- Aups
French commune
nomcommune=Aups
région=Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
département=Var
arrondissement=Brignoles
canton=Aups
insee=83007
cp=83630
maire=Antoine Faure
mandat=2008-
intercomm=
longitude=6.22482654
latitude=43.62843140
alt moy=505 m
alt mini=390
alt maxi=1077 m
hectares=6415
km²=64.15
sans=1903
date-sans=1999
dens=30
date-dens=1999Aups is a commune in the Var department in the region of
Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur in southernFrance . The name of Aups inOccitan Provençal of Mistralian norm is Z'Aup (pronounced "Zaou").Geography
Located in
Provence at 500m alt, Aups is in the first foothills of theAlps . The town is at the gates ofVerdon River , at 60km from the sea and 80km from the snow stations. Aups is named "Capital of Haut-Var" and "Capital oftruffle " and is integrated in the "Parc naturel régional du Verdon" since2000 .Its typically Mediterranean climate make the village a heathly place to live.History
The village was named "Oppidum de Alpibus" then "Castrum de Alpibus", "castrum de Almis", then "Alps" and now Aups. The place was colonized by the Oxybians during the
Ancient Rome , near ofVia Aurelia going fromFréjus ("Forum Julii") toRiez ("Forum Reii").Julius Caesar has visited Aups ("Castrum de Alpibus") on the way of the conquest ofGaul and has said « I prefer to be the first in Aups than to be the second in Roma ».The town has been looted by the
Huguenot s in1574 . They massacred 18 Aupsois. A "Maiden of the massacre" was erected on the torture place, in the Clock street. Aups was the centre of the Var Republican insurgency in1851 against thecoup d'Etat ofNapoleon III . InDecember 10 , the village was engaged in a real man hunt. Its nickname became "The red Center Var".Aups was a high place of
French resistance duringWorld War II . The city earned the "Croix de guerre avec palmes".Tourism
Truffles
Aups has the third largest black truffle market of France, known for its quality and importance. This market is held every Thursday from November to February.
Provençal Market
There is a colourful Provençal market, every Wednesday and Saturday featuring local products and handicrafts.
People from Aups
* The
Blacas house - an old Provençal house, lords and dukes of Aups since the12th century
*Pierre Petit (1831 - 1910) - photographer
* General Jean-Baptiste Girard (1775 - 1815) -Général and baron d'Empire who fought theNapoleonic Wars .
* J. R. R. Tolkien had a holiday house near of the village.Pictures
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.