Ardèche (; , ; ) is a department in

Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes (; AURA) or ; or ; . is a Regions of France, region in southeast-central France created by the 2014 territorial reform of French regions; it resulted from the merger of Auvergne and Rhône-Alpes. The new region came into e ...

, Southeastern France. It is named after the river

Ardèche Ardèche (; , ; ) is a Departments of France, department in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Southeastern France. It is named after the river Ardèche (river), Ardèche and had a population of 328,278 as of 2019.Populations légales 2019: 07 Ardèche
INSEE Its

prefecture A prefecture (from the Latin word, "''praefectura"'') is an administrative jurisdiction traditionally governed by an appointed prefect. This can be a regional or local government subdivision in various countries, or a subdivision in certain inter ...

is in

Privas Privas (; , also ) is a city located in France, in the department of Ardèche. With its 8,465 inhabitants (2019), it is the least populated prefecture (capital of a department). It was the location of the 1629 Siege of Privas. Today, Priv ...

, but its largest city is

Annonay Annonay (; ) is a Communes of France, commune and largest city in the north of the Ardèche department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of southeastern France. It is the most populous commune in the Ardèche department although it is not the ...

History

Prehistory and ancient history

Humans have inhabited the area at least since the

Upper Paleolithic The Upper Paleolithic (or Upper Palaeolithic) is the third and last subdivision of the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age. Very broadly, it dates to between 50,000 and 12,000 years ago (the beginning of the Holocene), according to some theories ...

, as attested by the famous cave paintings at Chauvet Pont d'Arc. The Ardèche river plateau has extensive standing stones (mainly

dolmen A dolmen, () or portal tomb, is a type of single-chamber Megalith#Tombs, megalithic tomb, usually consisting of two or more upright megaliths supporting a large flat horizontal capstone or "table". Most date from the Late Neolithic period (4000 ...

s and some

menhir A menhir (; from Brittonic languages: ''maen'' or ''men'', "stone" and ''hir'' or ''hîr'', "long"), standing stone, orthostat, or lith is a large upright stone, emplaced in the ground by humans, typically dating from the European middle Br ...

s), erected thousands of years ago. The river has one of Europe's largest canyons, and the caves that dot the cliffs—which go as high as 300 metres (1,000 feet)—are known for signs of prehistoric inhabitants (arrowheads and flint knives are often found). The Vivarais, as the Ardèche is still called, takes its name and coat of arms from Viviers, which was the capital of the

Gaul Gaul () was a region of Western Europe first clearly described by the Roman people, Romans, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and parts of Switzerland, the Netherlands, Germany, and Northern Italy. It covered an area of . Ac ...

ish tribe of Helvii, part of

Gallia Narbonensis Gallia Narbonensis (Latin for "Gaul of Narbonne", from its chief settlement) was a Roman province located in Occitania and Provence, in Southern France. It was also known as Provincia Nostra ("Our Province"), because it was the first ...

, after the destruction of their previous capital at Alba-la-Romaine. Saint Andéol, a disciple of

Polycarp Polycarp (; , ''Polýkarpos''; ; AD 69 155) was a Christian Metropolis of Smyrna, bishop of Smyrna. According to the ''Martyrdom of Polycarp'', he died a martyr, bound and burned at the stake, then stabbed when the fire failed to consume his bo ...

, is supposed to have evangelized the Vivarais during the reign of Emperor

Septimius Severus Lucius Septimius Severus (; ; 11 April 145 – 4 February 211) was Roman emperor from 193 to 211. He was born in Leptis Magna (present-day Al-Khums, Libya) in the Roman province of Africa. As a young man he advanced through cursus honorum, the ...

, and was supposedly

martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', 'witness' Word stem, stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an external party. In ...

ed in 208. Legend tells of Andéol's burial by Amycia Eucheria Tullia. In 430, Auxonius transferred the see to Viviers as a result of the problems suffered at its previous site in Alba Augusta.

