🇨🇵Sisteron Haut Provence

Sisteron is a small town in southeastern France and a commune with 7,699 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2021) in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Sisteron is nicknamed the "Gateway to Provence" (Porte de Provence); it is an important stop on the Route Napoléon.

The area has been inhabited for around 4,000 years. Sisteron itself, known as Segusero, was a stop on the Via Domitia in Roman times, which connected Italy with the Rhône delta. Inscriptions carved into the rock at that time have been preserved on the road to Authon. Sisteron was spared from the migration period, but the town was later sacked by the Saracens.In the 6th century, Sisteron became the seat of a bishopric, which lasted until 1790. In the 11th century, the Counts of Forcalquier built a fortress near the town on the border with the County of Provence. In 1193, Count Alfonso II of Provence married the heiress of the Counts of Forcalquier, Garsende de Sabran, thus reuniting the two territories.

The town of Sisteron became part of France in 1483, when Provence was inherited by King Louis XI. During this time, the town was hit by epidemics six times, killing two thirds of the population. During the Huguenot Wars (1562-1594), Sisteron was fought over and besieged twice. The town walls and the current citadel, built by Jean Errard of Bar-le-Duc, date from this period. On Richelieu's orders, Prince John Casimir of Poland was imprisoned here from 13 February to 16 August 1639 after he had been arrested in Marseille while on a trip to Spain and initially held for several months in the Archbishop's Palace in Salon-de-Provence.