Loriol-sur-Drôme

Loriol-sur-Drôme (French pronunciation: [lɔʁjɔl syʁ dʁom], literally Loriol on Drôme; Vivaro-Alpine: L’Auriòu de Droma) is a commune in the Drôme department in southeastern France.

Loriol-sur-Drôme
Commune
Town hall
Coat of arms
Location of Loriol-sur-Drôme
Loriol-sur-Drôme Show map of France Loriol-sur-Drôme Show map of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Coordinates: 44°45′09″N 4°49′24″E
Country	France
Region	Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Department	Drôme
Arrondissement	Die
Canton	Loriol-sur-Drôme
Intercommunality	Val de Drôme en Biovallée
Government
• Mayor (2020–2026)	Claude Aurias[1]
Area 1	28.66 km2 (11.07 sq mi)
Population  (2022)[2]	6,584
• Density	230/km2 (590/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	26166 /26270
Elevation	81–365 m (266–1,198 ft) (avg. 108 m or 354 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Loriol is situated in the Rhône valley, between Valence and Montélimar. The neighbouring villages are Livron-sur-Drôme, Mirmande, and Cliousclat.

History

Roman emperor Aurelian is said to have based a camp here. The medieval fortress was destroyed in the wars of religion, leaving only the ramparts.

During World War II, Loriol was heavily damaged by Allied bombing in August 1944.

Population

Historical population

Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1793 1,839 —     1800 2,392 +3.83% 1806 2,344 −0.34% 1821 2,458 +0.32% 1831 3,048 +2.17% 1836 3,340 +1.85% 1841 3,460 +0.71% 1846 3,530 +0.40% 1851 3,588 +0.33% 1856 3,554 −0.19% 1861 3,524 −0.17% 1866 3,512 −0.07% 1872 3,634 +0.57% 1876 3,686 +0.36% 1881 3,511 −0.97% 1886 3,518 +0.04% 1891 3,506 −0.07% 1896 3,330 −1.02%	Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1901 3,108 −1.37% 1906 3,136 +0.18% 1911 3,012 −0.80% 1921 3,112 +0.33% 1926 3,168 +0.36% 1931 3,057 −0.71% 1936 2,800 −1.74% 1946 2,685 −0.42% 1954 2,886 +0.91% 1962 3,583 +2.74% 1968 3,421 −0.77% 1975 3,514 +0.38% 1982 4,635 +4.03% 1990 5,609 +2.41% 1999 5,698 +0.18% 2007 5,722 +0.05% 2012 6,019 +1.02% 2017 6,593 +1.84%
Source: EHESS[3] and INSEE (1968-2017)[4]

See also

• Communes of the Drôme department