Rochefourchat

Rochefourchat
Commune
The village of Rochefourchat.
Location of Rochefourchat
Rochefourchat Show map of France Rochefourchat Show map of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Coordinates: 44°35′58″N 5°14′53″E
Country	France
Region	Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Department	Drôme
Arrondissement	Die
Canton	Le Diois
Intercommunality	Diois
Government
• Mayor (2020–2026)	Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Martigny[1]
Area ^1	12.74 km^2 (4.92 sq mi)
Population  (2021)[2]	1
• Density	0.078/km^2 (0.20/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	26274 /26340
Elevation	600–1,513 m (1,969–4,964 ft) (avg. 963 m or 3,159 ft)
^1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km^2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Rochefourchat (French pronunciation: [ʁɔʃfuʁʃa]; Vivaro-Alpine: Ròchaforchaa) is a commune in the Drôme department, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, southeastern France.^[3] In the commune there is a single house, the St. Pierre's Church, a converted barn, and the ruins of an old castle. The commune is bordered by four other communes, and nearest to Rochefourchat are Saint-Nazaire-le-Désert, Les Tonils, Pradelle, and Brette.

History

In 1178, the castle of Rocha Forcha was built by the bishops of Die as a stronghold against the Holy Roman Emperors. It belonged to French lords until the year 1766 when the last one, Lord Rey de Noinville, died. In 1796, a French trader, Pierre Jossaud bought the land surrounding the castle and renamed it Rochefourchat. The commune has been passed down through Jossaud's family.

Population

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1968	6	—
1975	2	−14.52%
1982	3	+5.96%
1990	2	−4.94%
1999	1	−7.41%
2009	1	+0.00%
2014	1	+0.00%
2020	1	+0.00%
Source: INSEE[4]

The permanent population of Rochefourchat consists of one woman; yet Rochefourchat is not the least populous French commune, as there are six communes with no inhabitants, destroyed and abandoned during World War I but maintained as administrative subdivisions to preserve their memory.

See also

• Communes of the Drôme department
• Monowi, a village consisting of one resident

References

1. "Répertoire national des élus: les maires". data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises (in French). 2 December 2020.
2. "Populations légales 2021" (in French). The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 28 December 2023.
3. "Commune de Rochefourchat (26274)". INSEE. Retrieved 2 October 2024.
4. Population en historique depuis 1968, INSEE