Suze, Drôme

Suze (French pronunciation: [syz]; Occitan: Susa) is a commune in the Drôme department in southeastern France in the foothills of the Alps, its buildings are in a steeply-sloped village above a small tributary feeding into the Drôme which runs from the east into the Rhône.

Suze
Commune
The town hall in Suze
Location of Suze
Suze Show map of France Suze Show map of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Coordinates: 44°45′37″N 5°06′48″E
Country	France
Region	Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Department	Drôme
Arrondissement	Die
Canton	Crest
Intercommunality	Val de Drôme en Biovallée
Government
• Mayor (2021–2026)	Bérangère Driay[1]
Area 1	14.43 km2 (5.57 sq mi)
Population  (2022)[2]	247
• Density	17/km2 (44/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	26346 /26400
Elevation	239–730 m (784–2,395 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Population

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1968	223	—
1975	177	−3.25%
1982	187	+0.79%
1990	164	−1.63%
1999	226	+3.63%
2009	242	+0.69%
2014	230	−1.01%
2020	236	+0.43%
Source: INSEE[3]

Landmarks

The village has a cross to Saint Pancras and has a medieval Roman Catholic church.

Geographic context

Suze is centred 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) northeast of Crest, the main population and the administrative centre of the canton. Gigors-et-Lozeron, Beaufort-sur-Gervanne, Cobonne, Aouste-sur-Sye, Mirabel-et-Blacons and Montclar-sur-Gervanne border Suze.

Etymology/topology

The name is a corruption of segusia,^{[what language is this?]} 'forceful', given to various elevated strongholds, made up of the components sego meaning 'force or vigour', and a suffix -us(e/a/ia). The same etymology describes Suze-la-Rousse to the south in Drôme and in Piedmont, Italy: Susa, which has a French name, Suse.

Personalities

• Peter II, Count of Savoy was born in Suze in 1203.

See also

• Communes of the Drôme department