Medieval history

The Vivarais area suffered greatly in the 9th century with raids by

Hungarians Hungarians, also known as Magyars, are an Ethnicity, ethnic group native to Hungary (), who share a common Culture of Hungary, culture, Hungarian language, language and History of Hungary, history. They also have a notable presence in former pa ...

and

Saracen upright 1.5, Late 15th-century German woodcut depicting Saracens ''Saracen'' ( ) was a term used both in Greek and Latin writings between the 5th and 15th centuries to refer to the people who lived in and near what was designated by the Rom ...

slavers operating from the coast of

Provence Provence is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which stretches from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the France–Italy border, Italian border to the east; it is bordered by the Mediterrane ...

resulting in an overall depopulation of the region. In the early 10th century, economic recovery saw the building of many Romanesque churches in the region, including Ailhon, Mercuer, Saint Julien du Serre, Balazuc, Niègles, and Rochecolombe. The medieval county of Viviers or Vivarais at this time was administratively a part of the

Kingdom of Burgundy-Arles The Kingdom of Burgundy, known from the 12th century as the Kingdom of Arles, was a realm established in 933 by the merger of the kingdoms of Upper and Lower Burgundy under King Rudolf II. It was incorporated into the Holy Roman Empire in 1033 ...

, formed in 933 by

Rudolph II of Burgundy Rudolph II (/885 – 12 or 13 July 937) was King of Upper Burgundy from 912 until 933, and then King of the united Kingdom of Burgundy (the polity later known as the Kingdom of Arles) from 933 until his death in 937. He was also King of Italy f ...

's fusion of

and

Burgundy Burgundy ( ; ; Burgundian: ''Bregogne'') is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. ...

and bequeathed by its last monarch

Rudolph III of Burgundy Rudolph III (, ; 970 – 6 September 1032), called the Idle or the Pious, was the king of Burgundy from 993 until his death. He was the last ruler of an independent Kingdom of Burgundy, and the last legitimate male member of the Burgundian line ...

to the

Holy Roman Emperor The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans (disambiguation), Emperor of the Romans (; ) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period (; ), was the ruler and h ...

Conrad II in 1032. Locally throughout this period, the Church played an important role. John II (Giovanni of Siena), Cardinal and

Bishop of Viviers The Diocese of Viviers (; ) is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church in France. Erected in the 4th century, the diocese was restored in the Concordat of 1822, and comprises the department of Ardèche, in the Region of Rhône-Alpes. It ...

(1073–1095), accompanied Pope

Urban II Pope Urban II (; – 29 July 1099), otherwise known as Odo of Châtillon or Otho de Lagery, was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 12 March 1088 to his death. He is best known for convening the Council of Clermon ...

to the

Council of Clermont The Council of Clermont was a mixed synod of ecclesiastics and laymen of the Catholic Church, called by Pope Urban II and held from 17 to 27 November 1095 at Clermont, Auvergne, at the time part of the Duchy of Aquitaine. While the council ...

. It was later held in fief by the

Counts of Toulouse The count of Toulouse (, ) was the ruler of county of Toulouse, Toulouse during the 8th to 13th centuries. Originating as vassals of the kingdom of the Franks, Frankish kings, the hereditary counts ruled the city of Toulouse and its surrounding ...

, who lost it to the French crown in 1229. In 1284, with the Cistercian Abbey of Marzan, Philip IV established Villeneuve de Berg, and by the treaty of 10 July 1305

Philip IV of France Philip IV (April–June 1268 – 29 November 1314), called Philip the Fair (), was King of France from 1285 to 1314. Jure uxoris, By virtue of his marriage with Joan I of Navarre, he was also King of Navarre and Count of Champagne as Philip&n ...

obliged the bishops of Vivarais to admit the sovereignty of the kings of France over all their temporal domain. The realm was largely ignored by the Emperors and was finally granted to France as part of the domain of the Dauphin, the future Charles VII of Valois in 1308. During this period, the Maillard family, as Counts of Tournon, were influential in the Ardèche. During the

Hundred Years War The Hundred Years' War (; 1337–1453) was a conflict between the kingdoms of England and France and a civil war in France during the Late Middle Ages. It emerged from feudal disputes over the Duchy of Aquitaine and was triggered by a c ...

