Vivarais
The Vivarais ( Occitan Vivarés ) was a southern French landscape on the Ardèche River to the right of the lower Rhône within the historic province of Languedoc . It was in its expansion almost identical with today's department Ardèche . The capital of the province was the small town of Viviers on the Rhône .
geography
location
Vivarais, which is about 200 to about 1750 m high, is bounded to the west by the Cevennes , to which the former county of Gévaudan belongs. In the north-west, the Vivarais borders the Velay with its long-extinct volcanic mountains (e.g. the 1753 m high Mont Mézenc or the striking 1551 m high Mont Gerbier-de-Jonc ). The area is bounded by the Rhône to the east and the Côtes-du-Rhône vineyards join to the south .
geology
The northern part of Vivarais has soils of volcanic origin, whereas the southern and southwestern areas are mainly characterized by limestone .
Rivers
The most important river in the center of Vivarais is the Escoutay , which receives numerous brooks (ruisseaux) and flows into the Rhône north of Viviers. The Ouvèze (near Privas ) and the Cance (near Annonay ) drain the north ; the Ardèche flows in the west and south-west (e.g. near Aubenas ).
places
Viviers with its approx. 3,800 inhabitants is considered the capital of Vivarais, but other places are significantly larger: Annonay (approx. 16,500), Aubenas (approx. 12,000), Tournon-sur-Rhône (approx. 10,000), Le Teil (approx 8,700), Privas (approx. 8,000). The most northerly municipality is Vernoux-en-Vivarais (approx. 2,000); in the center are Ruoms (approx. 2,200), Largentière (approx. 1,600) and Laurac-en-Vivarais (approx. 1,000).
economy
In earlier centuries the residents lived on the yields of their fields and gardens as self-sufficient; In addition, livestock was also farmed to a small extent (sheep, cows) to supply dairy products and meat. Due to the improvement in transport options in the 20th century, markets that are further away can also be supplied. Wine has also been grown since Roman times; Today there is the classified wine-growing region of the Côtes du Vivarais with around 650 hectares of cultivation area. There is no industry, but Le Teil has had a large cement factory since the 19th century , which belongs to the Ciments Lafarge group.
history
The Vivarais belonged in pre-Roman times to the settlement area of the Celtic tribe of the Helvier ; the Romans founded the town of Alba Augusta Helvorum , from which the present-day town of Alba-la-Romaine emerged . The invaded Teutons from the Burgundy tribe founded the Pagus Vivariensis ( pagus = district) of the Old Burgundian Empire . It came to the Franconian Empire in 584 , to Emperor Lothar I in 843 , to the West Franconian King Karl the Kahlen in 870 , soon after to the Kingdom of Lower Burgundy and in 1032 to the Holy Roman Empire . However, the landscape knew how to evade the rule of the German emperor under the last Hohenstaufen . Coming to the French crown in the 14th century , the Vivarais formed part of the Languedoc governorate until the beginning of the French Revolution . It remained a secret center of Protestantism in France long after the Edict of Fontainebleau (1685) and the expulsion of the Huguenots .
During the Second World War , the Vivarais belonged to the unoccupied zone of France. Some villages around Le Chambon-sur-Lignon in the northwest of Vivarais played important roles as hiding places for Jews and resistance fighters.
Attractions
In addition to charming scenic aspects, especially along the Ardèche Valley, the Vivarais also offers cultural attractions: the ruins of the Roman city of Alba Augusta Helvorum are located near Alba-la-Romaine . The place and the cathedral of Viviers date from the high and late Middle Ages , whereby the latter impresses above all with its late Gothic choir . Also worth seeing are the Château d'Aubenas or the remains of the medieval city wall of Ruoms. The place Vogüé is also impressive with its castle built in the 16th century.
See also
Personalities
- François de Tournon (* 1489 in Tournon-sur-Rhône , † 1562), cardinal
- Olivier de Serres (* 1539 in Villeneuve-de-Berg , † 1619 in Mirabel ), agronomist
- Antoine Court (* 1696 in Villeneuve-de-Berg , † 1760), Protestant preacher and pastor
- Matthias Desubas (* 1720 with Vernoux, † 1746), Huguenot preacher
- Joseph Michel Montgolfier (1740–1810), inventor of the hot air balloon, the Montgolfière
- Jacques Étienne Montgolfier (1745–1799), inventor of the hot air balloon, the Montgolfière
- Jean-Louis Giraud-Soulavie (* 1751 in Largentière , † 1813), naturalist and historian
- Honoré Flaugergues (* 1755 in Viviers , † 1830), astronomer
literature
- Joseph Dourille: Histoire des guerres civiles du Vivarais. Valence 1846.
- Albin Mazon: Voyage aux pays volcaniques du Vivarais. 1878, et al
- Forez et Vivarais, itinéraire de l'homme de goût , edited by the Comité de la région XVI bis, Paris 1937 international exhibition, Éditions du Pigeonnier, Saint-Félicien (Ardèche) , 1937. Illustrations by Jean Chièze.
- Joannès Dufaud ' 300 chansons populaires d'Ardèche. 2000, ISBN 978-2907410373 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Vivarais , in: Brockhaus' Conversations-Lexikon , 13th edition, 1882-87, Vol. 16, p. 299.
- ↑ Museum of protetstantischen Vivarais
- ^ Resistance villages in Vivarais