Forcalquier
Encyclopedia
Forcalquier is a commune
Communes of France
The commune is the lowest level of administrative division in the French Republic. French communes are roughly equivalent to incorporated municipalities or villages in the United States or Gemeinden in Germany...

 in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence
Alpes-de-Haute-Provence
Alpes-de-Haute-Provence is a French department in the south of France, it was formerly part of the province of Provence.- History :Nord-de-Provence was one of the 83 original departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790...

 department in southeastern France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

.

Forcalquier is located between the Lure and Luberon
Luberon
The Luberon or Luberon Massif , also called Lubéron, has a maximum altitude of 1,256 m and an area of about 600 km²...

 mountain ranges, about 30 km (18.6 mi) south of Sisteron
Sisteron
Sisteron is a commune in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France.Sisteron is situated on the banks of the River Durance just after the confluence of the rivers Buëch and Sasse...

 and 10 km (6.2 mi) west of the Durance
Durance
The Durance is a major river in south-eastern France.Its source is in the south-western Alps, in Montgenèvre ski resort near Briançon and it flows south-west through the following départements and cities:* Hautes-Alpes: Briançon, Embrun.* Alpes-de-Haute-Provence: Sisteron, Manosque.* Vaucluse:...

 river. In the Middle Ages it was the capital of Haute-Provence.

History

Furnus calcarius was the Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...

 name, from the lime (chaux) ovens used in Roman times. (A Roman bridge still stands in the valley to the south of the town.) Its Provençal name is Fourcauquié. At the end of the 11th century, a family of the Counts of Provence created the comté de Forcalquier that remained an independent state through the 12th century.

During this time, the town of Forcalquier was the capital of Haute Provence along the Durance, which included the towns of Manosque
Manosque
Manosque is the largest town and commune in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department in southeastern France. However, it is not the préfecture of the département, which resides in the smaller town of Digne-les-Bains...

, Sisteron
Sisteron
Sisteron is a commune in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France.Sisteron is situated on the banks of the River Durance just after the confluence of the rivers Buëch and Sasse...

, Gap
Gap, Hautes-Alpes
Gap is a commune in southeastern France, the capital of the Hautes-Alpes department.-Geography:An Alpine crossroads at the intersection of D994 and Route nationale 85 the Route Napoléon, Gap lies above sea level along the right bank of the Luye River...

 and Embrun
Embrun, Hautes-Alpes
Embrun is a commune in the Hautes-Alpes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France.-Description:...

. Forcalquier minted its own currency, and its church was elevated to the status of a "concathedral".

The Counts of Forcalquier grew to a power that could defy the Counts of Provence. Rivalry ended in 1195 when Gersende de Sabran, comtesse de Forcalquier, married Alfonso II
Alfonso II, Count of Provence
Alfonso II was the second son of Alfonso II of Aragon and Sancha of Castile. His father transferred the County of Provence from his uncle Sancho to him in 1185. Alfonso II was born in Barcelona....

, the Count of Provence. Their son, Ramon Bérenger IV
Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Provence
Ramon Berenguer IV , Count of Provence and Forcalquier, was the son of Alfonso II of Provence and Garsenda of Sabran, heiress of Forcalquier. After his father's death , Ramon was imprisoned in the castle of Monzón, in Aragon until he was able to escape in 1219 and claim his inheritance. He was a...

 inherited the two counties.

The inhabitants are called Forcalquiérens.

Main sights

Forcalquier is built around the slopes of a steep conical hill, crowned by an octagonal chapel, Notre Dame de Provence, where the medieval citadel once stood. The citadel was destroyed in 1601; the chapel with its panoramic view was built in 1875. It has a carillon that can be heard every Sunday morning during the summer.

The oldest part of the town is the area around the Place Saint-Michel with its Renaissance fountain (1511) and its narrow side-streets. There many doorways dating to the 12th to 16th centuries can be found.

The present commercial and social center of town, the Place du Bourguet, is located below the Place St. Michel. The 12th century "concathedral" Notre Dame de l'Assomption with its bell towers stands across from the Place du Bourguet.

The Cordeliers
Cordeliers
The Cordeliers, also known as the Club of the Cordeliers, Cordeliers Club, or Club des Cordeliers and formally as the Society of the Friends of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen , was a populist club during the French Revolution.-History:The club had its origins in the Cordeliers district, a...

