Oise


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.

History

Oise is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790. It was created from part of the province of Île-de-France and Picardy.
After the coalition victory at Waterloo, the department was occupied by British troops between June 1815 and November 1818.

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

Politics

Current National Assembly Representatives

Tourism

The major tourist attraction of the department is the Parc Astérix, which opened in 1989. Other very interesting sites are Beauvais Cathedral, the Chateau de Pierrefonds, restored by Viollet-le-Duc, and the art collection of the Château de Chantilly, which is one of the largest outside Paris.

Twinned county

Oise is twinned with Bedfordshire.
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.