, the area maintained its loyalty to the French crown despite frequent attacks from the west.

Early modern history

As a result of the reformation of

John Calvin John Calvin (; ; ; 10 July 150927 May 1564) was a French Christian theology, theologian, pastor and Protestant Reformers, reformer in Geneva during the Protestant Reformation. He was a principal figure in the development of the system of C ...

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

, the Vivarais Ardèche was one of the areas that strongly embraced Protestantism partly as a result of Jacques Valery's missionary activity in 1534. During the Wars of Religion (1562–1598), the Ardèche was considered a strategically important location between Protestant Geneva, Lyon, and Catholic Languedoc. The region had prospered with the introduction of tobacco growing from America, and the agrarian experiments of

Olivier de Serres Olivier de Serres (; 1539–1619) was a French author and soil scientist whose '' Théâtre d'Agriculture'' (1600) was the accepted textbook of French agriculture in the 17th century. Biography Serres was born in 1539 at Villeneuve-de-Berg, A ...

, father of modern French agriculture. The influence of Protestant Lyon, and the growth of the silk industry, thanks to the planting of

mulberry ''Morus'', a genus of flowering plants in the family Moraceae, consists of 19 species of deciduous trees commonly known as mulberries, growing wild and under cultivation in many temperate world regions. Generally, the genus has 64 subordinat ...

trees, gave the burghers of the Vivarais towns a certain independence of thinking, and with the support of powerful Protestant

Huguenot The Huguenots ( , ; ) are a Religious denomination, religious group of French people, French Protestants who held to the Reformed (Calvinist) tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, ...

s (the Comte de Crussol and

), the Vivarais became a Protestant stronghold. As a result, it suffered many attacks and eight pitched battles between 1562 and 1595. In 1598, the

Edict of Nantes The Edict of Nantes () was an edict signed in April 1598 by Henry IV of France, King Henry IV and granted the minority Calvinism, Calvinist Protestants of France, also known as Huguenots, substantial rights in the nation, which was predominantl ...

put an end to these struggles. At that time, the Vivarais had over 75 Protestant churches and five fortified strongholds with permanent garrisons. But the area's problems were not over. In 1629, Paule de Chambaud, daughter of the Huguenot lord of Privas, chose instead to marry a Catholic, the Vicomte de l'Estrange, who supported

Cardinal Richelieu Armand Jean du Plessis, 1st Duke of Richelieu (9 September 1585 – 4 December 1642), commonly known as Cardinal Richelieu, was a Catholic Church in France, French Catholic prelate and statesman who had an outsized influence in civil and religi ...

's persecution of Protestants. With a majority of the population Protestant, Privas refused to submit, and as a centre of the revolt of the

Benjamin de Rohan, duc de Soubise Benjamin de Rohan, duc de Soubise (1580–1642), was a French Huguenot leader. Son of René II, Viscount of Rohan, and younger brother of Henri, duc de Rohan, Henri de Rohan, he inherited the lordship of Soubise through his mother Catherine de P ...

, was burned to the ground by the forces of

Louis XIII Louis XIII (; sometimes called the Just; 27 September 1601 – 14 May 1643) was King of France from 1610 until his death in 1643 and King of Navarre (as Louis II) from 1610 to 1620, when the crown of Navarre was merged with the French crown. ...

