Orgon

For the concept by Wilhelm Reich, see Orgone.

For the British synthesiser manufacturer, see Orgon Systems.

For the U.S. state, see Oregon.

For the Afghan town, see Urgun.

Orgon
Church of the Assumption and castle of the Duke of Guise
Coat of arms
Orgon
Location within Provence-A.-C.d'A. region Orgon
Coordinates:
Country	France
Region	Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
Department	Bouches-du-Rhône
Arrondissement	Arles
Canton	Orgon
Government
• Mayor (2008–2014)	Guy Robert
Area1	34.78 km2 (13.43 sq mi)
Population (2012)2	3,120
• Density	90/km2 (230/sq mi)
INSEE/Postal code	13067 / 13660
Elevation	62–298 m (203–978 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.

Orgon (ancient: Urgonum, Castrum de Urgone) is a commune in the Bouches-du-Rhône department in southern France.

Geography

Neighbouring villages and small towns include Les Baux-de-Provence, Saint-Rémy-de-Provence and Cavaillon. Orgon is one of the twelve communes of the Alpilles area, a small mountain chain made famous through the paintings of Vincent van Gogh and novels of the French author Alphonse Daudet. The river Durance runs through it.

Population

Historical population
Year	Pop.	±%
1793	1,900	—
1800	1,829	−3.7%
1806	2,100	+14.8%
1821	2,036	−3.0%
1831	2,584	+26.9%
1836	2,641	+2.2%
1841	2,748	+4.1%
1846	2,932	+6.7%
1851	3,089	+5.4%
1856	3,060	−0.9%
1861	3,174	+3.7%
1866	2,984	−6.0%
1872	3,160	+5.9%
1876	2,789	−11.7%
1881	2,816	+1.0%
1886	2,818	+0.1%
1891	2,637	−6.4%
1896	2,616	−0.8%
1901	2,624	+0.3%
1906	2,610	−0.5%
1911	2,703	+3.6%
1921	2,439	−9.8%
1926	1,315	−46.1%
1931	1,421	+8.1%
1936	1,461	+2.8%
1946	1,383	−5.3%
1954	1,512	+9.3%
1962	1,874	+23.9%
1968	2,049	+9.3%
1975	2,285	+11.5%
1982	2,339	+2.4%
1990	2,453	+4.9%
1999	2,642	+7.7%
2008	3,030	+14.7%

Sights

The village of Orgon harbours a 19th-century monastery overlooking the Durance valley (Notre Dame du Beauregard) and the ruins of a Templar castle.

History

In history, Orgon is known through the attempted lynching of Napoleon Bonaparte on his way to Saint Helena passing through the village. Orgon was also the birthplace of the French poet Antoine Pomme (1620) and the painter Louis Espérandieu (1787-1857).

Ecology

Having given its name to a specific type of limestone found only in this area, the recent plans of extension of the mining activities of the company OMYA in Orgon have led to protest actions by French intellectuals throughout the country, worried about the risks to the preservation of the natural and historic specificities of Alpilles hills. The dispute regarding the extension plans of the multi-national mining company OMYA have to an extent come to an end through the announced nomination of the territory as a protected Regional Parc as of January 1, 2007.

See also

• Communes of the Bouches-du-Rhône department

References

• INSEE

External links

• Tourism office website (French)