Vérignon (; Verinhon in Classical Provençal and Verignoun in Provençal of the mistralian norm) 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 ...
in the
Var
Var or VAR may refer to:
Places
* Var (department), a department of France
* Var (river), France
* Vār, Iran, village in West Azerbaijan Province, Iran
* Var, Iran (disambiguation), other places in Iran
* Vár, a village in Obreja commune, Ca ...
Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (; or , ; commonly shortened to PACA; en, Provence-Alps-French Riviera, italic=yes; also branded as Région Sud) is one of the eighteen administrative regions of France, the far southeastern on the mainland. Its pref ...
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 regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
.
Géography
The town is situated at the foot of the Great
Canjuers
Canjuers is a calcareous plateau and a military camp in Provence located in southeastern France. It’s the largest military camp in Continental Europe.
Geography
Situated in the ''département'' of the Var in the Prealps of Castellane, on the sou ...
Plain, at the heart of a forest of
oak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...
s. 15 square kilometres of the commune were requisitioned for the Canjuers military camp in 1970.
History
Canjuers
Canjuers is a calcareous plateau and a military camp in Provence located in southeastern France. It’s the largest military camp in Continental Europe.
Geography
Situated in the ''département'' of the Var in the Prealps of Castellane, on the sou ...
is supposed to be derived from the Latin Campus Julii (the field of Julius), preserving a folk-memory of
Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, ...
's army passing across it during the
Gallic Wars
The Gallic Wars were waged between 58 and 50 BC by the Roman general Julius Caesar against the peoples of Gaul (present-day France, Belgium, Germany and Switzerland). Gallic, Germanic, and British tribes fought to defend their homel ...
. On a mountain range between Aups and Vérignon is an
oppidum
An ''oppidum'' (plural ''oppida'') is a large fortified Iron Age settlement or town. ''Oppida'' are primarily associated with the Celtic late La Tène culture, emerging during the 2nd and 1st centuries BC, spread across Europe, stretchi ...
of the Verrucini. In the Roman era, the main road that linked up Fréjus to
Riez
Riez (; Provençal: ''Riés'') is a commune in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department in southeastern France.
Geography
The densely built village sits where two small rivers join—the Auvestre and the Colostre—in a glacially wid ...
passed through Vérignon, and four milestones have been discovered.
The plain is also an important findspot for prehistoric fossils, with most of those found being conserved fossils in the
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 ...
at Vérignon, not open to the public. According to Raoul Bérenguier, the
Blacas
The House of Blacas is the name of two old French houses which successively owned the Lordship of Aups with its castle in Provence (whose name is still spelled in the ancient form ''Aulps'' in their surname).
Blacas d'Aulps family
The first Blaca ...
seigneurs
''Seigneur'' is an originally feudal title in France before the Revolution, in New France and British North America until 1854, and in the Channel Islands to this day. A seigneur refers to the person or collective who owned a ''seigneurie'' (o ...
of
Aups
Aups (; Provençal dialect, Provençal oc, Aups in the classical norm, ''Aup'' in the Mistralian norm, )However, after the preposition ''a ~ à'' 'to', the forms are ''as Aups ~ à-z-Aup'' and are pronounced is a Commune of France, commune in t ...
installed themselves in Vérignon around the year 1000 and constructed their castle on a rocky outcrop in the town. It had an encircling wall, rectangular living quarters in the north corner, a private chapel of the Assumption for the Blacas (with their family vault under its altar), and a barbican round its south gate. However, this castle proved too constricted, uncomfortable and small, and was abandoned at the start of the 18th century, with the Blacas building a new, unfortified château, which remained in their hands until 1947. It is rectangular in plan, with two levels of overhanging elevations, an attic-storey, and corner towers. Two short wings project out from and frame the main building. The castle stands up in the middle of a magnificent park.
Up to the nineteenth century, the town had 120 inhabitants.
Churches
The Chapel of Notre-Dame de Liesse, at 991 m above sea level, is an oratory found between Aups and Vérignon. A lady from the Blacas family came here to await the arrival of her son back from the Crusades and vowed to construct a chapel as soon as he should return safely. He did return, and it was built as a witness of the "liesse" of the family. At 1.066 km altitude on the same mountain range is the Chapel Saint Priest, built in 1098.
Population
Personalities
One scion of the Blacas d'Aulps family lived at Vérignon:
*Pierre d'Aulps, first of the line.
* Casimir Blacas d'Aulps (1771–1839), counsellor to Louis XVIII
*Marie Thérèse Paule de Blacas d'Aulps (Vérignon 1864 - Aups 1959)