Aubenas-les-Alpes is a commune in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of south-eastern France.

The inhabitants of the commune are known as Albascecois or Albascecoises.

The commune has been awarded two flowers by the National Council of Towns and Villages in Bloom in the Competition of cities and villages in Bloom.

Geography

Aubenas-les-Alpes lies in the Regional Natural Park of Luberon and the Geological Reserve of Luberon some 18 km north-west of Manosque and 20 km west of La Brillanne. The village is at an altitude of 650m above sea level. Access to the commune is by road D555 which branches off the D5 some 4 km north of Saint-Michel-l'Observatoire and goes west by a circuitous route to the village. There are also other country roads to access the commune. Apart from the village there is the hamlet of Le Paraire in the north. The commune is mixed farmland and forest.

The Largue river forms the eastern border of the commune as it flows south to eventually join the Durance east of Manosque. Many tributaries rise in the commune and flow east to join the Largue including the Ravin d'Aiguebelle and the Riou.

Geology

The soils of the commune are formed on a substrate which is mainly limestone: this limestone is also used to roof the housing. The village is however located on a hill of red marl of the Oligocene period and has yielded bones of large mammals and reptiles (crocodile and turtle). In the Aiguebelle valley (a stream that never runs dry even in the most severe droughts) fossils of plants and fish (Smerdi macrurus) have also been found. The areas of both deposits are classified as geological reserves (included in the Natural Geological Reserve of Luberon) and collecting of fossils is prohibited. Information panels are placed close by. A selection of fossils from there can be seen at the Vachères Museum, at the Natural Regional Park of Luberon Maison du Parc in Apt (Vaucluse), and the National Museum of Natural History in Paris (Jardin des Plantes).

Along the Largue and the Aiguebelle towards Vachères and Revest-des-Brousses, the Oligocene limestone contains lenses of brown flint which were extensively exploited from the Middle Paleolithic (Levallois-type industry) to the end of the Neolithic period. Flint was exported all over the south-east of France as far as Italy by Neolithic man.

Natural and technological hazards
None of the 200 communes of the department are in a no seismic risk zone. The Canton of Reillane, to which Aubenas-les-Alpes belongs, is zone 1b (low risk) according to the deterministic classification of 1991 based on its seismic history, and zone 3 (moderate risk) according to the probabilistic classification EC8 of 2011. The commune of Aubenas-les-Alpes is also exposed to three other natural hazards:

forest fire;
landslide: the commune is almost entirely rated with an average to high hazard.

The commune is not exposed to any risk of technological origin as identified by the prefecture.

There is no risk prevention plan for foreseeable natural risks (PPR) for the commune and also no DICRIM.

Toponymy
The locality appears for the first time in texts from the 11th century in the form de Albenassio. According to Charles Rostaing, Aubenas comes from the Gallic alba with the suffixes -enne and -ate, in the general sense of a "citadel". According to Ernest Nègre, the name comes from the Roman name Albinus with the suffix -àtis. The Fénié propose another interpretation coming from the name Aubenas in the theme *Al-b-, having reference to the mountain.

None of these explanations can explain the form of the name Aubenas in Occitan which is aùbo meaning "white poplar".

The commune changed its name to Aubenas-les-Alpes in 1934.

History
The territory of the commune was inhabited in the Middle Paleolithic period but it was especially in the Neolithic that the area experienced increased human activity. The quality of the flint outcroppings in the Largue valley allows its breakdown into large blades. Due to the use of leverage, these materials were produced in large numbers and many of these workshops are known to be in the commune. These blades were distributed over a wide geographical area. The density of Neolithic occupation in the Largue valley was recognized early in the 20th century. In 1906, Mr. Deydier mentioned the existence of many Neolithic flint quarries over an area of hundreds of hectares in the communes of Saint-Michel-l'Observatoire, Vachères, and Aubenas-les-Alpes. The Inventory of Neolithic and protohistoric settlements lists 12 sites in the commune of Aubenas-les-Alpes.

There is no indication of occupation during the metal ages.

In several parts of the commune there are ceramic Tegulae and Terra sigillata which indicate occupation in Gallo-Roman times. In Antiquity the Aubenas area was part of the land of the Sogiontiques (Sogiontii), whose territory extended from the Baronnies to the Durance. The Sogiontiques were federated with the Vocontii and, after the Roman conquest, they were attached with them to the Roman province of Gallia Narbonensis. In the 2nd century they were detached from Vocontii and formed a distinct Civitas with their capital at Segustero (Sisteron).

While the south-east of Gaul was Burgundian land, the king of the Ostrogoths, Theodoric the Great, conquered the region between the Durance, the Rhône, and Isère in 510. The commune depended briefly on Italy until 526. In order to reconcile with the Burgundian king Godomar III, the Ostrogothic regent Amalasontha gave him the territory.

