Oise

For other uses, see Oise (disambiguation).
Oise
Department

Prefecture building of the Oise department, in Beauvais

Coat of arms

Location of Oise in France
Coordinates: 49°23′N 02°25′E / 49.383°N 2.417°ECoordinates: 49°23′N 02°25′E / 49.383°N 2.417°E
Country France
Region Picardy
Prefecture Beauvais
Subprefectures Clermont
Compiègne
Senlis
Government
 • President of the General Council Yves Rome
Area1
 • Total 5,860 km2 (2,260 sq mi)
Population (2007)
 • Total 816,142
 • Rank 25th
 • Density 140/km2 (360/sq mi)
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
 • Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
Department number 60
Arrondissements 4
Cantons 41
Communes 693
^1 French Land Register data, which exclude estuaries, and lakes, ponds, and glaciers larger than 1 km2

Oise (French pronunciation: ​[waz]) is a department in the north of France. It is named after the river Oise.

History

Oise is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790. It was created from part of the province of Île-de-France and Picardy.

After the coalition victory at Waterloo, the department was occupied by British troops between June 1815 and November 1818.

Geography

Oise is part of the current region of Picardy and is situated 35 km north of Paris. It is surrounded by the departments of Somme, Aisne, Seine-et-Marne, Val-d'Oise, Eure, and Seine-Maritime.

Population

Natives of the department are called Isariens.

Tourism

The major tourist attraction of the department is the Parc Astérix, which opened in 1989. Another very interesting site is Beauvais Cathedral. Also to be seen is the Chateau de Pierrefonds, restored by Viollet-le-Duc. The art collection of the Château de Chantilly is one of the largest outside Paris.

Twinned county

Oise is twinned with Bedfordshire. One of the villages along the river Oise is Auvers-sur-Oise, famous for having been visited by several impressionist artists. This is where Vincent van Gogh spent his last 70 days and it is his and his brother Theo's resting place.

See also

External links