Saint-Christol (Vaucluse)
| Saint-Christol | ||
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| region | Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur | |
| Department | Vaucluse | |
| Arrondissement | Carpentras | |
| Canton | Pernes-les-Fontaines | |
| Community association | Ventoux Sud | |
| Coordinates | 44 ° 2 ′ N , 5 ° 30 ′ E | |
| height | 810-1,108 m | |
| surface | 46.08 km 2 | |
| Residents | 1,345 (January 1, 2017) | |
| Population density | 29 inhabitants / km 2 | |
| Post Code | 84390 | |
| INSEE code | 84107 | |
Saint-Christol is a southern French municipality with 1,345 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2017) in the Vaucluse (84) department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region . It is located on the Plateau d'Albion between the Montagne de Lure, the Mont Ventoux and the Plateau Ventoux.
Saint-Christol became famous for a military base with strategic facilities that were completely removed by 1998. Today there is still the Foreign Legion with the 2nd Pioneer Foreign Regiment.
history
Saint-Christol was first mentioned in 1119, when Benedictine monks founded the church there and cleared the area. Previously, only one farm can be documented, where a Gallo-Roman cistern, some graves and numerous ceramics were found in 1866 .
The following centuries were marked by religious wars and looting. The school was founded as early as 1618, and in 1667 the land registry registered 82 houses, 96 stables, 45 haylofts and four huts. After the cholera in 1846 the village had 641 inhabitants, 42% of whom could write and read. From then on, the population continued to decline, and young people were drawn to the industrial cities of Marseille and Lyon .
In 1911 there were 486 inhabitants, 84 of whom were killed in the First World War . During the Second World War, the Plateau d'Albion suffered greatly from retaliatory attacks by the German Wehrmacht .
In 1965 the government decided to build the base of the French air force and strategic facilities on the plateau. This has greatly improved the infrastructure and created many jobs in the service sector.
Today only the Foreign Legion with the 2nd Pioneer Foreign Regiment is based and the community is ambitious to break new ground in the direction of tourism. The village is being continuously restored, there are already well-marked hiking trails, and the geographical proximity to Mont Ventoux , Luberon and the Côte d'Azur also offer good conditions for this.
economy
From an economic point of view, it is an agricultural community (cultivation and processing of lavender , horse and sheep breeding, as well as the use of oak forests for firewood and the harvest of black truffles ). The service sector is also becoming increasingly important.
Attractions
- The Romanesque church of Notre-Dame-et-St-Christophe de Saint-Christol d'Albion has been officially classified as a historic building since 1909. The pentagonal head end of the nave, which is covered with "Lauses" (flat natural stone slabs), and the many very well-preserved wall paintings are unusual.
- Various karst caves are in the immediate vicinity of Saint-Christol. The deepest, so far explored, is the 597 meter deep "L'aven du Trou Souffleur", which is in direct connection with the Fontaine-de-Vaucluse .
- Bories : There are numerous stone houses built using drywall construction in the area, one right on the edge of the village on the La Rostane site. Most of them are in excellent condition. It cannot be determined exactly how old these structures are.
- The "Chapelle Notre-Dame d'Amaron" is about three kilometers above Saint-Christol. This chapel was built in 1667 on the remains of a hamlet from 1032. Tradition has it that this building was built with the stones of a Templar monastery that was once located on Mount Saint-Pierre.
Web links
- Website about Saint-Christol (French)