Called Albenacum or Castrum de Albenis in the Middle Ages, little is known about the history of the fief of Aubenas and its fief of Aiguebelle. The present village is a relic of an urban area that covered the whole hill around the castle. The Aubenas community was under the Viguerie of Forcalquier. A Benedictine priory was established at a place called Saint-Jean.

The death of Queen Joanna I of Naples created a crisis of succession at the head of the County of Provence: the towns of the Union of Aix (1382-1387) supported Charles, Duke of Durazzo, against Louis I, Duke of Anjou. One of the co-lords of Aubenas, Guyon de Lincel, rallied to the Angevins in 1385 after the death of Louis I.

The Largue and Aiguebelle valleys were the sites of several mills. Today a dozen mills still exist.

As with many communes in the department, Aubenas had a school well before the Jules Ferry laws: in 1863 it already had one that provided primary education for boys in the chief town. No instruction was given to girls: neither the Falloux Laws (1851), which required the opening of a girls' school in communes with more than 800 inhabitants nor the first Duruy law (1867), which lowered the threshold to 500 inhabitants affected Aubenas. It was only after the Ferry laws that the girls in the commune were regularly educated.

In the 20th century the cultivation of lavender was established and also a distillery. Meanwhile, the culture of grapevines for the production of wine reserved for consumption was progressively phased out.

Heraldry

Administration

List of Successive Mayors

Inter-communality
Aubenas-les-Alpes is part of the community of communes of Haute-Provence-Pays de Banon which includes 21 communes.

Budget and taxation

The Business tax was replaced in 2010 by the Property contribution of businesses (CFE) on the rental value of the property and by the Value-added contribution of the business sector (CVAE) - the two forming the Territorial Economic Contribution.

Demography
In 1315 the commune had 60 fireplaces and in 1765 it had a population of 160.

Economy

In 2017, the active population amounted to 47 people, including 13 unemployed (27%). These workers are in majority employees (67%), and are in majority employed in the commune (53%).

At the end of 2015 the agricultural sector had no paid jobs out of 2 establishments. The secondary sector had four businesses with one paid job. Finally there were 13 businesses in the trade and services sector (one paid job) and two establishments in the public sector (one paid job).

From 1988 to 2000, the number of farms decreased from 8 to 5. The utilized agricultural area (SAU) followed the same movement, from 338 to 257 hectares. Agricultural abandonment however seems to have stopped: the number of farms, according to Agreste Department of Agriculture survey, remained stable in the 2000s at 5: all arable farms. At the same time the utilized agricultural area has increased by a third to 350 ha - more than in 1988 - which are devoted entirely to arable crops.

The commune is located on the edge of production of Olive oil of Provence AOC but there is no olive farm in the commune.

According to Departmental Observatory of tourism, tourism is important for the commune with between 1 and 5 tourists welcomed per resident per year. Accommodation in the commune consists of:
furnished;
Hotel rooms;
18 second homes: 31% of the housing in the commune.

Culture and heritage

Civil heritage

The chateau dates from the end of the 16th century and was built on foundations from the 11th century. The arches on the lower floors are from the 13th century. On a rectangular plan, only a single tower remains. Only a little has been restored. The Vicarage is today isolated below the village although it was formerly in the village. It is a beautiful building from the 16th century with mullioned windows.

The Town Hall is located in the former presbytery and contains a small but remarkable fireplace with plasterwork from the 18th century: a rare case of chimney plasterwork in a commoner's house.

During the 19th century several mills were in operation on the shores of the Largue and the Aiguebelle. Their ponds and bays can still be seen (The Paraire, the Moulin de la Combe, the Moulin Brun, the Moulin Bas, the Moulin du Plan).

There is still a Dovecote in the commune in the form of a tower at Moulin.

In the hamlet of Paraire there are several Renaissance houses still with their mullioned windows and lintels.

Religious heritage

The Church of the Assumption of the Virgin and the Presbytery on a square shaded by hundred-year-old Linden trees are the last remains of the medieval village. The church is partly Romanesque and partly rebuilt in the 17th century. Its bell tower and arches date to the 13th century. Wall paintings from the 18th century have been identified in the nave and restored. Three items in the church have been registered as historical objects:
A Reliquary-Statue: Virgin and Child (19th century)
A Painting: The Assumption (19th century)
The Altar, altar seating, and Tabernacle (19th century)

Bibliography
Raymond Collier, Haute-Provence monumental and artistic, Digne, Imprimerie Louis Jean, 1986, 559 p.
Under the direction of Édouard Baratier, Georges Duby, and Ernest Hildesheimer, Historical Atlas of Provence, County of Venaissin, Principality of Orange, County of Nice, Principality of Monaco, Librairie Armand Colin, Paris, 1969, 223 pages

See also
 Luberon
Communes of the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department

References

External links

Aubenas on the 1750 Cassini Map

Communes of Alpes-de-Haute-Provence


Aubignosc (; ) is a commune in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of south-eastern France.

