Sisteron (; , ; from ) is a commune in the

Alpes-de-Haute-Provence Alpes-de-Haute-Provence (sometimes abbreviated as AHP; ; ; ), formerly until 1970 known as Basses-Alpes (, ), is a department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of France, bordering Alpes-Maritimes and Italy to the east, Var to the sou ...

department,

Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (commonly shortened to PACA), also known as Région Sud, is one of the eighteen Regions of France, administrative regions of France, located at the far southeastern point of the Metropolitan France, mainland. The main P ...

, southeastern

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. Sisteron is situated on the banks of the river

Durance The Durance (; ''Durença'' in the Occitan classical norm or ''Durènço'' in the Mistralian norm) is a major river in Southeastern France. A left tributary of the Rhône, it is long. Its drainage basin is .Buëch The Buëch (; ) is a river in southeastern France, a right tributary of the Durance. It is long. Its drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land in which all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth ...

and Sasse. It is sometimes called the "Gateway to Provence" because it is in a narrow gap between two long mountain ridges. Despite its relatively small population, it serves as a long-distance navigation reference point, routinely signed as far away as

Grenoble Grenoble ( ; ; or ; or ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of the Isère Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, region ...

. It is from

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

, also from

, from

Nice Nice ( ; ) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one millionForcalquier. There are of forest and wood within the commune.Roger Brunet, �
Canton de Sisteron
», ''Le Trésor des régions'', read 9 June 2013.

History

Sisteron has been inhabited for 4,000 years. The Romans used the route through Sisteron as can be shown by a Latin inscription in the rocks near the road to Authon. It escaped the barbarian invasions after the fall of

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, but was ravaged by the

Saracens file:Erhard Reuwich Sarazenen 1486.png, upright 1.5, Late 15th-century History of Germany, German woodcut depicting Saracens ''Saracen'' ( ) was a term used both in Greek language, Greek and Latin writings between the 5th and 15th centuries to ...

. It was first fortified by the Counts of Forcalquier in the 11th century and later was the northern boundary of the domain of the Counts of Provence. In 1483 during the reign of

Louis XI Louis XI (3 July 1423 – 30 August 1483), called "Louis the Prudent" (), was King of France from 1461 to 1483. He succeeded his father, Charles VII. Louis entered into open rebellion against his father in a short-lived revolt known as the ...

, Sisteron re-joined the kingdom of France. Around this time there were seven plagues that killed two thirds of the population. Between 1562 and 1594 the town and its citadelle was fought over by

Protestants Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

and

Catholics The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

including two sieges. During this time the walls of the town were built. The plague returned in 1630, and typhus in 1744, killing many of the town's population. During the French Revolution the town remained Royalist. Consequently, when

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

arrived on his march north after his escape from

Elba Elba (, ; ) is a Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean island in Tuscany, Italy, from the coastal town of Piombino on the Italian mainland, and the largest island of the Tuscan Archipelago. It is also part of the Arcipelago Toscano National Park, a ...

in 1815, the town ignored him and let him through. On 15 August 1944 French

B-26 Marauder The Martin B-26 Marauder is an American twin-engined medium bomber that saw extensive service during World War II. The B-26 was built at two locations: Baltimore, Maryland, and Omaha, Nebraska, by the Glenn L. Martin Company. First used in t ...

bombers and American

B-17 Flying Fortress The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is an American four-engined heavy bomber aircraft developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). A fast and high-flying bomber, the B-17 dropped more bombs than any other aircraft during ...

es of the 42nd Bomber Wing tried to destroy the railway bridge and the road bridge which span the Durance. The weather was unfavorable and the bridges were not destroyed. A bomber during a manoeuvre to avoid a collision accidentally dropped several bombs on the town, including a full church, causing about 100 fatalities and seriously damaging the citadel. On 17 August the French aircraft returned and destroyed the bridges. Sisteron - Rocher de la Baume

Sights

The town's buildings include the citadel and the 12th century former Sisteron Cathedral dedicated to the

Blessed Virgin Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

and

Saint Thyrsus Saint Thyrsus or Thyrse (, literally "thyrsus"; Spanish and ; ; died 251) is venerated as a Christian martyr. He was killed for his faith in Apollonia, Phrygia, during the persecution of Decius, along with Leucius (Λεύκιος ''Leúkios'') ...