, sent to support the Vicomte de l'Estrange. As a result, one-fifth of the Vivarais Protestant population emigrated. The

Revocation of the Edict of Nantes The Edict of Fontainebleau (18 October 1685, published 22 October 1685) was an edict issued by French King Louis XIV and is also known as the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes. The Edict of Nantes (1598) had granted Huguenots the right to pra ...

in 1685, which outlawed Protestantism, led the peasant family of

Marie Marie may refer to the following. People Given name * Marie (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the name ** List of people named Marie * Marie (Japanese given name) Surname * Jean Gabriel-Marie, French compo ...

and Pierre Durand to revolt against royal authority. This led to the

Camisard Camisards were Huguenots (French Protestants) of the rugged and isolated Cévennes region and the neighbouring Vaunage in southern France. In the early 1700s, they raised a resistance against the persecutions which followed Louis XIV's Revocati ...

revolt of the Ardèche prophets. Louis XIV responded by dispatching

Dragoons Dragoons were originally a class of mounted infantry, who used horses for mobility, but dismounted to fight on foot. From the early 17th century onward, dragoons were increasingly also employed as conventional cavalry and trained for combat wi ...

, who brutalised the population by " dragonnades", destroying a number of communities. The brutality of those years was enormous and peace was restored only in 1715. As a result of brutality on both sides, another 50,000 Archèche Protestants fled France, many for Switzerland, whilst others were forced into abjuration (conversion). In the next century, despite the growth of the community of Annonay, increasing polarisation between the upper nobility families such as Rohan Soubise, and Vogue, Count of Aubenas, possessing huge financial fortunes, and the lesser nobility, the village clergy and the bourgeoisie of the Vivarais paralleled developments elsewhere in France. Despite this, the sons of a local Annonay paper-maker,

Joseph Joseph is a common male name, derived from the Hebrew (). "Joseph" is used, along with " Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the modern-day Nordic count ...

and Jacques Etienne Montgolfier, ascended in the first

hot air balloon A hot air balloon is a lighter-than-air aircraft consisting of a bag, called an envelope, which contains heated air. Suspended beneath is a gondola or wicker basket (in some long-distance or high-altitude balloons, a capsule), which carri ...

over the town on 4 June 1783. The firm of Canson Mongolfier continues making paper to this day and every year on the first weekend in June a large hot air balloon gathering celebrates the first journey. At the 200th anniversary in 1983, some 50 hot air balloons took part with the first historic flight reenacted with people dressed in period costume.

Later modern history

At the beginning of the French Revolution, the 1789 Declaration of Human Rights at last recognised Ardèche Protestants as citizens in their own right, free at last to practise their faith. Catholicism nonetheless continued to expand, and by the early 19th century the Ardèche included only 34,000 Protestants out of a population of 290,000. Named after the river of the same name, the Ardèche was one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790. The support of Count

François Antoine de Boissy d'Anglas François-Antoine de Boissy d'Anglas, Count of the Empire (1756–1826) was a French writer, lawyer and politician during the Revolution and the Empire. Biography Early career Born to a Protestant family in Saint-Jean-Chambre, Ardèche, he s ...

representing the Third Estate of the Vivarais in the States General, the freeing of the serfs, and the support of the lesser clergy of the church ensured that the Ardèchois supported the early revolution, but they withdrew support when things became more radical. During the

Reign of Terror The Reign of Terror (French: ''La Terreur'', literally "The Terror") was a period of the French Revolution when, following the creation of the French First Republic, First Republic, a series of massacres and Capital punishment in France, nu ...

, in 1794, the

guillotine A guillotine ( ) is an apparatus designed for effectively carrying out executions by Decapitation, beheading. The device consists of a tall, upright frame with a weighted and angled blade suspended at the top. The condemned person is secur ...

at Privas was kept busy with the execution of the former moderate supporters of the revolution. Under the Directory, bands of

Chouans Chouan (, "the silent one", or "owl") is a French nickname. It was used as a nom de guerre by the Chouan brothers, most notably Jean Cottereau, better known as Jean Chouan, who led a major revolt in Bas-Maine against the French Revolution. Pa ...

took to the Cevennes to escape and support former

émigré An ''émigré'' () is a person who has emigrated, often with a connotation of political or social exile or self-exile. The word is the past participle of the French verb ''émigrer'' meaning "to emigrate". French Huguenots Many French Hugueno ...

