Oise ( ; ; ) is a department in the north of France. It is named after the river Oise. Inhabitants of the department are called Oisiens () or Isariens, after the Latin name for the river, Isara. It had a population of 829,899 in 2023.
Geography
Oise is part of the current region of Hauts-de-France and is situated 35 km north of Paris. It is surrounded by the departments of Somme, Aisne, Seine-et-Marne, Val-d'Oise, Eure, and Seine-Maritime.
Principal towns
The most populous commune is Beauvais, the prefecture. As of 2023, there are 10 communes with more than 12,000 inhabitants:
{| class=wikitable
! Commune
! Population (2023)
|-
| Beauvais
| style="text-align: center;" | 55,550
|-
| Compiègne
| style="text-align: center;" | 40,761
|-
| Creil
| style="text-align: center;" | 36,301
|-
| Nogent-sur-Oise
| style="text-align: center;" | 21,907
|-
| Senlis
| style="text-align: center;" | 15,157
|-
| Crépy-en-Valois
| style="text-align: center;" | 14,351
|-
| Montataire
| style="text-align: center;" | 14,257
|-
| Méru
| style="text-align: center;" | 13,897
|-
| Noyon
| style="text-align: center;" | 12,971
|-
| Pont-Sainte-Maxence
| style="text-align: center;" | 12,361
|}
Demographics
Politics
The president of the Departmental Council is Nadège Lefebvre, elected in 2017.
Presidential elections 2nd round
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!colspan="2"|Election!!Winning candidate!!Party!!%!!2nd place candidate!!Party!!%
|-
|style="background-color: " |
|2022
|Marine Le Pen
|RN
|52.73
|Emmanuel Macron
|LREM
|47.27
|-
|style="background-color: " |
| 2017
| Emmanuel Macron
| LREM
| 53.28
| Marine Le Pen
| FN
| 46.72
|-
|style="background-color: " |
| 2012
| Nicolas Sarkozy
| UMP
| 52.66
| François Hollande
| PS
| 47.34
|-
|style="background-color: " |
| 2007
| Nicolas Sarkozy
| UMP
| 58.28
| Ségolène Royal
| PS
| 41.72
|-
|style="background-color: " |
| 2002!!Party
|-
|style="background-color: " |
|Oise's 1st constituency
|Claire Marais-Beuil
|National Rally
|-
|style="background-color: " |
| Oise's 2nd constituency
| Philippe Ballard
| National Rally
|-
|style="background-color: " |
| Oise's 3rd constituency
| Alexandre Sabatou
| National Rally
|-
|style="background-color: " |
| Oise's 4th constituency
| Éric Woerth
| Renaissance
|-
|style="background-color: " |
| Oise's 5th constituency
| Frédéric-Pierre Vos
| National Rally
|-
|style="background-color: " |
| Oise's 6th constituency
| Michel Guiniot
| National Rally
|-
|style="background-color: " |
| Oise's 7th constituency
| David Magnier
| National Rally
|}
Tourism
The major tourist attraction of the department is the Parc Astérix, which opened in 1989. Other interesting sites are Beauvais Cathedral, the Château de Pierrefonds, restored by Viollet-le-Duc, and the art collection of the Château de Chantilly, which is one of the largest outside Paris.
<gallery>
File:Chateau de Chantilly 009.JPG|Art gallery in the Château de Chantilly
File:Beauvais 1.JPG|Beauvais Cathedral
File:Goudurix.jpg|Rollercoaster at the Parc Astérix
File:Renault FT17 IMG 8406.jpg|Renault FT in the Glade of the Armistice
File:Chateau de Pierrefonds.jpg|Château de Pierrefonds
</gallery>
Twinned county
Oise is twinned with Bedfordshire in England. It is also twinned with the Indonesian regency of Karanganyar and the Chinese provinces of Shandong and Zhejiang.
One of the villages along the river Oise is Auvers-sur-Oise, famous for having been visited by several impressionist artists. This is where Vincent van Gogh spent his last 70 days and is his and his brother Theo's resting place.
See also
- Arrondissements of the Oise department
- Cantons of the Oise department
- Communes of the Oise department
- Monument aux morts (Oise)
References
External links
- Prefecture website
- Departmental Council website
- oise directory website
- Oise Tourist Board