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Allauch (Municipality, Bouches-du-Rhône, France)

Flag of Allauch - Image by Olivier Touzeau, 6 February 2023

Presentation of Allauch
Flag of Allauch

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Presentation of Allauch

Allauch (21,490 inhabitants in 2021; 5,024 ha) is a commune situated east of Marseilles in the department of Bouches-du-Rhône.
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Historians believe that Allauch was the chief town of a Ligurian tribe called Ségobrige. Under the auspices of the canons of the Cathedral de la Major Marseille, a castle was built in the 12th century. There remains a
postern, some ramparts, and Our Lady of the Castle which was built in 1148 . It is still a place of worship and pilgrimage. The canons remained the Spiritual and Temporal Lords for nearly seven centuries until the French Revolution. They attracted a new population seeking land to cultivate (vineyards, olive groves, and wheat).

Throughout the 19th century Allauch declined: agriculture and livestock stagnated as did the production of plaster and chalk extracted using traditional methods. In the early 19th century, during the suppression of the free port of Marseilles, Allauch was the scene of contraband tobacco. The construction of the "Canal de Marseille" started a recovery: running water arrived in Allauch in 1888. Then an electric tram line connecting Marseilles to Plan-de-Cuques came in 1902. It was the end of isolation and confirmation of a new prosperity to come. In 1966 Allauch was classified as an urban commune and today Allauch has become increasingly a residential commune.

Olivier Touzeau, 6 February 2023

Flag of Allauch

The flag is a banner of arms: photo, 2020.

The coat of Arms adopted in 1727 refers to the commune being the seat for the Saracens: in the 10th century the Moors besieged the village. According to the legend, at the brink of starvation the villagers, to deceive the enemy, sent twenty loaves and their remaining spear points. The Saracens were discouraged, imagining that abundance reigned behind the walls. They broke camp. It was night and the moon was in its last quarter with three stars shone around it. So the arms of Allauch have three stars, a crescent moon, and two silver wings (arrow quills). It is blazoned: Azure, a crescent inverted of Argent accompanied in base by 3 stars and in chief between two wings of the same.

Olivier Touzeau, 6 February 2023