s. In the Napoleonic period, the Ardèche entered a period of increasingly prosperous inconspicuousness. After a period of eclipse, Viviers was reestablished in 1822 as the site of the see of the bishops of Ardèche, where it remains to this day. During the 19th century, modest economic growth took place. The population grew from 273,000 in 1793 to 388,500 in 1861. The silkworm industry boomed until 1855, when disease affected the worms and competition with China undermined the industry's profitability. Mining at Privas saw the exploitation of local iron ore, which was quickly depleted. As a result, six

blast furnaces A blast furnace is a type of metallurgical furnace used for smelting to produce industrial metals, generally pig iron, but also others such as lead or copper. ''Blast'' refers to the combustion air being supplied above atmospheric pressure. In a ...

were established, but they were only moderately profitable, the last closing at Pouzain in 1929. The scientific pioneer

Marc Seguin Marc Seguin (20 April 1786 – 24 February 1875) was a French engineer, inventor of the wire-Wire rope, cable suspension bridge and the multi-tubular steam-engine firetube boiler, boiler. Early life Seguin was born in Annonay, Ardèche to Ma ...

, whose inventions played a key role in the development of early locomotives, was born in the department. But Seguin located his business upstream, near

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

, and industrial development in the Ardèche remained relatively small-scale. No large towns appeared in the department during the years of France's industrialisation, and its official population total of 388,500, reached in 1861, turned out to be a peak that has not since been matched. Since the 1860s, the Ardèche economy has been split between the prosperous Rhône valley and the relatively poor and mountainous Haut Vivarais on the department's western side. Sheep farming did not lead to the prosperity hoped for and wine growing, badly hit by the

phylloxera Grape phylloxera is an insect pest of grapevines worldwide, originally native to eastern North America. Grape phylloxera (''Daktulosphaira vitifoliae'' (Fitch 1855) belongs to the family Phylloxeridae, within the order Hemiptera, bugs); orig ...

crisis during the last decades of the 19th century, has had to compete with other more established areas of France.

Geography

The department, corresponding to the ancient province of

Vivarais Vivarais (; ; {{cite web , url=http://www.columbia.edu/acis/ets/Graesse/orblatv.html , title = ORBIS LATINUS - Letter V) is a traditional region in the south-east of France, covering the ''département'' of Ardèche, named after its capital Vivier ...

, is part of the current

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

and is surrounded by the departments of

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.

Vaucluse Vaucluse (; or ) is a department in the southeastern French region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. It had a population of 561,469 as of 2019.

Gard Gard () is a department in Southern France, located in the region of Occitanie. It had a population of 748,437 as of 2019;Lozère Lozère (; ) is a landlocked Departments of France, department in the Regions of France, region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie in Southern France, located near the Massif Central, bounded to the northeast by Haute-Loire, to the ...

Haute-Loire Haute-Loire (; or ''Naut Leir''; English: Upper Loire) is a landlocked department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of south-central France. Named after the Loire River, it is surrounded by the departments of Loire, Ardèche, Lozère, Canta ...

Loire The Loire ( , , ; ; ; ; ) is the longest river in France and the 171st longest in the world. With a length of , it drains , more than a fifth of France's land, while its average discharge is only half that of the Rhône. It rises in the so ...

and

Isère Isère ( , ; ; , ) is a landlocked Departments of France, department in the southeastern French Regions of France, region of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. Named after the river Isère (river), Isère, it had a population of 1,271,166 in 2019.

. It is a land of great contrasts: at the lowest it is at a mere 40 metres of elevation above sea level at the point at which the Ardèche river flows into the Rhône (in the southeast of the department) up to 1,754 metres at Mont Mézenc (centre-west), it is bordered to the east by the length of the Rhône valley for 140 km and to the west by the high plateaus of the Massif Central. At its widest, the department does not exceed 75 km. It covers an area of 5,550 square kilometres, a size that hides its great diversity in terms of relief, the absence of access to rapid transport (unique in France), and the difficulties in transport from one part of the Ardeche to another, especially in winter. Privas shares this inaccessibility, being by road 589 km from Paris, 574 km from Strasbourg, 215 km from Marseille, 211 km from Annecy, 162 km from Chambéry, 147 km from Nîmes, 140 km from Lyon, 135 km from Grenoble, and 127 km from Saint-Étienne.

