Gardanne
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Commune of Gardanne |
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| Location | |
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| Administration | |
|---|---|
| Country | France |
| Region | Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur |
| Department | Bouches-du-Rhône |
| Arrondissement | Aix-en-Provence |
| Canton | Gardanne |
| Intercommunality | none |
| Mayor | Roger Meï (2001-2008) |
| Statistics | |
| Elevation | 170 m–387 m (avg. 205 m) |
| Land area¹ | 27.02 km² |
| Population² (1999) |
19,344 |
| - Density | 716/km² (1999) |
| Miscellaneous | |
| INSEE/Postal code | 13041/ 13120 |
| 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: residents of multiple communes (e.g. students and military personnel) only counted once. | |
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Gardanne is a commune of the Bouches-du-Rhône département in southern France.
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[edit] Geography
It is close to Aix-en-Provence and Marseille and lies on the rail link connecting the two cities.
[edit] History
Walls dating back to the first century AD have been found.[1]
In 1454 René d'Anjou bought the estate and would go there until 1480.[1] In 1482 it was bought back by the Forbins[1] and in 1676 the villagers themselves bought back their own land.[1]
In the 1860s a railway was built[1] and a little later mines were dug, thus attracting Italian, Armenian, Polish, Czech, Spanish and African workers to the village.[1] The deep mine, one of the last surviving in France, was closed down in 2003.[1]
[edit] Politics
The commune of Gardanne has been controlled by the Parti Communiste Français under Roger Meï since 1977. Voting is usually towards the left-wing, although rather uncharacteristically Nicolas Sarkozy gained 53,1% of the vote in the second round of the French presidential election, 2007.[citation needed]
[edit] Picture gallery
 Centrale Thermique de Provence and the preserved Puits Z |
 Puits Yvon-Morandat |
 Cooling tower of the coal-fired Centrale Thermique de Provence |
[edit] See also
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Official website (French)
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