Oppède | |
|---|---|
 Oppède-le-Vieux | |
.svg) Coat of arms | |
Location of Oppède  | |
  Oppède  Oppède | |
| Coordinates:43°50′43″N5°10′10″E / 43.8453°N 5.1694°E /43.8453; 5.1694 | |
| Country | France |
| Region | Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur |
| Department | Vaucluse |
| Arrondissement | Apt |
| Canton | Apt |
| Intercommunality | CA Luberon Monts de Vaucluse |
| Government | |
| • Mayor(2021–2026) | Jean Pierre Gerault[1] |
Area 1 | 24.1 km2 (9.3 sq mi) |
| Population (2022)[2] | 1,285 |
| • Density | 53/km2 (140/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
| INSEE/Postal code | 84086 /84580 |
| Elevation | 103–733 m (338–2,405 ft) (avg. 300 m or 980 ft) |
| 1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. | |
Oppède (French pronunciation:[ɔpɛd];Occitan:Opeda) is acommune in theVauclusedepartment in theProvence-Alpes-Côte d'Azurregion in southeasternFrance.Oppidum is the Latin word for 'fortified town'.[3]
It is in fact two villages: Oppède-le-Vieux ("the old" in French), built against thePetit Luberon and dating back to the 12th century, and Oppède-les-Poulivets ("nice view" inProvençal), today known as "le village", down in the valley.
The old village, built on a rocky hill, has narrow streets. In winter, the Petit Luberon starts casting its shadow early in the afternoon. Houses beyond the medievalramparts are dark, humid and tricky to maintain.
From below the village is dominated by the restored church of Notre-Dame-Dalidon and the ruins of the castle.
In the 19th century, the inhabitants had enough and started to move down in the valley, dismantling the roof of their houses to stop paying property taxes.
By the beginning of the 20th century, Oppède-le-Vieux was a ghost village and a new community was officially established in the valley, with larger streets, cosier houses and farmers closer to their fields.
Following thearmistice of June 1940, architectBernard Zehrfuss founded a commune of artists in the old town, a project that attracted French sculptorFrançois Stahly and the writer and artistConsuelo de Saint-Exupéry. The commune proved short-lived. It was the basis for Saint-Exupéry's fictionalized account, published in 1946, called "Kingdom of the Rocks".[4]
The commune is traversed by the riverCalavon.
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