Natural regions

The Ardèche encompasses five

natural region A natural region (landscape unit) is a basic geographic unit. Usually, it is a region which is distinguished by its common natural features of geography, geology, and climate. From the ecological point of view, the naturally occurring flora and ...

s. Maps of different types of agricultural products translate clearly into these five regions. According to A. Siegfried, "The true character of the Ardèche is of a slope turning towards the Mediterranean, open to the influences coming from the Midi. These influences climb the length of the valleys to the summit of the high plateau, which resists their passage, not letting them penetrate. The high and the low are thus opposed, such is the character of the Ardèche personality."

Western mountains

The mountains that border the western frontier of the department have an average altitude of 1,100 metres. They are of largely

granitic A granitoid is a broad term referring to a diverse group of coarse-grained igneous rocks that are widely distributed across the globe, covering a significant portion of the Earth's exposed surface and constituting a large part of the continental ...

composition, split by the Velay

Basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanite, aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the planetary surface, surface of a terrestrial ...

s of the Massif of Mézenc, and the

Forez mountains The Forez mountains (, ) are a mountain range in the Massif Central separating the Dore (river), Dore valley from the Forez plain. They reach their highest point at Pierre-sur-Haute, with an altitude of 1,631 meters. Geography Location The Fo ...

, centred upon

volcanic A volcano is commonly defined as a vent or fissure in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most often fo ...

cones of ash,

lava Lava is molten or partially molten rock (magma) that has been expelled from the interior of a terrestrial planet (such as Earth) or a Natural satellite, moon onto its surface. Lava may be erupted at a volcano or through a Fissure vent, fractu ...

plugs and numerous

magma Magma () is the molten or semi-molten natural material from which all igneous rocks are formed. Magma (sometimes colloquially but incorrectly referred to as ''lava'') is found beneath the surface of the Earth, and evidence of magmatism has also ...

flows (Mézenc: 1,754 metres; Gerbier de Jonc: 1,551 m). Their inclination slopes gently westward, leading to a westerly flow of water to the

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...

. Here the

has its source. Within a few kilometres is the volcanic lake of Issarlès (92 ha, 5 km in circumference, 108 m in depth). The climate is extreme: snow for many months, very violent winds in autumn and winter (known locally as "la

burle The burle is the name given to the north wind that blows in the winter in the south-central part of France, east of the Massif Central, on the bare plateaus of Velay, Ardèche, or the Forez mountains. The burle is a winter wind that usually blo ...

"), frequent fogs in the valleys, extreme temperature changes between the seasons, with heavy rains (1,500 mm per year in average) concentrated in September and October.

Plateaus of the Haut-Vivarais and the Cévennes

The transition zone descending from the mountains (1,200 m) to the valley of the Rhône (300 to 400 m), is the plateau region. The plateau's medium altitude is one of green forested crests separated by wild and uncrossable gorges. Hydrographic resources are dominated by these torrential streams and rainfall is characterised by frequent summer showers, with the climate much less extreme than that of the mountains to the west.

Bas-Vivarais

The Ardèche river flows into the Rhône, following a generally southeasterly course. This

Karst Karst () is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble carbonate rocks such as limestone and Dolomite (rock), dolomite. It is characterized by features like poljes above and drainage systems with sinkholes and caves underground. Ther ...

region is formed of calcareous

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

s, where the streams flow in steep-sided valleys separated by sharp crests. With a generally low altitude the Bas-Vivarais enjoys a warm, dry, almost Mediterranean climate. Skies are wide and bright, temperatures more elevated (3 or 4 °C in January). The winds from the northeast are dominant, but those of the south (known as the "vent du midi") and west are full of humidity, bringing heavy precipitation for a few days at a time. The few rivers, the Lavezon, Escoutay, and Frayol, provide less of a hydrological resource than one sees in the crysaline granitic areas to the north. This is a country of wine, shrubland, cereals, and extensive fruit trees (this is the region of

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

and of

Joyeuse Joyeuse (; ; meaning 'joyous, joyful') was, in medieval legend, the sword wielded by Charlemagne as his personal weapon. A sword identified as Joyeuse was used in French royal coronation ceremonies since the 13th century, and is now kept at the L ...

