Forcalquier - Wikiwand

Forcalquier (French: [fɔʁkalkje]; Provençal: Forcauquier [fuʀkɔwˈkje]) is a commune in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department in southeastern France.

You can help expand this article with text translated from the corresponding article in French. (December 2008) Click [show] for important translation instructions.

View a machine-translated version of the French article.
Machine translation, like DeepL or Google Translate, is a useful starting point for translations, but translators must revise errors as necessary and confirm that the translation is accurate, rather than simply copy-pasting machine-translated text into the English Wikipedia.
Do not translate text that appears unreliable or low-quality. If possible, verify the text with references provided in the foreign-language article.
You must provide copyright attribution in the edit summary accompanying your translation by providing an interlanguage link to the source of your translation. A model attribution edit summary is Content in this edit is translated from the existing French Wikipedia article at [[:fr:Forcalquier]]; see its history for attribution.
You may also add the template {{Translated|fr|Forcalquier}} to the talk page.
For more guidance, see Wikipedia:Translation.

Quick Facts Forcauquier (Provençal), Country ...

Forcalquier Forcauquier (Provençal)
Subprefecture and commune
A general view of Forcalquier, with the Luberon Massif in the background
Coat of arms
Location of Forcalquier
Forcalquier Show map of France Forcalquier Show map of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
Coordinates: 43°57′36″N 5°46′50″E / 43.96; 5.7806][[Category:Pages using gadget WikiMiniAtlas]]"},"html":"Coordinates: </templatestyles>\"}' data-mw='{\"name\":\"templatestyles\",\"attrs\":{\"src\":\"Module:Coordinates/styles.css\"},\"body\":{\"extsrc\":\"\"}}'/>43°57′36″N 5°46′50″E / 43.96°N 5.7806°E / 43.96; 5.7806"}">
Country	France
Region	Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
Department	Alpes-de-Haute-Provence
Arrondissement	Forcalquier
Canton	Forcalquier
Intercommunality	Pays de Forcalquier et Montagne de Lure
Government
• Mayor (2020–2026)	David Gehant^[1]
Area ¹	42.76 km² (16.51 sq mi)
Population (2022)^[2]	5,142
• Density	120/km² (310/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	04088 /04300
Elevation	397–904 m (1,302–2,966 ft) (avg. 550 m or 1,800 ft)
¹ French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Forcalquier is located between the Lure Mountain^(fr) and Luberon mountain ranges, about 30 km (19 mi) south of Sisteron and 10 km (6.2 mi) west of the Durance river. During the Middle Ages it was the capital of Haute-Provence.

History

Furnus Calcarius was the Latin name, from the lime kilns used in Roman times. (A Roman bridge still stands in the valley to the south of the town.) Its Provençal name is Fourcauquié. At the end of the 11th century, a family of the counts of Provence created the county of Forcalquier.

During this time, the town of Forcalquier was the capital of Haute Provence along the Durance, which included the towns of Manosque, Sisteron, Gap and Embrun. Forcalquier minted its own currency, and its church was elevated to the status of a "concathedral".

The counts of Forcalquier grew to a power that could defy the counts of Provence. Rivalry ended in 1195 when Gersende de Sabran, countess of Forcalquier, married Alfonso II, count of Provence. Their son, Ramon Bérenger IV, inherited the two counties.

Population

The inhabitants are called Forcalquiérens in French.

More information Year, Pop. ...

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1793	2,547	—
1800	2,539	−0.04%
1806	2,768	+1.45%
1821	2,992	+0.52%
1831	3,036	+0.15%
1836	3,022	−0.09%
1841	3,065	+0.28%
1846	3,087	+0.14%
1851	3,053	−0.22%
1856	2,965	−0.58%
1861	2,956	−0.06%
1866	2,841	−0.79%
1872	2,719	−0.73%
1876	2,717	−0.02%
1881	2,843	+0.91%
1886	3,002	+1.09%
1891	3,038	+0.24%
1896	3,018	−0.13%

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1901	3,023	+0.03%
1906	3,034	+0.07%
1911	3,004	−0.20%
1921	2,552	−1.62%
1926	2,528	−0.19%
1931	2,588	+0.47%
1936	2,535	−0.41%
1946	2,262	−1.13%
1954	2,609	+1.80%
1962	2,518	−0.44%
1968	2,979	+2.84%
1975	3,312	+1.53%
1982	3,782	+1.91%
1990	3,993	+0.68%
1999	4,302	+0.83%
2007	4,649	+0.97%
2012	4,775	+0.54%
2017	5,018	+1.00%

Source: EHESS^[3] and INSEE (1968-2017)^[4]

Sights

Summarize

Perspective

Forcalquier is built around the slopes of a steep conical hill, crowned by an octagonal chapel, Notre Dame de Provence, where the medieval citadel once stood. The citadel was destroyed in 1601; the chapel with its panoramic view was built in 1875. It has a carillon that can be heard every Sunday morning during the summer.

The oldest part of the town is the area around the Place Saint-Michel with its Renaissance fountain (1511) and its narrow side-streets. There many doorways dating to the 12th to 16th centuries can be found.

The present commercial and social center of town, the Place du Bourget, is located below the Place St. Michel. The 12th century "concathedral" Notre Dame de l'Assomption with its bell towers stands across from the Place du Bourguet.

The Cordeliers Convent was built in the 13th century by Franciscans named "cordeliers" because of their rope belts. This convent was occupied by monks continuously until the Revolution. It now houses the Université Européenne des Senteurs & Saveurs. The Port de Cordeliers is all that remains of the town's fortified walls.

Monday morning is market day in Forcalquier. The market fills the Place du Bourguet and the adjoining streets.

Noteworthy is the Musée Municipal with its prehistoric and Gallo-Roman artifacts, glass works, and faïence pottery from Mane, Apt and Moustiers-Sainte-Marie.