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Trets | |
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 Montagne Sainte-Victoire and vineyards, seen from the slope south of Trets | |
.svg) Coat of arms | |
Location of Trets  | |
  Trets  Trets | |
| Coordinates:43°26′51″N5°41′01″E / 43.4475°N 5.6836°E /43.4475; 5.6836 | |
| Country | France |
| Region | Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur |
| Department | Bouches-du-Rhône |
| Arrondissement | Aix-en-Provence |
| Canton | Trets |
| Intercommunality | Aix-Marseille-Provence |
| Government | |
| • Mayor(2020–2026) | Pascal Chauvin[1] |
Area 1 | 70.31 km2 (27.15 sq mi) |
| Population (2022)[2] | 10,933 |
| • Density | 160/km2 (400/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
| INSEE/Postal code | 13110 /13530 |
| Elevation | 217–810 m (712–2,657 ft) (avg. 249 m or 817 ft) |
| 1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. | |
Trets (English:/trɛts/;French pronunciation:[tʁɛ(t)s];Provençal:Tretz) is acommune (town or township, in English) in theBouches-du-Rhônedepartment of theProvence-Alpes-Côtes d’Azur region in the southeast ofFrance. With a population of over 10,000, it is one of 44communes in theAix-en-Provencearrondissement or district. It is often described as a medieval town because of its development during theMiddle Ages of European history and retention of medieval architecture.
Trets is situated in the Upper Valley of theArc river, between painterPaul Cézanne's beloved[3]Montagne Sainte-Victoire 11 km to the north and the Aurélien hills (Monts Auréliens) to the east, at the foot of Mount Olympus to the south.
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| Source: EHESS[4] and INSEE (1968-2017)[5] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Archeological evidence suggests that the first inhabitants of the area, ofChasséen culture, lived on the summit of Mount Olympus around 4000 BC, during theNeolithic period.
The founding site of Trets has been described variously as a Greek colony[6] or an “ancient Roman settlement.”[7] By some accounts Trets was originally named Trittia or Tritea by thePhocean settlers ofMassalia, in homage to the daughter of the Greek godTriton.[8]
In the later years of theRoman conquest of Provence,Gaius Marius defeated theTeutons andAmbrones “at a spot between Saint-Maximin and Trets.”[9]
The first historical account identifying the populace now known as Trets appears in 950 AD, when the king of Burgundy and ProvenceConrad the Peaceful transferred hereditary rule over the lands of the Upper Valley of the Arc as afisc to the first Seigneur (or Lord) of Trets. A succession of lords ruled until theFrench Revolution of 1789.
Romanesque, andgothic buildings and vaulted passageways of the medieval period line the narrow, winding streets of the town. The center of Trets was surrounded theramparts and its 8 towers (4 left), for defense against successive invasions over the centuries. A 2200 sqm garden along the town walls (Jardins des Remparts) was opened in 2011.
Several gates (porte) were opened in the city walls. The rectangular Gate of Pourrières and its preserved machicolations were built in the 14th century. It served as the main gateway access into town. On the East side of city, the Gate Saint-Jean also known as the Gate of Amont (14th) provides uptown access and was used to store munitions. On the North end stood the Gate of Clastre (14th), the Porte Neuve and the Gate of Puyloubier, all destroyed by the mid-19th century.[10]
Now the grounds of the Edmond Brun elementary school, a hospital named Hôpital Saint Jacques was established circa 1300 near the church of the same patronage and later transferred, in 1794, to the Observantins convent.
The low, vaulted passageway called Le Trou de Madame Lion gave access to thewall-walk. It is thought to have been either a way of confining any epidemic outbreak to the grounds of the hospital or a way of defending against mounted attacks.
To the southeast is the feudal castle (Château des Remparts) with its staircase in dimension stone with a ramp from the 17th century, French-style painted ceilings and a baroque chimney. Its construction started in the late 12th or the early 13th century. In June 2013 a number of renovations were completed, with a modern performance space in the courtyard.[11]
Theclassified 14th-century Church of Our Lady of Nazareth was built upon a 4th-century priory of the Roman-Provençal style with an open vaulted arch, gothic chapels, and a massive unfinished tower. Its massive altarpiece (1693) was executed by the nativeChristophe Veyrier in stucco and marble.
La Chapelle Saint-Jean-du-Puy, a former 5th-centuryhermitage, features a Romanesque apse, garden sanctuary and 18th-century watch tower that is an observatory overlooking the town and the Valley of the Arc. It was rebuilt with the addition of two Gallo-Roman columns.
The 14th-century papal Studium of Trets put forth what may have been the only record of its kind in the Vatican archives of that time, a register of the local economy detailing the material life of schoolchildren and their teachers.[12]
The Hôtel de la Vallée de l’Arc, at the center of town, was an 18th-century relay post.
Henri Raybaud executed the War memorial on the townhall square depicting an "angel of victory" .
The influence of both Greek and Roman cultures is said to have led to the cultivation of wine and wheat.[13] After the Romans came theGoths, theMerovingians, theCarlovingians and theSaracens; then, after a period of viscounts of Marseille, Trets came under local papal governance through thediocese ofAix, according to thepapal bull ofUrban II in 1088.[14]
Holidays and festivals reflect historical encounters and traditions, including:
While the Jews wereexpelled from France in 1182, local governance permitted construction of asynagogue in amanor on the present-day street called Rue Paul Bert. A surrounding Jewish quarter was established by local edict in the early 14th century.
In 2000,sister city exchanges were established withAghavnadzor,Armenia.[15]
Places adjacent to Trets | |
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