Largentière ( ; ''L'Argentièira'' in

Occitan Occitan may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the Occitania territory in parts of France, Italy, Monaco and Spain. * Something of, from, or related to the Occitania administrative region of France. * Occitan language, spoken in parts o ...

) is a

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

and sub-prefecture of the Ardèche department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics ( physical geography), human impact characteristics ( human geography), and the interaction of humanity an ...

in southern

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

. It is located in the narrow valley of the

Ligne The ''ligne'' ( ), or line or Paris line, is a historic unit of length used in France and elsewhere prior to the adoption of the metric system in the late 18th century, and used in various sciences after that time. The ''loi du 19 frimaire an V ...

, approximately ten kilometres southwest of

Aubenas Aubenas (; oc, Aubenàs) is a commune in the southern part of the Ardèche department in Southern France. It is the seat of several government offices. The mountainous and rugged countryside is popular for vacation homes. The river Ardèche fl ...

. Largentiere is the smallest sub-prefecture in France. Its name, adopted in the thirteenth century in place of its more ancient name Segualeriae (Ségualières), refers to the silver mines in the area between the tenth and fifteenth centuries, when the silver-bearing lead ores in intrusive veins in the Largentières sandstone were exploited under the authority of the

Counts of Toulouse The count of Toulouse ( oc, comte de Tolosa, french: comte de Toulouse) was the ruler of Toulouse during the 8th to 13th centuries. Originating as vassals of the Frankish kings, the hereditary counts ruled the city of Toulouse and its surroundin ...

and the Bishops of Viviers, whose title ''barons de Largentière'' was linked to the bishopric.

Population

Economy and transportation

A busy industrial town in the nineteenth century, when it housed silk mills its principal industry is now

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours. The World Tourism Organization defines tourism mor ...

. Its only railroad station was rased in 1982, leaving the town accessible only by road.

Sights

Besides its twelfth- to fifteenth-century

château A château (; plural: châteaux) is a manor house or residence of the lord of the manor, or a fine country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally, and still most frequently, in French-speaking regions. Now ...

, the town conserves its thirteenth-century church, Nôtre-Dame-des-Pommiers,"Our Lady of the apple orchards"; an inscription of 1490 records the gift of the stone pulpit in Occitan: ''hieu Pierre Guarnier de Colens ay donat aquesta chadiera al convent''. its Renaissance hôtel de ville, its ''palais de justice'', and the ''Tour Argentière'' that collected the mines' produce for guarded transport.

Personalities

* Joseph ben Abba Mari ben Joseph ben Jacob Caspi (1279—1340), a prominent Jewish medieval philosopher.

References

External links