Plateau of the Coirons

This plateau, 800 metres above sea level, is completely surrounded to the north by the valleys of the Ouvèze and the Payre, to the south by the valley of the Escoutay, and to the west by the Col of the Escrinet and the valley of Vesseaux. It is built of basalt that extends in length 18 km in the direction of the Rhône, and at its widest is a maximum 11 km. The climate here is also fairly extreme: snow, without being thick, is frequent, variations of temperature accentuated by the strong, cold winds. The soil is rich and fertile. Farming is dominated by wheat, oats, and potatoes, with the raising of goats and cattle. On the slopes are vines and fruit trees.

Valley of the Rhône

The Rhône corridor is very straight on the right bank, which runs almost at the foot of the Vivarais plateaus, leaving tiny plains where the rivers from the Vivarais descend to the Rhône. Here the strong north wind (the mistral) dominates, but temperatures are moderated by the influence of the "Midi" to the south. The narrow plains are very fertile and favourable to orchards (peaches and apricots). On the slopes the vines dominate.

Principal towns

The most populous commune is

; the prefecture

is the sixth-most populous. As of 2019, there are 8 communes with more than 5,000 inhabitants:

Politics

Departmental Council of Ardèche

Ardèche is divided into three

arrondissements An arrondissement (, , ) is any of various administrative divisions of France, Belgium, Haiti, and certain other Francophone countries, as well as the Netherlands. Europe France The 101 French departments are divided into 342 ''arrondissemen ...

. The

President of the Departmental Council In France, the President of the Departmental Council ( French: ''Président du Conseil départemental'') is the locally elected head of the departmental council, the assembly governing a department in France. The position is elected by the depar ...

has been Olivier Amrane of The Republicans (LR) since 2021.

Representation

National Assembly

The department elected three members of the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...

in the 2017 legislative election:

Senate

Representing Ardèche in the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

are Michel Teston and Yves Chastan.

Demographics

Ardèche's inhabitants are called ''Ardéchois''. Emigration from the Ardèche, one of France's poorer districts, long exceeded immigration, but this began to change in the mid-20th century. In 1990, Ardèche reached the population level it had 50 years earlier. Today the population numbers 309,000 (compared to 390,000 in 1860). Despite this demographic recovery, the area remains marked by a rural exodus that minimises the effects of an above-average

birth rate Birth rate, also known as natality, is the total number of live childbirth, human births per 1,000 population for a given period divided by the length of the period in years. The number of live births is normally taken from a universal registr ...

. The rate of natural increase is practically nonexistent, as Ardèche-born inhabitants have an above-average median age and thus also an above-average

death rate Mortality rate, or death rate, is a measure of the number of deaths (in general, or due to a specific cause) in a particular population, scaled to the size of that population, per unit of time. Mortality rate is typically expressed in units of d ...

. Ardèche has few foreign-born immigrants, found almost exclusively in the tourist locations of Largentière, Le Pouzin, and Bourg-Saint-Andéol. They number about 11,000, 4% of the population. During the summer, many European tourists visit the Ardèche, principally Dutch and Germans staying at camping sites. The following table shows population development in the Archèche since 1791. Some 50% of the population of the department lives in rural communities, compared to a national average of 75% of the French population living in urban areas. The Ardèche has an average population density of 52 per km², compared to 122 per km² for the

Rhône-Alpes Rhône-Alpes () was an administrative region of France. Since 1 January 2016, it is part of the new region Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. It is located on the eastern border of the country, towards the south. The region was named after the river Rhône a ...

