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'Orange' (Provençal Occitan: ''Aurenja'' in classical norm or ''Aurenjo'' in Mistralian norm) is a town and commune in the ''département'' of Vaucluse, in the south of France. It has a population of 27,989 people (1999), with a primarily agricultural economy. It is located at 44°08N 4°48E, about 21 km north of Avignon. It is the warmest city in France, if the average temperature is considered.

Contents

Sights

History

Culture and art

Twin towns

External links

Sights

The town is renowned for its Roman architecture and possesses the best preserved Roman theatre in Europe, as well as a particularly fine triumphal arch (Arc de Triomphe D'Orange), both built during the reign of Augustus. The arch, theatre and surroundings were listed in 1981 by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.

History

Roman Orange was founded in 35 BC by veterans of the Second Gallica Roman legion as ''Arausio'' (after the local Celtic water god), or ''Colonia Julia Firma Secundanorum Arausio'' in full, “the Julian colony of Arausio established by the soldiers of the second legion.”
A previous Celtic settlement with that name existed in the same place and a major battle, which is generally known as the Battle of Arausio, had been fought in 105 BC between two Roman armies and the Cimbri and Teutones tribes.
Arausio covered an area of some 170 acres (690,000 m²) and was well endowed with civic monuments - as well as the theatre and arch, it had a monumental temple complex and a forum.
It was the capital of a wide area of northern Provence, which was parcelled up into lots for the Roman colonists.
The town prospered, though it was sacked by the Visigoths in 412. It became a bishopric in the 4th century, and the hill fort of the Celtic Cavares was renamed for Saint Eutrope, the first bishop of Saintes. Christian Orange hosted two synods, in 441 and 529. The latter of the Councils of Orange was of importance in condemning the Pelagian heresy. The Diocese of Orange persisted until the French Revolution, and was formally suppressed in 1801.
The sovereign Carolingian counts of Orange had their origin in the 8th century, and passed into the family of the lords of Baux. The Baux counts of Orange became fully independent with the breakup of the Kingdom of Arles after 1033. From the 12th century, Orange was raised to a minor principality, the Principality of Orange, as a fief of the Holy Roman Empire.
When William I "the Silent", count of Nassau, with estates in the Netherlands, inherited the title ''Prince of Orange'' in 1544, the Principality was incorporated into the holdings of what became the House of Orange-Nassau. This pitched it into the Protestant side in the Wars of Religion, during which the town was badly damaged. In 1568 the Eighty Years' War began with William as stadtholder leading the bid for independence from Spain. William the Silent was assassinated in Delft in 1584. It was his son, Maurice of Nassau (Prince of Orange after his elder brother died in 1618), with the help of Johan van Oldenbarnevelt, who solidified the independence of the Dutch republic. The United Provinces survived to become the Netherlands, which is still ruled by the House of Orange-Nassau. William, Prince of Orange, ruled England as William III of England. Orange gave its name to other Dutch-influenced parts of the world, such as the Orange Free State in South Africa.
The city remained part of scattered Nassau holdings until it was captured by the forces of Louis XIV in 1672 during the Franco-Dutch War, again captured in August 1682 and was finally ceded to France in 1713 under the Treaty of Utrecht that ended the wars of Louis XIV. Following the French Revolution of 1789, Orange was absorbed into the French ''département'' of Drôme, then Bouches-du-Rhône, then finally Vaucluse. However, the title remained with the Dutch Princes of Orange.
Orange attracted international attention in the 1990s, when it elected a member of the extreme right-wing ''Front National'' as its mayor. It is still run by the FN, which regards it as its flagship. Orange is now the only town in France led by a fascist.
Orange is also home to the French Foreign Legion's armored 1er REC or First Foreign Cavalry Regiment.

Culture and art

★ In 1869 the Roman theatre, the Théâtre antique d'Orange, was restored and has been the site of a music festival. The festival, given the name ''Chorégies d'Orange'' in 1902 has existed annually ever since, and is now famous as an international opera festival.

★ In 1971 the “New Chorégies” were started and became an overnight, international success. Many top international opera singers have performed in the theatre : Barbara Hendrix, Placido Domingo, Montserrat Caballé, … Great operas such as Tosca, Aida and Carmen have been staged here, all with spectacular sets.

★ The ''Musée'' displays the biggest (7,56 m width, 5,90 m height) cadastral Roman maps ever recovered, etched on marble. They cover the area between Orange, Nimes and Montelimar.

Twin towns

★ Association Orange Villes:

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★ Breda, Netherlands

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★ Diest, Belgium

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★ Dillenburg, Germany

★ Orange is also twinned with:

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★ Byblos, Lebanon - since 2004

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★ Jarosław, Poland - since 2000

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★ Kielce, Poland - since 1992

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★ Rastatt, Germany - since 1965

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★ Spoleto, Italy - since 1981

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★ Vélez Rubio, Spain - since 2004

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★ Vyškov, Czech Republic - since 1964

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★ Weifang, China - since 2004

External links

★ Roman Theatre and Museum official website (in English)

★ Town council website (in French)