Crest (Drome)

Crest is a common French, located in the department of the Drome and the area the Rhone-Alps. Its inhabitants is called Crestois.

The name of the city comes from its position: the old city is posed on the end of a rock peak.

Crest is famous for his tower, the most keep of France with 52 meters. The tower of Crest is the trace of an imposing castle which was destroyed by Louis XIII which found it potentially dangerous. The tower was saved and was used thereafter as prison.

Placed at the doors of the pre-Alps, near to Diois, Crest is a town of passage for all the inhabitants of the valley of the Drome. It is a tourist center which accommodates several festivals: , Crest Vocal Jazz, Futura…

Geography

History

The town of Crest was created by the Arnaud family like illustrates it the name of the city Cresta Arnaudarum, Crest of Arnauds.

Pasteur and historian François-Eugene Arnaud said themselves going down from the Arnaud of Crest, who were at the end of the 16th century pushed back in the Alps by the counts of Poitiers. This comes out from a correspondence with the historian Rochas, author of a biographical dictionary of Drome. In another correspondence with the Romance historian, dated July 25th 1903, this one indicated to Eugene Arnaud that “the Arnaud family is not originating in Hautes-Alpes, but they are the Fleet, all named Arnaud Flotte with the baptism, which are a branch junior by the Arnaud of Crest. It is the Arnaud Flotte which had at the 11th century the Rock and the Balsam of the Arnaud. As opposed to what claimed the Aymar historian of Rivail, the Arnaud were noble and knights, they lent homages to the counts of valentinois and the diois”. The possessions of the Arnaud family went from the Vivarais to the Trieves. They founded the town of Crest.

Borel d' Hauterives in Armorial of the Dauphiné gives the following indications: Powerful large family and that Aymar of Rivail, historian of Dauphine, claims to be of origin commoner ( in diensi agro ignobilis arnaudarum people, page 419) and who made build the town of Crest, the Balsam-of-Arnauds the and Chastel-Arnaud. Arnaud of Crest made homage on August 15th 1145, with the bishop of Die, his castles of Crest, Aouste, Saint-Beno4it cheese, Beconne, Saint M3edard's Day, Divajeu, Marsanne, Cobonne, the Recluse and Forest. The same Arnaud was probably constable of Tripoli to the second crusade (1155). This house had the seigniory of Crest, either partly, or completely. August 15th, 1146, in order to finance a Holy Land voyage, Arnaud from Crest yielded to the bishop of Die his possessions in the diocese of Die, of which the strengthened site of Crest.

A girl and heiress Arnaud (girl of the countess of Marsanne) were combined to the count Guillaume of Poitiers and the seigniory after a fight baited between the Arnaud and the Poitiers returned to this last family. In war, the Arnaud were driven out by Poitiers and were established beyond Die in the Alp-of-High-Provence (Embrun, Forcalquier, Castle-Dolphin) where they fell into the lapse of memory.

Concentration camp for Alsatian-Lorraine Tziganes of 1915 with 1919.

Culinary specialities

the Picodon of Crest (goat's milk cheese)
the Broods (cookies with the orange barks)
the Défarde (speciality containing tripe and feet of lambs)

Administration

Mayors

Cantons

Crest with the characteristic to be the chief town of 2 cantons, the commune itself is divided between these two cantons:

the Canton of Crest-North includes/understands the northern part of the commune (5 541 inhabitants) as 14 other communes.
the Canton of Crest-South includes/understands the southern part of the commune (2 198 inhabitants) like 11 other communes.

Demography

Places and monuments

the Turn of Crest, one of the highest medieval keeps of France ¹. Its height is of 52 meters and it dominates the city. This tower is the guardian of one of the doors of Préalpes drômoises and offers a broad panoramic sight, tables of orientations. Exposures are organized there.

¹ the keep of the fortress of Largoët, commune of Elven in Morbihan has a height of 57m.

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