Valréas
Commune in Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France
Valréas (French pronunciation: [valʁeas]; Occitan: Vauriàs) is a commune in the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France.
01History
The area around the town of Valréas is known as L'Enclave des Papes. It is an enclave of Vaucluse, surrounded by the department of the Drôme. The foundation of the Enclave began in 1317 when Pope John XXII bought Valreas for the papacy of Avignon. The story goes that following a visit to Valreas, feeling unwell he was offered some wine from the area. Liking it he decided to purchase the town to ensure his wine supply. Over the next 150 years or so his successors added to the Enclave by the addition of the small towns of Visan, Richerenches and Grillon. The boundaries were defined by tall stone markers carrying the coat of arms of the popes. The present-day boundaries are still delimited by some of these stones, one of which is outside the entrance to the Valreas Tourist office. When the departments of France were created after the Revolution the people of the Enclave requested to remain as part of the department of Vaucluse (see Comtat Venaissin). Hence the "Enclave des Papes".
02Population
| Year | Pop. | ±% p.a. |
|---|---|---|
| 1968 | 7,886 | , |
| 1975 | 8,458 | +1.01% |
| 1982 | 8,721 | +0.44% |
| 1990 | 9,069 | +0.49% |
| 1999 | 9,425 | +0.43% |
| 2007 | 9,771 | +0.45% |
| 2012 | 9,545 | −0.47% |
| 2017 | 9,422 | −0.26% |
| 2023 | 9,224 | −0.35% |
| Source: INSEE | ||
03Twin towns
Valréas is twinned with:
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Valréas”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
Images, from Wikimedia Commons:
- Valreas 2 by JM Rosier.jpg by Jean-Marc Rosier http://www.cjrosier.com + http://www.gordes-immobilier.com), CC BY-SA 3.0
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