

Town twinning

Personalities

Web links

Commons : Manosque  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ SZ Magazin No. 11, March 13, 2015, p. 69.
  2. ↑ Information board at the house.