Entrevaux (; oc, Entrevaus) is a commune (municipality), former episcopal seat (not bishopric in title, that remained the

Diocese of Glandèves In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...

) and Latin Catholic

titular see A titular see in various churches is an episcopal see of a former diocese that no longer functions, sometimes called a "dead diocese". The ordinary or hierarch of such a see may be styled a "titular metropolitan" (highest rank), "titular archbis ...

in the

Alpes-de-Haute-Provence Alpes-de-Haute-Provence or sometimes abbreviated as AHP (; oc, Aups d'Auta Provença; ) is a department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of France, bordering Alpes-Maritimes and Italy to the east, Var to the south, Vaucluse to the wes ...

department in southeastern

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

Geography

Set on both sides of the narrow road between

Annot Annot (; oc, Anòt) is a commune in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France. The inhabitants of the commune are known as ''Annotains'' or ''Annotaines'' The commune has been aw ...

and

Puget-Théniers Puget-Théniers (; oc, Lo Puget Tenier; it, Poggetto Tenieri) is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in southeastern France. Geography It is situated on in the valley of the Var. History It was part of the historic County of Nice ...

that runs alongside the gorge of the river

Var Var or VAR may refer to: Places * Var (department), a department of France * Var (river), France * Vār, Iran, village in West Azerbaijan Province, Iran * Var, Iran (disambiguation), other places in Iran * Vár, a village in Obreja commune, Ca ...

, the medieval walled town lies in the shadow of a mountaintop citadel.

History

Following incursions of

Saracen upright 1.5, Late 15th-century German woodcut depicting Saracens Saracen ( ) was a term used in the early centuries, both in Greek and Latin writings, to refer to the people who lived in and near what was designated by the Romans as Arabia P ...

s and the razing of the old town of Glandèves, which became a bishopric no later than the sixth century, the more defensible site of medieval Entrevaux was founded in the 11th century on the rocky spur in an angle of the river; the oldest recorded name is ''Interrivos'' and dates from 1040. Between 1481 and 1487,

Provence Provence (, , , , ; oc, Provença or ''Prouvènço'' , ) is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which extends from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the France–Italy border, Italian border ...

became a part of France. In 1536, Entrevaux fell to the troops of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, betrayed by its lord

Jacques Glandeves Ancient and noble French family names, Jacques, Jacq, or James are believed to originate from the Middle Ages in the historic northwest Brittany region in France, and have since spread around the world over the centuries. To date, there are ov ...

; half the population was massacred (coll.). The remaining population staged an uprising, cutting the throat of the governor, and offered the town to the French Dauphin, King

François I Francis I (french: François Ier; frm, Francoys; 12 September 1494 – 31 March 1547) was King of France from 1515 until his death in 1547. He was the son of Charles, Count of Angoulême, and Louise of Savoy. He succeeded his first cousin once ...

. In recognition of this, Entrevaux was given the

Municipal charter A city charter or town charter (generically, municipal charter) is a legal document ('' charter'') establishing a municipality such as a city or town. The concept developed in Europe during the Middle Ages. Traditionally the granting of a charter ...

(city law model) of

Avignon Avignon (, ; ; oc, Avinhon, label=Provençal or , ; la, Avenio) is the prefecture of the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of Southeastern France. Located on the left bank of the river Rhône, the commune ha ...

and declared a royal town of France, with its inhabitants exempt from taxation. In the 16th century, the bishop's official seat at the Glandèves Cathedral in Glandèves was abandoned, and a new one, Entrevaux Cathedral, was constructed in Entrevaux though still the seat of the

Bishop of Glandèves A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

. It served as a cathedral until 1790, but the see persisted until 1801. In 1658 a bridge guarded by towers and a

portcullis A portcullis (from Old French ''porte coleice'', "sliding gate") is a heavy vertically-closing gate typically found in medieval fortifications, consisting of a latticed Grille (architecture), grille made of wood, metal, or a combination of the tw ...

was constructed over the Var; this is the modern ''Porte Royale''. In 1690 the military architect Vauban drew up plans to further fortify the town, due to its strategic position guarding the valley of the Var and on the border with

Savoy Savoy (; frp, Savouè ; french: Savoie ) is a cultural-historical region in the Western Alps. Situated on the cultural boundary between Occitania and Piedmont, the area extends from Lake Geneva in the north to the Dauphiné in the south. ...

. Although not completed in full, the citadel perched high above the town was strengthened, particularly on the more accessible side closest to the hilltops, and a protected walkway constructed up the side of the mountain from the town. Two small forts were provided to protect the town, and its two main gates—now called the and the —strengthened. Entrevaux was briefly besieged in June 1707 by the royalist

ards under Chevalier Blaignac, but resisted and was relieved by the French forces. The citadel was last used during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

as a prison for German officers. In 2009 the medieval

diocese of Glandèves In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...

was nominally restored as Latin

Titular bishopric A titular see in various churches is an episcopal see of a former diocese that no longer functions, sometimes called a "dead diocese". The ordinary or hierarch of such a see may be styled a "titular metropolitan" (highest rank), "titular archbis ...

of Episcopal (lowest) rank, but under the present names of Entrevaux (French)/ (Latin).

Population

Sights

Entrevaux features a pilgrimage of

St John Saint John or St. John usually refers to John the Baptist, but also, sometimes, to John the Apostle. Saint John or St. John may also refer to: People * John the Baptist (0s BC–30s AD), preacher, ascetic, and baptizer of Jesus Christ * John t ...

on the weekend closest to 24 June, and an annual medieval festival on the weekend closest to 15 August (Le Monti). It houses a

motorcycle A motorcycle (motorbike, bike, or trike (if three-wheeled)) is a two or three-wheeled motor vehicle steered by a handlebar. Motorcycle design varies greatly to suit a range of different purposes: long-distance travel, commuting, cruisin ...

museum with a working collection of early, mostly European models. Outside the city walls, a working 19th-century oil mill is still in production and can be visited. The cathedral houses a large painting of the

Assumption of the Virgin The Assumption of Mary is one of the four Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church. Pope Pius XII defined it in 1950 in his apostolic constitution ''Munificentissimus Deus'' as follows: We proclaim and define it to be a dogma revealed by Go ...

François Mimault François () is a French masculine given name and surname, equivalent to the English name Francis. People with the given name * Francis I of France, King of France (), known as "the Father and Restorer of Letters" * Francis II of France, King ...

from 1647, as well as an organ by Jean Eustache dating to 1717.

Transportation

Entrevaux may be reached by the mountain train from

Nice Nice ( , ; Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative c ...

Digne-les-Bains Digne-les-Bains (; Occitan: ''Dinha dei Banhs''), or simply and historically Digne (''Dinha'' in the classical norm or ''Digno'' in the Mistralian norm), is the prefecture of the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte ...

run by the Chemins de Fer de Provence. In summer, a restored 19th-century steam train runs between

and

Cuisine

Regional culinary specialities include '' Secca de boeuf'' (dried beef, served in wafer-thin slices), (

gingerbread Gingerbread refers to a broad category of baked goods, typically flavored with ginger, cloves, nutmeg, and cinnamon and sweetened with honey, sugar, or molasses. Gingerbread foods vary, ranging from a moist loaf cake to forms nearly as crisp a ...

), and