Saint-Michel-l'Observatoire

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Commune in Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France

Coat of arms

Location of Saint-Michel-l'Observatoire

(2020–2026) Jean-Paul Grosso^[1]Area

27.78 km² (10.73 sq mi)Population

(2021)^[2]

1,226 • Density44/km² (110/sq mi)Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET) • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)INSEE/Postal code

04192 /04870

Elevation386–767 m (1,266–2,516 ft)
(avg. 543 m or 1,781 ft)¹ French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Saint-Michel-l'Observatoire (French pronunciation: [sɛ̃ miʃɛl lɔpsɛʁvatwaʁ]; Occitan: Sant Miquèu de l'Observatòri) is a commune in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department in southeastern France. It was the death place of 18th-century botanist Jean-Paul de Rome d'Ardène and Taos Amrouche, the French-speaking Algerian writer, singer of Kabyle music, and activist for women's causes.

Population

Historical population
Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1968	499	—
1975	617	+3.08%
1982	713	+2.09%
1990	844	+2.13%
1999	904	+0.77%
2009	1,142	+2.36%
2014	1,224	+1.40%
2020	1,230	+0.08%
Source: INSEE^[3]

Observatory

Saint-Michel-l'Observatoire is the "host town" of the Haute-Provence Observatory, a nationally ranked facility. It is considered, by many astronomers, to be the best European low-altitude (400 meters) observatory in operation. There is also an astronomy center for educational purposes. It hosts students of elementary schools for brief stays (1–2 weeks) during the year and organizes theme nights of combined sky observations and expositions/debates on different themes.

St. Michael was chosen as the location of the Haute-Provence Observatory site, about 600 meters north. The village is located 543m altitude. The rock Guerin rises to 767 meters in the municipality.

The neighboring towns of Saint-Michel-Observatoire are Revest des Brousses, Mane, Dauphin, Saint-Martin-les-Eaux, Villemus, Reillane and Aubenas-les-Alpes.

The territory of the Regional Natural Park of Luberon

The village is located in the Regional Natural Park of Luberon. The town is one of the seventy-seven Member States of the Regional Natural Park of the Luberon Park, which extends from Cavaillon in the west to the east Durance, two departments and eighty-five towns and 185,145 hectares. To the south, it overlooks the Luberon Durance basin and the county of Aigues.

The town has two main villages, Saint-Michel and Lincel and several hamlets including the Craux, and quite a few differences.

International relations

The commune is twinned with:

Monte Porzio Catone, Italy

References

^ "Répertoire national des élus: les maires". data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises (in French). 2 December 2020.
^ "Populations légales 2021" (in French). The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 28 December 2023.
^ Population en historique depuis 1968, INSEE