Rochefourchat
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Commune of Rochefourchat The house of the only inhabitant of Rochefourchat. |
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| Location | |
| Longitude | 05° 14' 53" E |
| Latitude | 44° 35' 58" N |
| Administration | |
|---|---|
| Country | France |
| Région | Rhône-Alpes |
| Département | Drôme |
| Arrondissement | Die |
| Canton | La Motte-Chalancon |
| Mayor | Jeanne Isoard (2001-2008) |
| Statistics | |
| Altitude | 600 m–1 513 m (avg. 963 m) |
| Land area¹ | 12.74 km² |
| Population² (1999) |
1 |
| - Density (1999) | 0.1/km² |
| Miscellaneous | |
| INSEE/Postal code | 26274/ 26340 |
| ¹ French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq. mi. or 247 acres) and river estuaries. | |
| ² Population sans doubles comptes: single count of residents of multiple communes (e.g. students and military personnel). | |
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Rochefourchat is a commune of the Drôme department in the Rhône-Alpes region in the south-east of France. In the commune there is a single house, a converted barn, and the ruins of an old castle. The nearest communes to Rochefourchat are Saint-Nazaire-le-Désert, Les Tonils, Pradelle and Brette.
As of the 1999 census, there was just one inhabitant, a 38-year old divorced man. Therefore, it holds the record of being the least populous French commune.
[edit] History
In 1178, the castle of Rocha Forcha was built by the bishops of the arrondissement of Die as a stronghold against the emperors of Germany. It belongs to French lords until the year 1766 when the last one, Lord Rey de Noinville, died. In 1796, a French trader, Pierre Jossaud bought the land surrounding the castle and renamed Rochefourchat. The commune has been passed down through Jossaud's family, right down the current inhabitant, Jeanne Isoard.