region and 104 per km² in France. Population density is highest in the regions around the two towns of

and

and along the edge of the Rhône valley. The mountainous areas are much less densely populated, with only 6 to 7 inhabitants per km² in the cantons of Saint-Étienne-de-Lugdarès and Valgorge. As the mountains and the plateau continue to depopulate, those of the Rhône valley, Bas-Vivarais and lower Ardèche are continuing to grow, but the population situation, whilst better than in the past, still remains an issue for the region. The Rhône valley and the Annonay region, close to the main axes of communication (highways and the TGV railway), are the department's most urbanised areas. Here the natural growth in population is everywhere positive. Annonay, Tournon-sur-Rhône, and Guilherand-Granges benefit from the proximity of the nearby town of Valence and the economically more advanced department of la Drôme. In the southern interior with the town of Aubenas and the valley of the Ardèche river, the population of the cantons of Villeneuve-de-Berg and of Vallon-Pont-d'Arc grows at four times the speed of the departmental average. The high plateau and the mountainous areas as far as

continue to lose its young population (the median age of the population as a whole is increasing as a result of the weakness of the power of this region to attract new permanent inhabitants).

Culture

With its rivers and streams, Ardèche has become a favorite place for

canoe A canoe is a lightweight, narrow watercraft, water vessel, typically pointed at both ends and open on top, propelled by one or more seated or kneeling paddlers facing the direction of travel and using paddles. In British English, the term ' ...

and

kayak ] A kayak is a small, narrow human-powered watercraft typically propelled by means of a long, double-bladed paddle. The word ''kayak'' originates from the Inuktitut word '' qajaq'' (). In British English, the kayak is also considered to be ...

enthusiasts from around the world. The Ardèche contains part of

Cévennes National Park Cévennes National Park () is a List of national parks of France, French national park located in Southern France, in the mountainous area of Cévennes. Created in 1970, the park has its administrative seat in Florac at Florac Castle. It is loca ...

. The area is well known for

sport climbing Sport climbing (or bolted climbing) is a type of free climbing in the sport of rock climbing where the Lead climbing, lead climber clips their climbing rope, rope — via a quickdraw — into pre-drilled in-situ bolt (climbing), bolts for their ...

, with many well-managed limestone and granite crags. Each year the Ardeche hosts one of France's biggest road cycling events, L'Ardéchoise, with 16,000 entrants participating in 2011. The Ardèche department is known for the speciality of

Sweet Chestnut The sweet chestnut (''Castanea sativa''), also known as the Spanish chestnut or European chestnut, is a species of tree in the family Fagaceae, native to Southern Europe and Asia Minor, and widely cultivated throughout the temperate world. A ...

s, with the famous "châtaigne d'Ardèche" granted the

appellation d'origine contrôlée In France, the ''appellation d'origine contrôlée'' (, ; abbr. AOC ) is a label that identifies an agricultural product whose stages of production and processing are carried out in a defined geographical area – the ''terroir'' – and using ...

(AOC) in 2006. The cuisine of Ardèche is very similar to that of

Corsica Corsica ( , , ; ; ) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the Regions of France, 18 regions of France. It is the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of the Metro ...

, with liberal use of chestnuts.

References

External links

*
Prefecture website
*
Departmental Council website
*
Parc Régional des monts d'Ardèche – ''Ardèche Regional Park''
*
All the Ardeche in video HD online, official tourism website with all places to visit, camp-sites, gîtes, hotels and B&Bs.
*
The Ardeche County Tourist website, ardeche.com lists a large number of gîtes, camp-sites, hotels and B&Bs.
*
Ardèche Découverte
''Ardeche Discovery Guide'' *
Ardeche Evasion – ''Ardèche Web Guide''

Pictures "Panoramio"
*
Ardèche Tourist Board
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ardeche Massif Central 1790 establishments in France Departments of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Climbing areas of France States and territories established in 1790