 Convent was built in the 13th century by Franciscans named "cordeliers" because of their rope belts. This convent was occupied by monks continuously until the Revolution. The Port de Cordeliers is all that remains of the town's fortified walls.

Monday morning is market day in Forcalquier. The market fills the Place du Bourguet and the adjoining streets.

Noteworthy is the Musée Municipal with its prehistoric and Gallo-Roman artifacts, glass works, and faïence pottery from Mane
Mane, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence
Mane is a commune in Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department in southeastern France.It lies near Forcalquier. It was the birthplace of Louis Feuillée. A Minim convent was situated here. The ancient Pont sur Laye is close by the town....

, Apt
Apt, Vaucluse
Apt is a commune in the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France.It lies on the left bank of the Calavon, east of Avignon...

 and Moustiers-Sainte-Marie
Moustiers-Sainte-Marie
Moustiers-Sainte-Marie, or simply Moustiers, is a commune in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department in southeastern France, a part of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region....

.

People

  • Raoul Dufy
    Raoul Dufy
    Raoul Dufy[p] was a French Fauvist painter. He developed a colorful, decorative style that became fashionable for designs of ceramics and textiles, as well as decorative schemes for public buildings. He is noted for scenes of open-air social events...

  • Garsenda of Forcalquier
    Garsenda of Forcalquier
    Garsenda or Garsende de Sabran was the Countess of Provence as the wife of Alfonso II from 1193 and the Countess of Forcalquier in her own right from 1209. She brought Forcalquier to the House of Barcelona and united it to Provence...

  • Charles I of Naples
  • Joan I of Naples
    Joan I of Naples
    Joan I , born Joanna of Anjou, was Queen of Naples from 1343 until her death. She was also Countess of Provence and Forcalquier, Queen consort of Majorca and titular Queen of Jerusalem and Sicily 1343–82, and Princess of Achaea 1373/5–81....

  • Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Provence
    Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Provence
    Ramon Berenguer IV , Count of Provence and Forcalquier, was the son of Alfonso II of Provence and Garsenda of Sabran, heiress of Forcalquier. After his father's death , Ramon was imprisoned in the castle of Monzón, in Aragon until he was able to escape in 1219 and claim his inheritance. He was a...

  • Louis III of Naples
    Louis III of Naples
    Louis III was titular King of Naples 1417–1426, Count of Provence, Forcalquier, Piedmont, and Maine and Duke of Anjou 1417–1434, and Duke of Calabria 1426–1434....

  • Guigues VII of Viennois
  • Alfonso II, Count of Provence
    Alfonso II, Count of Provence
    Alfonso II was the second son of Alfonso II of Aragon and Sancha of Castile. His father transferred the County of Provence from his uncle Sancho to him in 1185. Alfonso II was born in Barcelona....

  • Jaufre Reforzat de Trets
    Jaufre Reforzat de Trets
    Jaufre Reforzat de Trets , known as Jaufrezet, was the Viscount of Marseille, seigneur of Trets and Forcalquier, and a man of letters. He was a member of the Baus family, the son of Raymond Geoffrey II of Marseille....

  • Geoffrey II of Provence
    Geoffrey II of Provence
    Geoffrey II was the first count of Forcalquier following the death of his father Fulk Bertrand in 1062. His elder brother Bertrand II inherited Provence, but not the title of margrave. Geoffrey himself is often counted amongst the co-counts of Provence of the era...

  • Ladislaus of Naples
  • Marguerite of Provence
    Marguerite of Provence
    Margaret of Provence was Queen of France as the consort of King Louis IX of France.She was the eldest daughter of Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Provence and Beatrice of Savoy.-Family:...

  • Louis Feuillée
    Louis Feuillée
    Louis Éconches Feuillée was a French member of the Order of the Minims, explorer, astronomer, geographer, and botanist....


Twin towns

Forcalquier is officially twinned with:
Guastalla
Guastalla
Guastalla is a town and comune in the province of Reggio Emilia in Emilia-Romagna, Italy.-Geography:Guastalla is situated in the Po Valley, and lies on the banks of the Po River...

, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...


External links




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