(''Cathédrale Notre Dame des Pommiers et Saint Thyrse''). There are three museums of note: the Citadel Museum, the Baden-Powell Scout Museum and Musée Terre & Temps (about the earth and the measurement of time). Tourist attractions include the countryside, rock climbing, the lido and the airfields at

Vaumeilh Vaumeilh (; ) is a commune in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France. Geography It is a small Provençal village with narrow, winding streets which backs on to a hill. The Dur ...

, La Motte-du-Caire and Château-Arnoux-Saint-Auban, which are dedicated to the sport of

gliding Gliding is a recreational activity and competitive air sports, air sport in which pilots fly glider aircraft, unpowered aircraft known as Glider (sailplane), gliders or sailplanes using naturally occurring currents of rising air in the atmospher ...

. There is an annual festival with many events throughout the summer months. There is a market every Wednesday and Saturday. A long-distance walk, the GR 6 ('' Grande Randonnée'') passes east–west through Sisteron.

Transport

Sisteron is served by the

A51 autoroute The A51 autoroute is a partly completed motorway in southeast France. It currently exists as two sections separated by a gap of approximately 85 km, the northern section sometimes referred to as the A51N. It is the long-term project to conn ...

, which now by-passes the town, eliminating it as a notorious 'bottle-neck' for traffic. There is also a railway station on the line from

Briançon Briançon (, ) is the sole Subprefectures in France, subprefecture of the Hautes-Alpes Departments of France, department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region in Southeastern France. It is the highest city in France at an a ...

and

Personalities born in Sisteron

Jean-Baptiste d'Ornano Jean-Baptiste d'Ornano, Marquis de (1581–1626) was a French nobleman and Marshal of France (1626). Biography He was the son of Alphonse d'Ornano and grandson of Sampiero Corso. Early in his childhood, he was prepared to come to court and was ...

(1581-1626), illustrious French nobleman, governor of

Gaston, Duke of Orléans ''Monsieur'' Gaston, Duke of Orléans (Gaston Jean Baptiste; 24 April 1608 – 2 February 1660), was the third son of King Henry IV of France and his second wife, Marie de' Medici. As a son of the king, he was born a . He later acquired the title ...

and instigator of the Chalais conspiracy. * Paul Arène (1843–1896), poet. * Louis Antoine Jullien (1812–1860), popular music conductor and composer of light music.

International relations

Sisteron is twinned with: *

Fidenza Fidenza (, locally ) is a town and (municipality) in the province of Parma, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy. It has around 27,000 inhabitants. The town was renamed Fidenza in 1927, recalling its ancient Rome, Roman name of ; before, it was ...

, Italy *

Herbolzheim Herbolzheim () is a town in the Emmendingen (district), district of Emmendingen, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated near the river Elz (Rhine), Elz, 26 km north of Freiburg. People * Yannick Bury (born 1990), CDU politician ...

, Germany *

Oliva Oliva (, ; ) is a Municipalities of Spain, municipality in the Comarques of the Valencian Community, ''comarca'' of Safor in the Valencia (autonomous community), Valencian Community, Spain. To its east lie of coastline and beaches fronting t ...

, Spain *

Nyingtri Nyingchi (), also known as Linzhi ( zh, s=林芝, p=Linzhi) or Nyingtri, is a prefecture-level city in the southeast of the Tibet Autonomous Region in China. The administrative seat of Nyingchi is Bayi District. Nyingchi is the location of Buchu ...

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ), or Greater Tibet, is a region in the western part of East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are other ethnic groups s ...

,Daniel Spagnou's website Accessed 22 July 2011
/ref> China

Population

In popular culture

The town was featured in the 2014 racing game ''

Forza Horizon 2 ''Forza Horizon 2'' is a 2014 racing video game developed for Microsoft's Xbox One and Xbox 360 consoles. It is the sequel to 2012's ''Forza Horizon'', the seventh instalment in the ''Forza'' series, and the series' first multi-console instalmen ...

'' and the 2022 series '' The 7 Lives of Lea''.

References

External links

Official website

{{Authority control Communes of Alpes-de-Haute-Provence Alpes-de-Haute-Provence communes articles needing translation from French Wikipedia Vauban fortifications in France