Roquebillière

Roquebillière
region	Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur
Department	Alpes-Maritimes
Arrondissement	Nice
Canton	Tourrette-Levens
Community association	Nice Cote d'Azur
Coordinates	44 ° 1 ′  N , 7 ° 19 ′  E Coordinates: 44 ° 1 ′  N , 7 ° 19 ′  E
height	500–2,045 m
surface	25.92 km 2
Residents	1,841 (January 1, 2017)
Population density	71 inhabitants / km 2
Post Code	06450
INSEE code	06103
Old village center

Roquebillière is a French commune of the department Alpes-Maritimes in the region Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur . It is assigned to the Arrondissement of Nice and the Canton of Tourrette-Levens . It also belongs to the municipal association Métropole Nice Côte d'Azur .

geography

Roquebillière in the valley basin

The southern French mountain village with 1841 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2017) is located in the Vésubie valley , near the Italian border 35 kilometers north of Nice . The community, by the department road is operated D2585 is, in the north of the Cime de Cayras (1813 m) and to the west by the Tête de Siruol (2,053 m) and the Pointe de Siruol limited (2018 m). The Col d'Andrion (pass height 1681 m) connects Roquebillière with the Pont de la Lune in the municipality of La Tour in the valley of the Tinée .

In the past, Roquebillière was repeatedly exposed to destructive forces of nature. So in the years 566, 614 and 1494 earthquakes were registered, whereby that of June 23, 1494 was probably the most violent. Landslides are documented for the years 1564 and 1926. In 1094, 1743 and 1789 the village was partially destroyed by the floods of the Vésubie.

The commune has a thermal bath in the hamlet of Berthemont-les-Bains , which is open from October to April. Thanks to a hydroelectric power station on the Vésubie, electricity has been generated in Roquebillière since 1969.

history

The name Roquebillière is derived from Roccabellera and means in French Roc (her) des abeilles (German "bee rock"). The toponyms for Roquebillière are Roccabellera (1149), Rocca billera (1152) and Rocca a Bigliera (1672).

After the death of Queen Joanna I of Anjou broke in Provence , a war of succession from, with the result that Roquebillière and other towns left of the river Var under the sovereignty of the House of Savoy came and by the new masters of the newly created County of Nice assigned were. Apart from brief interruptions, Roquebillière belonged to the Duchy of Savoy for the next few centuries. In 1691–1696 and 1706–1708, the county of Nice, as well as the other areas of the Duchy of Savoy, were occupied by the soldiers of the French King Louis XIV. In 1796 , the revolutionary army of the First French Republic also overran the duchy.

In 1629 the plague raged in Roquebillière and in February 1764 the cholera reached epidemic proportions there.

In 1860 the French emperor supported Napoleon III. the Savoyard ruler Viktor Emanuel in his endeavors to be crowned King of Italy . In return for the aid provided, the newly crowned king ceded not only Savoy but also the county of Nice to France.

Since the 6th century, the village has been the victim of devastating landslides or floods six times and has been rebuilt in the same place over and over again. Only after the last catastrophe, the landslide on November 24, 1926, did most of the residents leave their original homes and move to the right bank of the river, where there was already a church from the 15th century. But the old village center is still inhabited today. Despite the emigration of many farmers, the population of Roquebillière has been kept stable over time.

Population development

year	1962	1968	1975	1982	1990	1999	2009	2012
Residents	1,377	1,426	1,336	1,504	1,539	1,467	1,635	1,752

coat of arms

Blazon : the coat of arms is quartered, fields one and four show a crowned lion made of gold on azure blue; fields two and three in gold are arranged with three azure blue bees each - in an unusual 1: 2 arrangement.

Attractions

See also: List of Monuments historiques in Roquebillière

Sacred buildings

• Gothic church Saint-Michel de Gast from the 14th century, the tower is Romanesque and therefore even older. The interior includes a 16th century altarpiece depicting Saint Anthony . The church has been a French cultural monument since 1997 .
• Chapels Chapelle des Pénitents Blancs (with onion dome ), Chapelle de la Madone de Berthemont and Chapelle rurale Saint-Julien
• 15th century church in Roquebillière-Nouveau
• Oratoire Saint-Roch house of prayer
• Ruins of the archaeological site of Castel-Vieil

More buildings

• Alpine house in the air
• Old flour mill
• Old mountain barns
• Old log house in the south

nature

• Vésubie River
• Mountaintop Cime de Cayras , Ravin du Drac , Tête de Siruol and Pointe de Siruol
• Caves Petite grotto de Ranke and Grotto Saint-Julien
• Forests Forêt de la Malune and Forêt de Sauma-Longa
• Thermal springs

Town twinning

• Emskirchen (Bavaria), Germany, since 1990

literature

• Le Patrimoine des Communes des Alpes-Maritimes . Flohic Editions, Volume 2, Paris 2000, ISBN 2-84234-071-X , pp. 752-758.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Séismes des Alpes-Maritimes du XIVe au XVIIe siècle on azurseisme.com of February 15, 2011.
2. ^ Paul Canestrier: Fête populaire et tradition religieuse en pays niçois . P. 130. Vida Collection, Serre, 1985.
3. ↑ Entry no. PA00080818 in the Base Mérimée of the French Ministry of Culture (French)

Web links

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

• Roquebillière website (French)