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            Frankreich / Provence - Roussillon

Roussillon (French pronunciation: [ʁusijɔ̃]; Occitan: Rossilhon) is a commune in the Vaucluse department of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in Southeastern France. It is a member of Les Plus Beaux Villages de France (The Most Beautiful Villages of France) Association. Roussillon lies within the borders of the Natural Regional Park of Luberon. In the French natural regional parks system, 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.

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 TGV station is in Avignon.

The river Calavon 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 18th 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

During the 18th century, increasing demand for pigments in the textile industry led to intensified mining of ochres in Roussillon. 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, Villars, 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 the 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 Apt. Wine-making is very important and there are several wineries producing red, rosé, and white wines within the Ventoux AOC.

Literary and other cultural references

The Irish writer Samuel Beckett went into hiding from the Nazis in Roussillon during the years 1942–1945. His novel Watt was written there, and Beckett mentioned the village in his famous play 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; Georges 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.)

Roussillon is the setting of Susan Vreeland's 2015 novel, Lisette's List, about a young couple who move from Paris to Roussillon in 1937 to live with the husband's aging grandfather, an ochre miner and pigment salesman, who owns several post-impressionist paintings.

The village gave its name to a Michelin-starred restaurant in London.

(Wikipedia)

Roussillon [ʀusiˈjɔ̃] ist eine südfranzösische Gemeinde im Département Vaucluse in der Region Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur. Sie gehört zum Arrondissement Apt und zum Kanton Apt. Das Gemeindegebiet gehört zum Regionalen Naturpark Luberon.

Die Kleinstadt mit 1.318 Einwohnern (Stand 1. Januar 2022) liegt am Fuße des Luberon-Massivs und ist als eines der Plus beaux villages de France (schönste Dörfer Frankreichs) klassifiziert.

Wirtschaft

Bekannt ist der Ort vor allem durch seine ockerhaltige rote Erde, die als Rohstoff zur Herstellung von Farben verwendet wird. Hier bauten bereits die Römer, die das Dorf vicus russulus (rotes Dorf) nannten, Ocker ab. Roussillon war bis zum Anfang des 19. Jahrhunderts Zentrum des Ockerabbaus, der bis 1930 noch betrieben wurde. Heute existiert nur noch eine Farbenfabrik zur Besichtigung (Ancienne Usine Mathieu). Ferner liegt am Ortsrand der Sentier des Ocres, der Ockerlehrpfad.

Die Weinberge im Umland von Roussillon gehören zur Appellation Côtes du Ventoux. Mehr als 120.000 Besucher jährlich und der Tourismus bestimmen heute das Leben der Gemeinde.

Persönlichkeiten

Zwischen 1942 und 1945 versteckte sich Samuel Beckett (1906–1989) in Roussillon vor der deutschen Wehrmacht und setzte der Stadt in seinem Theaterstück Warten auf Godot ein Denkmal.

1950 kam der amerikanische Soziologe Laurence Wylie (1909–1996) nach Roussillon und lebte ein Jahr lang hier, um die Gemeinschaft des abgelegenen Dorfes zu studieren. Aus seinen Beobachtungen machte Wylie ein Buch mit dem Titel Dorf in der Vaucluse (Erstausgabe 1957). Im Buch nannte er das Dorf „Peyrane“, gemeint war aber Roussillon.

Sehenswürdigkeiten

romanische Pfarrkirche St-Michel mit klassizistischer Taufkapelle (Monument historique)

(Wikipedia)

Taken in: France / Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur / Apt / Roussillon (show map)

Taken on: April 24, 2025

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