Olivet, Loiret

Olivet (French pronunciation: [ɔlivɛ], [ɔlive] ) is a commune in the department of Loiret, north-central France.

Olivet
Commune
Banks of the Loiret at Olivet
Coat of arms
Location of Olivet
Olivet Olivet
Coordinates: 47°51′50″N 1°54′02″E
Country	France
Region	Centre-Val de Loire
Department	Loiret
Arrondissement	Orléans
Canton	Olivet
Intercommunality	Orléans Métropole
Government
• Mayor (2020–2026)	Matthieu Schlesinger
Area 1	23.39 km2 (9.03 sq mi)
Population  (2021)	22,855
• Density	980/km2 (2,500/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	45232 /45160
Elevation	89–109 m (292–358 ft)
Website	www.ville-olivet.fr
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Geography

Olivet is located in the northern bend of the Loire, which crosses from east to west. Olivet belongs to the Loire Valley sector between Sully-sur-Loire and Chalonnes-sur-Loire, which was in 2000 inscribed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.

Olivet is 120 km south-south-west of Paris. Olivet is bordered to the north by Orléans and to the south by the Sologne.

Olivet is crossed by the Loiret, a 13 km long river which is both a tributary and a resurgence of the Loire.

History

The first traces of inhabitants belong to the Merovingian era. The water mills along the river were built by monks during the tenth century.

The first name of the village, during the eleventh century, was Saint Martin du Loiret. The name Olivet comes probably from Mount of olives.

The village suffered severe destructions during the Hundred Years' War, especially during the Siege of Orléans.

During the nineteenth century the river sides became a resort. Most of the surface was still devoted to agriculture, specialised in flowers, vegetable and fruits.

Nowadays Olivet is a growing city of more than 20,000 inhabitants.

Population

Historical population

Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1793 3,057 —     1800 3,250 +0.88% 1806 3,260 +0.05% 1821 3,181 −0.16% 1831 3,252 +0.22% 1836 3,386 +0.81% 1841 3,363 −0.14% 1846 3,368 +0.03% 1851 3,399 +0.18% 1856 3,478 +0.46% 1861 3,518 +0.23% 1866 3,608 +0.51% 1872 3,478 −0.61% 1876 3,663 +1.30% 1881 3,723 +0.33% 1886 3,919 +1.03% 1891 3,705 −1.12% 1896 3,602 −0.56%	Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1901 3,668 +0.36% 1906 3,780 +0.60% 1911 3,770 −0.05% 1921 3,697 −0.20% 1926 3,773 +0.41% 1931 3,833 +0.32% 1936 4,050 +1.11% 1946 4,816 +1.75% 1954 5,630 +1.97% 1962 7,350 +3.39% 1968 7,860 +1.12% 1975 11,568 +5.68% 1982 13,629 +2.37% 1990 17,572 +3.23% 1999 19,195 +0.99% 2007 20,143 +0.60% 2012 19,807 −0.34% 2017 21,951 +2.08%
Source: EHESS and INSEE (1968-2017)

Places of interest

A typical boathouse

The peaceful river Loiret, surrounded by trees and home of numerous swans, offers pleasant public walks. They show glimpses of water mills, old castles, guinguettes and boat garages.

On the north side of the main bridge, the Horloge fleurie is a giant clock on a flowery slope.

The Eglise Saint Martin is a historical monument whose building began in the thirteenth century.

Gastronomy

• Olivet, a cheese often covered with ashes, hay or plane leaves
• poire d'Olivet, a pear liquor with a whole pear inside the bottle

People

• Gentien Hervet (1499–1584), writer and translator
• Gaston d'Illiers (1876–1932), sculptor
• Louis d'Illiers (1880–1953), writer
• Jules-Marie Simon (1871–1970), writer
• Isidore Bernhart (1898–1976), pataphysician
• Pierre Michon (1945- ), writer

See also

• Communes of the Loiret department

External links

• (French) Official city website