Venasque

Venasque
Commune
A general view of Venasque
Coat of arms
Location of Venasque
Venasque Venasque
Coordinates: 43°59′49″N 5°08′50″E
Country	France
Region	Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
Department	Vaucluse
Arrondissement	Carpentras
Canton	Pernes-les-Fontaines
Government
• Mayor (2001–2008)	Gaby Bezert
Area 1	35.01 km2 (13.52 sq mi)
Population  (2006)	1,151
• Density	33/km2 (85/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	84143 /84210
Elevation	137–639 m (449–2,096 ft) (avg. 310 m or 1,020 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Venasque (Template:Lang-oc) is a commune in the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France.

The area has many tourist attractions, such as the nearby Mount Vaucluse, a park with several tennis courts, and many open areas. The town of Venasque stands on a hill, surrounded on all sides by ramparts in various states of disrepair. It is home to many notable foreigners, such as Darius Brubeck. It has a beautiful forest surrounding it, with picturesque trails and several shepherds' dwellings made out of rocks piled together to create domed huts.

Venasque church

History

In the high middle ages Venasque was the capital of the Comtat Venaissin, which became a possession of the Holy See in 1271. In 1320 Venasque was replaced as capital of the Comtat by Carpentras. Papal control of the Comtat continued until the 1790s, when it was annexed by France and placed within a new département of the Vaucluse, although the papacy did not recognise the annexation until 1814.

See also

• Comtat Venaissin
• Communes of the Vaucluse department

References

• INSEE

External links

• Town council website
• More pictures of the city