- Moustiers-Sainte-Marie
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Moustiers-Sainte-Marie
Moustiers-Sainte-MarieAdministration Country France Region Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Department Alpes-de-Haute-Provence Arrondissement Digne-les-Bains Canton Moustiers-Sainte-Marie Mayor Alain Archiloque
(2008–2014)Statistics Elevation 474–1,729 m (1,555–5,673 ft)
(avg. 631 m/2,070 ft)Land area1 87.97 km2 (33.97 sq mi) Population2 710 (2008) - Density 8 /km2 (21 /sq mi) INSEE/Postal code 04135/ 04360 1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. 2 Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once. Coordinates: 43°50′54″N 6°13′19″E / 43.8483333333°N 6.22194444444°E
Moustiers-Sainte-Marie, or simply Moustiers, (Mostiers Santa Maria in Occitan) is a commune in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department in southeastern France, a part of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region.
It lies at the western entrance to the Gorges du Verdon. The village has been a centre of the pottery trade, especially faïence, for centuries.
The village clings a hundred or so metres up the side of a limestone cliff. A spring flows out of the cliff, creating a waterfall directly out of the centre of town. At twilight, the sun strikes the south-facing cliff, creating a diffuse pink light for a few minutes on clear days.
Contents
The Star
Above the town, a gold painted star hangs on a 225m long chain suspended between two cliffs. Its origin according to a legend popularised by Provençal poet Frédéric Mistral lies in the 10th century although the original star and chain have been replaced several times since then. The current star is about 50 years old. It was rehung a month after a fall 10 years ago when the chain snapped, using a helicopter...[1][2][3]
Legend
According to the legend, during the Crusades the knight Bozon de Blacas held prisoner by the Saracens vowed to hang a star over the village on his return. No one knows how it was originally hung there.[4]
Population
Historical population of Moustiers-Sainte-Marie 1765 1793 1800 1806 1821 1831 1836 1841 1846 1851 1955 1902 1831 1752 1828 1725 1790 1812 1589 1473 1856 1861 1866 1872 1876 1881 1886 1891 1896 1901 1372 1297 1193 1246 1193 1167 1137 1062 1001 907 1906 1911 1921 1926 1931 1936 1946 1954 1962 1968 868 785 548 545 542 534 494 444 478 535 1975 1982 1990 1999 2008 602 575 580 625 710 See also
References
- ^ "Histoire". Office de Tourisme de Moustiers Sainte Marie. http://www.moustiers.eu/le_village/rubrique.php?idcontent=13. Retrieved 10 October 2010.
- ^ "The village of Moustiers Sainte Marie". La Bastide de Moustiers. Archived from the original on 2006-04-29. http://web.archive.org/web/20060429231546/http://www.bastide-moustiers.com/englishIndex.cfm?action=village. Retrieved 2006-06-18.
- ^ Collins, Sarah (March 3, 2002). "A Wild Road Follows A Wild River". New York Times, Travel Section. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9407E3D71F3EF930A35750C0A9649C8B63&sec=travel&pagewanted=all. Retrieved 2006-08-30.
- ^ "Tourist information in English". http://www.moustiers.eu/le_village/rubrique_en.php?idcontent=13. Retrieved 2010-10-10.
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A view of from outside the village
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The peaks above the village, with the famous star suspended between
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Engraving from an eighteenth-century painting of the village
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Close-up of the golden star hanging over Moustiers Sainte Marie
External links
Categories:- Communes of Alpes-de-Haute-Provence
- Plus Beaux Villages de France
- Alpes-de-Haute-Provence geography stubs
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