Valréas (; ) is a
commune in the
Vaucluse department in the
Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur 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 ...
in southeastern
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
.
History
The area around the town of Valréas is known as
''L'Enclave des Papes''. It is an
enclave of Vaucluse, surrounded by the department of the
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. . The foundation of the Enclave began in 1317 when
Pope John XXII
Pope John XXII (, , ; 1244 – 4 December 1334), born Jacques Duèze (or d'Euse), was head of the Catholic Church from 7 August 1316 to his death, in December 1334. He was the second and longest-reigning Avignon Papacy, Avignon Pope, elected by ...
bought Valreas for the
papacy of Avignon. The story goes that following a visit to Valreas, feeling unwell he was offered some wine from the area. Liking it he decided to purchase the town to ensure his wine supply. Over the next 150 years or so his successors added to the Enclave by the addition of the small towns of
Visan,
Richerenches and
Grillon. The boundaries were defined by tall stone markers carrying the coat of arms of the popes. The present-day boundaries are still delimited by some of these stones, one of which is outside the entrance to the Valreas Tourist office. When the departments of France were created after the
Revolution
In political science, a revolution (, 'a turn around') is a rapid, fundamental transformation of a society's class, state, ethnic or religious structures. According to sociologist Jack Goldstone, all revolutions contain "a common set of elements ...
the people of the Enclave requested to remain as part of the department of Vaucluse (see
Comtat Venaissin
The (; ; 'County of Venaissin'), often called the for short, was a part of the Papal States from 1274 to 1791, in what is now the region of Southern France.
The region was an enclave within the Kingdom of France, comprising the area aroun ...
). Hence the "Enclave des Papes".
Population
Twin towns
Valréas is twinned with:
*
Sachsenheim,
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
*
Saint Paul,
Quebec
Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...
,
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
*
Montignoso,
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
See also
*
Communes of the Vaucluse department
*
List of works by Louis Botinelly
References
Communes of Vaucluse
Enclaves and exclaves
{{Vaucluse-geo-stub