Roussillon, Vaucluse
Encyclopedia
Roussillon is a commune
in the Vaucluse
department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
region
in southeastern France
.
Roussillon lies within the borders of the Parc Naturel Régional du Luberon
. In the French natural regional parks, new economic activities may be developed only if they are sustainable.
It is noted for its large ochre
deposits found in the clay surrounding the village. Ochres are pigments ranging from yellow and orange to red. One of the former ochre quarries can be visited via the 'Sentier des Ocres' (Ochre Path), a walk of either 30 or 60 minutes through the old workings.
station is in Avignon
.
The river Calavon
forms part of the commune's southern border.
, Gargas
, Rustrel
(with its Colorado provençal) and Gignac
.
During the 20th century, mining techniques were modernized, which meant that more profitable ochre mines became exploitable. This resulted in a gradual closing-down of ochre mines in and around Roussillon. From the 1980s
, tourism has replaced ochre industry as a source of income.
. Wine-making is very important and there are several wineries
producing red, rosé
, and white wines within the Ventoux AOC
.
went into hiding from the Germans in Roussillon during the years 1942-1945. His novel Watt
was written there, and Beckett mentioned the village in his famous theatreplay Waiting for Godot
(En attendant Godot) (1955).
Film director Henri Colpi shot this movie Heureux qui comme Ulysse (1970) with Fernandel
as the leading character in Roussillon; George Brassens wrote a chanson
for the film.
Under the name of Peyrane, Roussillon is the subject of Laurence Wylie, Village in the Vaucluse (first edition 1957.)
The village gave its name to a Michelin-starred restaurant in London
.
Communes of France
The commune is the lowest level of administrative division in the French Republic. French communes are roughly equivalent to incorporated municipalities or villages in the United States or Gemeinden in Germany...
in the Vaucluse
Vaucluse
The Vaucluse is a department in the southeast of France, named after the famous spring, the Fontaine-de-Vaucluse.- History :Vaucluse was created on 12 August 1793 out of parts of the departments of Bouches-du-Rhône, Drôme, and Basses-Alpes...
department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur or PACA is one of the 27 regions of France.It is made up of:* the former French province of Provence* the former papal territory of Avignon, known as Comtat Venaissin...
region
Régions of France
France is divided into 27 administrative regions , 22 of which are in Metropolitan France, and five of which are overseas. Corsica is a territorial collectivity , but is considered a region in mainstream usage, and is even shown as such on the INSEE website...
in southeastern France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.
Roussillon lies within the borders of the Parc Naturel Régional du Luberon
Luberon
The Luberon or Luberon Massif , also called Lubéron, has a maximum altitude of 1,256 m and an area of about 600 km²...
. In the French natural regional parks, new economic activities may be developed only if they are sustainable.
It is noted for its large ochre
Ochre
Ochre is the term for both a golden-yellow or light yellow brown color and for a form of earth pigment which produces the color. The pigment can also be used to create a reddish tint known as "red ochre". The more rarely used terms "purple ochre" and "brown ochre" also exist for variant hues...
deposits found in the clay surrounding the village. Ochres are pigments ranging from yellow and orange to red. One of the former ochre quarries can be visited via the 'Sentier des Ocres' (Ochre Path), a walk of either 30 or 60 minutes through the old workings.
Geography
The village stands on an ochre ridge, situated in a broad valley with the 'Monts du Vaucluse' to the north and the 'Petit' Luberon to the south. The nearest railway station is in Cavaillon; the nearest TGVTGV
The TGV is France's high-speed rail service, currently operated by SNCF Voyages, the long-distance rail branch of SNCF, the French national rail operator....
station is in Avignon
Avignon
Avignon is a French commune in southeastern France in the départment of the Vaucluse bordered by the left bank of the Rhône river. Of the 94,787 inhabitants of the city on 1 January 2010, 12 000 live in the ancient town centre surrounded by its medieval ramparts.Often referred to as the...
.
The river Calavon
Calavon
The Calavon is an long river in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence and Vaucluse départements, southeastern France. Its source is near Banon. It flows generally west-southwest...
forms part of the commune's southern border.
Geology
Roussillon is famous for the rich deposits of ochre pigments found in the clay near the village. The large quarries of Roussillon were mined from the end of the eighteenth century until 1930. Thousands of people found work in the quarries and factories. Nowadays the mining of ochre is prohibited here, in order to protect the sites from degradation or even complete destruction.Mining ochre
Because during the 18th century the demand rose for pigments to be used in the textile industry, the mining of ochres in Roussillon intensified. Numerous quarries and ochre factories, some of which can still be seen today, were situated near the village. One example of an ochre factory, the 'Usine Mathieu', is named for the family that owned it from 1870 to 1901. It has been formed into a 'Conservatoire': a workshop serving as a museum. The quarries and factories were established in the villages of Roussillon, VillarsVillars
-In France:*Villars, Dordogne*Villars, Eure-et-Loir*Villars, Loire*Villars, Vaucluse*Villars-les-Dombes, Ain*Villars-le-Sec, Territoire de Belfort-In Switzerland:*Canton of Jura** Villars, Jura, Switzerland in the municipality Fontenais*Canton of Fribourg...
