Moustiers-Sainte-Marie

Moustiers-Sainte-Marie
The village of Moustiers-Sainte-Marie, seen from above
Coat of arms of Moustiers-Sainte-Marie Coat of arms
Moustiers-Sainte-Marie
Location within Provence-A.-C.d'A. region Moustiers-Sainte-Marie
Coordinates:
Country	France
Region	Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
Department	Alpes-de-Haute-Provence
Arrondissement	Digne-les-Bains
Canton	Moustiers-Sainte-Marie
Government
• Mayor (2008–2014)	Alain Archiloque
Area1	87.97 km2 (33.97 sq mi)
Population (2008)2	710
• Density	8.1/km2 (21/sq mi)
INSEE/Postal code	04135 / 04360
Elevation	474–1,729 m (1,555–5,673 ft) (avg. 631 m or 2,070 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. 2 Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once.

Moustiers-Sainte-Marie, or simply Moustiers, (Mostiers Santa Maria in Occitan) is a commune in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department in southeastern France, a part of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region and considered one of the "most beautiful villages of France".

It lies at the western entrance to the Gorges du Verdon. The village has been a centre of the pottery trade, especially faïence, for centuries. A spring flows out of the cliff and creates a waterfall in town, providing water power.

The village was built on platform terraces a hundred or so metres up the side of a limestone cliff. At twilight when the sun on a clear day strikes the south-facing cliff, a diffuse pink light glows across the village..

The Star

Above the town, a gold-painted star hangs on a 225m-long chain suspended between two cliffs. Its origin, according to a legend popularised by Provençal poet Frédéric Mistral, lies in the 10th century; the original star and chain have been replaced several times since then. The current star is about 50 years old. Ten years ago it fell after the chain snapped, and was rehung using a helicopter.

Legend

According to the legend, during the Crusades the knight Bozon de Blacas was held prisoner by the Saracens; he vowed to hang a star over his village if he was able to return. No one knows how the star was originally hung there.

Population

Historical population
Year	Pop.	±%
1765	1,955	—
1793	1,902	−2.7%
1800	1,831	−3.7%
1806	1,752	−4.3%
1821	1,828	+4.3%
1831	1,725	−5.6%
1836	1,790	+3.8%
1841	1,812	+1.2%
1846	1,589	−12.3%
1851	1,473	−7.3%
1856	1,372	−6.9%
1861	1,297	−5.5%
1866	1,193	−8.0%
1872	1,246	+4.4%
1876	1,193	−4.3%
1881	1,167	−2.2%
1886	1,137	−2.6%
1891	1,062	−6.6%
1896	1,001	−5.7%
1901	907	−9.4%
1906	868	−4.3%
1911	785	−9.6%
1921	548	−30.2%
1926	545	−0.5%
1931	542	−0.6%
1936	534	−1.5%
1946	494	−7.5%
1954	444	−10.1%
1962	478	+7.7%
1968	535	+11.9%
1975	602	+12.5%
1982	575	−4.5%
1990	580	+0.9%
1999	625	+7.8%
2008	710	+13.6%

International relations

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in France

Twin towns — Sister cities

Moustiers-Sainte-Marie is twinned with:

• Montelupo Fiorentino in Italy

See also

• Communes of the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department
• List of works by Louis Botinelly

References

• INSEE

• Moustiers Ste Marie Provence France.jpg

  A view from outside the village

• Moustiers-Sainte-Marie Schlucht mit Stern 0499.jpg

  The peaks above the village, with the famous star suspended between

• Moustiers-Saint-Marie.jpg

  Engraving from an eighteenth-century painting of the village

• Star above Moustiers Sainte Marie.jpg

  Close-up of the golden star hanging over Moustiers-Sainte-Marie

• Moustiers-Sainte-Marie.jpg

External links

• Moustiers Village website