Drôme
Drôme (; Occitan: ''Droma''; Arpitan: ''Drôma'') is the southernmost department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of Southeastern France. Named after the river Drôme, it had a population of 516,762 as of 2019.
Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes (ARA; ; frp, Ôvèrgne-Rôno-Ârpes; oc, Auvèrnhe Ròse Aups; it, Alvernia-Rodano-Alpi) is a region in southeast-central France created by the 2014 territorial reform of French regions; it resulted from the merger of Au ...
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 southeastern
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
.
It is a town located in the south of Drôme and on the left bank of the Rhône river, next to Montélimar.
Geography
The name of the town usually refers to the Donzère-Mondragon canal, which is an important artificial derivation of the Rhône. Donzère is also known for its gorge, which is the last shrinkage of the Rhône valley before its course joins the Mediterranean Sea.
For the anecdote, the "Robinet", place name of the Donzère gorge where the Rhône shrinks because of the cliffs, derives its name of a former landowner: Robin Berton nicknamed Robinet.
It is usually admitted by geographers and climatologists that the Donzère gorge, along about , signals the northern boundary of the Mediterranean climate in the Rhône valley. So, Donzère marked during a long time the northern boundary of the olive groves, but in recent years and consequence of the global warming, this limit seems slightly back northward next to the Cruas gorge, on the north of Montélimar.
Somewhat protected from mistral thanks to its hills located in the north, the village opens on the plain of Tricastin where were born the Mediterranean ambiance and cultivations.
The privileged location of Donzère in the Rhône valley (high place of passage) surely explains its recent economic and demographic dynamism.
Population
Sights
* The caves of the Donzère gorge
* The Molard villa, which includes the largest known wine cellar of the Roman world with a capacity of 2.500 hl
* The Saint-Philibert church (12th century) built by the
Cluniac
The Cluniac Reforms (also called the Benedictine Reform) were a series of changes within medieval monasticism of the Western Church focused on restoring the traditional monastic life, encouraging art, and caring for the poor. The movement began ...
s
* The preserved battlements, with the fortified gates of Argentière and the font (12th century)
* The Renaissance castle of Claude de Tournon (16th century),
bishop of Viviers
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Viviers ( la, Dioecesis Vivariensis; french: Diocèse de Viviers ) is a diocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in France. Erected in the 4th century, the diocese was restored in the Concordat of 1822 ...
and prince of Donzère
* The manor house Bouvier de Robinet (18th century)
* Old houses (from the 15th to the 18th century)
* The clock tower
* The Chapel Notre-Dame-de-Combelonge (from the 15th to the 17th century)
* The round table
* The former chocolate factory of Aiguebelle, with murals of the New Testament by Loys Prat
* The suspension bridge nicknamed "bridge of Robinet", built in 1847 according to the technique of Seguin
* The Virgin vow statue built after
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
Antoine Penchenier
Antoine Penchenier, or Penchinier, (? , Montélimar – 1761, Donzère), was an 18th-century French physician.
Biography
Born in Montélimar, he studied medicine in Montpellier where he held a practise. Penchenier wrote the article ''Goutte'' ...
, died in Donzère in 1761
* Félix Clement, painter of the 19th century, Prix de Rome
* Loys Prat, painter of the 19th-20th centuries, Prix de Rome, Félix Clement's nephew
* , politician of the 20th century, French minister, deputy and councillor of the Drôme, member of the Constitutional council, dean of the Law Faculty of the Lyon III University