, Gargas
Gargas
Gargas is one of big gotra in Hindu gotra system. andGargas is the name of several communes in France:* Gargas, Haute-Garonne, in the Haute-Garonne department* Gargas, Vaucluse, in the Vaucluse department...
, Rustrel
Rustrel
Rustrel is a commune in the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France.-Sights:This village is famous for its ochre, which many people come to visit in the French Colorado.-References:*...
(with its Colorado provençal) and Gignac
Gignac, Vaucluse
Gignac is a commune in the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France.-References:*...
.
1980s
File:1980s decade montage.png|thumb|400px|From left, clockwise: The first Space Shuttle, Columbia, lifted off in 1981; American President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev eased tensions between the two superpowers, leading to the end of the Cold War; The Fall of the Berlin Wall in...
, tourism has replaced ochre industry as a source of income.
Agriculture
Apart from tourism, agriculture is the commune's principal activity. Fruit, including cherries, peaches and melons are grown. Much of this is used in crystallized fruit production in nearby AptAPT
- As an acronym :*Arbitrage Pricing Theory*Asia-Pacific Telecommunity*Advanced Persistent Threat*Advanced Passenger Train- Places :* Apt, Vaucluse, a commune of the Vaucluse département of France...
. Wine-making is very important and there are several wineries
Winery
A winery is a building or property that produces wine, or a business involved in the production of wine, such as a wine company. Some wine companies own many wineries. Besides wine making equipment, larger wineries may also feature warehouses, bottling lines, laboratories, and large expanses of...
producing red, rosé
Rosé
A rosé is a type of wine that has some of the color typical of a red wine, but only enough to turn it pink. The pink color can range from a pale orange to a vivid near-purple, depending on the grapes and wine making techniques.- Production techniques :There are three major ways to produce rosé...
, and white wines within the Ventoux AOC
Côtes du Ventoux AOC
Ventoux AOC is a wine-growing AOC in the southeastern region of the Rhône wine region of France, where the wines are produced in 51 communes of the Vaucluse département along the lower slopes of the Ventoux mountain and at the foot of the Vaucluse Mountains...
.
Literary and other cultural references
The writer Samuel BeckettSamuel Beckett
Samuel Barclay Beckett was an Irish avant-garde novelist, playwright, theatre director, and poet. He wrote both in English and French. His work offers a bleak, tragicomic outlook on human nature, often coupled with black comedy and gallows humour.Beckett is widely regarded as among the most...
went into hiding from the Germans in Roussillon during the years 1942-1945. His novel Watt
Watt
The watt is a derived unit of power in the International System of Units , named after the Scottish engineer James Watt . The unit, defined as one joule per second, measures the rate of energy conversion.-Definition:...
was written there, and Beckett mentioned the village in his famous theatreplay Waiting for Godot
Waiting for Godot
Waiting for Godot is an absurdist play by Samuel Beckett, in which two characters, Vladimir and Estragon, wait endlessly and in vain for someone named Godot to arrive. Godot's absence, as well as numerous other aspects of the play, have led to many different interpretations since the play's...
(En attendant Godot) (1955).
Film director Henri Colpi shot this movie Heureux qui comme Ulysse (1970) with Fernandel
Fernandel
Fernand Joseph Désiré Contandin , better known as Fernandel, was a French actor and singer. Born in Marseille, France, he was a comedy star who first gained popularity in French vaudeville, operettas, and music-hall revues...
as the leading character in Roussillon; George Brassens wrote a chanson
Chanson
A chanson is in general any lyric-driven French song, usually polyphonic and secular. A singer specialising in chansons is known as a "chanteur" or "chanteuse" ; a collection of chansons, especially from the late Middle Ages and Renaissance, is also known as a chansonnier.-Chanson de geste:The...
for the film.
Under the name of Peyrane, Roussillon is the subject of Laurence Wylie, Village in the Vaucluse (first edition 1957.)
The village gave its name to a Michelin-starred restaurant in London
Roussillon Restaurant
Roussillon is a restaurant on 16 St Barnabas Street in the Pimlico district of London. It held a Michelin star from 2000 until 2011.The restaurant's name comes from the village in the Lubéron rather than the Catalan region....
.