Siege of Avignon (1226)

Avignon (, US also , French: [aviɲɔ̃] ; Provençal: Avinhon (Classical norm) or Avignoun (Mistralian norm), IPA: [aviˈɲun]; Latin: Avenio) is the prefecture of the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France. Located on the left bank of the river Rhône, the commune had a population of 93,671 as of the census results of 2017, with about 16,000 (estimate from Avignon's municipal services) living in the ancient town centre enclosed by its medieval walls. It is France's 35th-largest metropolitan area according to INSEE with 337,039 inhabitants (2020), and France's 13th-largest urban unit with 459,533 inhabitants (2020). Its urban area was the fastest-growing in France from 1999 until 2010 with an increase of 76% of its population and an area increase of 136%. The Communauté d'agglomération du Grand Avignon, a cooperation structure of 16 communes, had 197,102 inhabitants in 2022.Between 1309 and 1377, during the Avignon Papacy, seven successive popes resided in Avignon and in 1348 Pope Clement VI bought the town from Joanna I of Naples. Papal control persisted until 1791 when during the French Revolution it became part of France. The city is now the capital of the Vaucluse department and one of the few French cities to have preserved its city walls. This is why Avignon is also known as 'La Cité des Papes' (The City-State of Popes). The historic centre, which includes the Palais des Papes, the cathedral and the Pont d'Avignon, became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1995 because of its architecture and importance during the 14th and 15th centuries. The medieval monuments and the annual Festival d'Avignon (commonly called: "Avignon Festival") and its accompanying Festival Off Avignon—one of the world's largest festivals for performing arts, have helped to make the town a major centre for tourism.

The Festival d'Avignon, or Avignon Festival, is an annual arts festival held in the French city of Avignon every summer in July in the courtyard of the Palais des Papes as well as in other locations of the city. Founded in 1947 by Jean Vilar, it is the oldest existent festival in France. Alongside the official festival, the "In" one, a number of shows are presented in Avignon at the same time of the year and are known as the "Off". In 2008, some 950 shows were performed during three weeks.

The Palais des Papes (English: Palace of the Popes; lo Palais dei Papas in Occitan) is a historical palace located in Avignon, Southern France. It is one of the largest and most important medieval Gothic buildings in Europe. Once a fortress and palace, the papal residence was a seat of Western Christianity during the 14th century. Six papal conclaves were held in the Palais, leading to the elections of Benedict XII in 1334, Clement VI in 1342, Innocent VI in 1352, Urban V in 1362, Gregory XI in 1370 and Benedict XIII in 1394. Since 1995, the Palais des Papes has been classified, along with the historic center of Avignon, as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, for its outstanding architecture and historical importance for the papacy.

Avignon Cathedral (French: Cathédrale Notre-Dame des Doms d'Avignon) is a Roman Catholic church located next to the Palais des Papes in Avignon, France. The cathedral is the seat of the Archbishop of Avignon. The cathedral is a Romanesque building, constructed primarily in the second half of the 12th century. The bell tower collapsed in 1405 and was rebuilt in 1425. In 1670–1672 the apse was rebuilt and extended. This led to the destruction of the medieval cloister.The building was abandoned and allowed to deteriorate during the Revolution, but it was reconsecrated in 1822 and restored by the archbishop Célestin Dupont in 1835–1842. The most prominent feature of the cathedral is a gilded statue of the Virgin Mary atop the bell tower which was erected in 1859. The interior contains many works of art. The most famous of these is the mausoleum of Pope John XXII (died 1334), a 14th-century Gothic edifice. It was moved in 1759, damaged during the Revolution, and restored to its original position in 1840. The cathedral was listed as a Monument historique in 1840. In 1995, the cathedral, along with the Palais des Papes and other historic buildings in the Avignon city center, became a UNESCO World Heritage Site because of its outstanding architecture and its importance during the 14th and 15th centuries.

The Théâtre Golovine is a dance theatre in Avignon established in 1975.

The walls of Avignon (French: Les Remparts d'Avignon) are a series of defensive stone walls that surround the city of Avignon in the south of France. They were originally built in the 14th century during the Avignon papacy and have been continually rebuilt and repaired throughout their subsequent history. The current walls replaced an earlier double set of defensive walls that had been completed in the first two decades of the 13th century. During the Albigensian Crusade the town sided with the Count of Toulouse, Raymond VII but in 1226, after a three-month siege by Louis VIII of France, Avignon capitulated and was forced to dismantle the walls and fill in the moats. Beginning in around 1231, the defences were rebuilt. Although these early walls have not survived, their path is preserved in the street plan of the city. In 1309 Pope Clement V moved to Avignon and under the papacy the town expanded outside the limits of the earlier city walls. From the 1350s during the Hundred Years' War the town became vulnerable to pillage by marauding bands of mercenaries and in 1357 under Innocent VI, the fifth Avignon pope, work began on the construction of a new set of city walls to enclose the expanded town. The walls took nearly 20 years to complete. The walls stretch for 4.3 km (2.7 mi) and enclose an area of 150 ha (370 acres). There were originally twelve gates controlling access to the city but this number was reduced to seven when the fortifications were modified between 1481 and 1487. There are now 15 vehicular entrances and 11 pedestrian entrances.

The Opéra d'Avignon is an opera house located in Avignon, France that has been in operation for almost two centuries. The initial opera house was constructed in 1824–1825, and opened with its inaugural performance on 30 October 1825. The original opera house was destroyed in a fire on 26 January 1846. The current opera house was built in 1846–1847 and was designed by architects Léon Feuchère and Théodore Charpentier.

The Hôtel de Ville (French pronunciation: [otɛl də vil], City Hall) is a historic building in Avignon, Vaucluse, southern France, standing on the Place de l'Horloge. It was designated a monument historique by the French government in 1862.

The canton of Avignon-2 is an administrative division of the Vaucluse department, in southeastern France. It was created at the French canton reorganisation which came into effect in March 2015. Its seat is in Avignon.It consists of the following communes: Avignon (partly)

Grand Avignon (full name Communauté d'agglomération du Grand Avignon) is the communauté d'agglomération, an intercommunal structure, centred on the city of Avignon. It is located in the Vaucluse and the Gard departments, in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur and Occitanie regions, southern France. It was created in December 2000. Its area is 302.6 km2. Its population was 197,102 in 2022, of which 91,729 in Avignon proper.

The Palais du Roure is a listed hôtel particulier in Avignon, France.

The Musée du Petit Palais is a museum and art gallery in Avignon, southern France. It opened in 1976 and has an exceptional collection of Renaissance paintings of the Avignon school as well as from Italy, which reunites many "primitives" from the collection of Giampietro Campana. It is housed in a 14th-century building at the north side of the square overlooked by the Palais des Papes. The building, built in the early 14th century as the residence of the bishops of Avignon, was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site as part of the historic center of Avignon in 1995.