Apt (Vaucluse)
Apt is a French town with 12,117 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2011 ) and is located in the Provence- Alpes- Côte d' Azur. Apt is part of the Vaucluse (84) and is the capital of the Pays d' Apt landscape.
Geography
Apt is located between the plateau of Vaucluse and the Luberon hills of the valley of the Calavon. The city is the center of the Luberon and is located approximately 50 kilometers north of Aix -en- Provence. After Avignon, west of Apt, there are also about 50 km; there is a TGV station. The municipality is part of the Luberon Regional Nature Park. In Apt Also the park administration is with the visitor center.
History
Apt was a prosperous Roman colony founded by Julius Caesar in 45 BC in place of a former city as Apta Julia again. She was a station on the Via Domitia, the ancient Roman road from Milan to Arles. In addition, Apt was one of the earliest bishoprics in the region.
Structures
The former cathedral Ste -Anne, wedged into a corner of the Rue des Marchands, is a remarkable example of Provencal church architecture from the 12th to the 14th century. Begun in the 11th century last work was only in the second half of the 17th century, completed ( Chapelle royale ). Until the French Revolution, the church was the seat of the bishops of Apt. With the Concordat of 1801, the diocese was dissolved and divided between the dioceses of Avignon and Digne.
Economy
Apt is known as the " world capital of candied fruits ." The place is surrounded by many orchards and vineyards that belong to the area of the Cotes du Ventoux. Moreover Apt is considered the economic center of the sparsely populated region in the central Luberon Provence. Every Saturday there is a big, as " marché classé de la France " excellent market in the city center of Apt.
By the end of the 1990s, the Plateau d' Albion " hosted north of Apt as ' Base aérienne 200' the land-based nuclear forces of France. Today, part of the former missile base is used as a training camp of the Foreign Legion and listening station of the foreign intelligence service DGSE.
Tourism
From Apt from the region is to open up to the mountain ranges of Luberon Grand and Petit Luberon (up to 1,256 m above sea level, about 600 km ²). The area around Apt (eg in Gordes ) is since the 1970s by the French high society and mainly British ( more recently also German ) inhabited and visited tourists who want a " rurales " life. For rock climbers Apt is a popular starting point for climbing the limestone cliffs of Buoux.
Twinning
Apt has twinning closed with
Famous sons of the city
- Jacques Bernard d' Anselme (1740-1814), General
Miscellaneous
- After the town of Apt is the Aptian, a geological stage of the Cretaceous period, named.
- The writer Peter Mayle has described the landscape and the lifestyle of the people in and near Apt in several novels.