The inhabitants of the commune are known as Aubignoscais or Aubignoscaises.

Geography
Aubignosc is located in the west of the Durance valley some 8 km south by south-east of Sisteron, 21 km west of Digne-les-Bains and 36 km north by north-east of Manosque. Apart from the village there are the hamlets of Les Jardins and Le Forest.

Topography
The village is located at 460 metres above sea level on the eastern slope of the valley of the Durance. The land is on the border of the Pre-Alps of Digne to the east and the Baronnies to the west. The altitude varies from 432 metres to 1,330 metres (east of the Lure mountain whose summit is at 1,826 metres between Cruis and Noyers-sur-Jabron. It once corresponded to a linguistic border between two varieties of Occitan). South of the village is hilly terrain with carved valleys and gullies over 600 metres deep. There are the Redonnette Ravine, the Maurieu Ravine, the Côtes chaudes Ravine, the Trou de Loupe Ravine, and the valley of the Grand Champ successively from north to south along the hills.

Environment
The town has 734 hectares of woods and forests.

Transport
The commune lies between Forcalquier (south-west), Digne-les-Bains to the east and Gap farther north. Access to the commune is by the A51 autoroute from La Brillanne in the south passing through the east of the commune with Exit 21 in the commune and continuing north. Route nationale N85 comes from Malijai in the south and joins the A51 in the commune. The D4085 comes from Sisteron in the north and joins the N85 in the commune. The D951 comes from Peipin in the north and passes south through the west of the commune and continues to Mallefougasse-Augès in the south-west. Access to the village is by the D503 which branches off the D4085 in the commune and goes south-west to join the D951 in the commune.

The nearest railway station served by the TER (Marseille - Briancon) is located in Sisteron as well as a bus station. Buses provide connections to the Digne-les-Bains - Château-Arnoux - Veynes service as well as the Digne - Avignon service.

The aerodrome of Sisteron-Theze is located twenty kilometres to the north at Vaumeilh.

There is a short hiking trail (equestrian route) passing through the commune from north to south.

Hydrology

The entire eastern border of the commune is formed by the Durance as it flows south to eventually join the Rhône at Avignon. The Durance is both an Alpine and Mediterranean river with very specific morphology. It is called "capricious" and was once feared for its Flash floods (it was called the 3rd scourge of Provence) as well as for its low flow. Several intermittent streams trickle down the slopes and the Faillée gorge (east of the Lure mountain), and through the Prieuré forest. They flow into the Riou stream which flows north or to the Ravine de Maurieu, both tributaries of the Durance.

Geology

Related article: Geology of the Alps.

The commune lies on the eastern edge of Lure mountain with Provençal limestone formations of the Upper Jurassic and Lower Cretaceous periods (sedimentary rocks from a former Alpine Ocean), between several major geological formations of the Alps:
the Lure secondary mountains which are marked by numerous faults oriented north-west to south-east;
the Durance fault to the south-east in the valley.

Natural and technological hazards
None of the 200 communes of the department are in a no seismic risk zone. The Canton of Volonne to which Aubignosc belongs is zone 1b (low risk) according to the deterministic classification of 1991 which is based on historical seismic activity, and zone 4 (medium risk) according to probabilistic classification EC8 of 2011. Farther south, along the Durance fault, the cantons of Peyruis, Les Mees, Manosque-Nord, Manosque-Sud-Est, Manosque-Sud-Ouest, and Valensole are in Zone 2 (medium risk).

Aubignosc commune is also exposed to three other natural hazards:
forest fire,
flood (in the valley of the Bléone),
landslide: the commune has a high risk in a substantial part of its territory.

Aubignosc is also exposed to technological risks:
risk of dam failure (the valley of the Durance would be submerged in case of failure of the Serre-Ponçon dam);
risk of transporting hazardous materials by rail, road, and pipeline. This is from the transport of primary materials to its destination or finished products from the Arkema factory at Saint-Auban. These products are likely to be carried on the A51 autoroute, Route nationale N85, or the Lyon-Marseille via Grenoble railway. Finally the Transalpes and Transéthylène pipelines are used to carry ethylene through the commune.

The Risk prevention plan for foreseeable natural risks (PPR) does not exist for the commune. A DICRIM does not exist.

The town has been the victim of several natural disasters of floods and mudslides in 1994 and 1998. The earthquake that was felt the most in Aubignosc was the Lambesc earthquake on 11 June 1909

Neighbouring communes and villages

Toponymy

The commune is called Aubinhòsc in classical Provençal and Lou Bignosc in Provençal of the Mistralian norm. The locality appears for the first time in texts from 1040 as de Albinosco. The name is derived from the Roman Gens Albinus with the suffix -osc and became Bignosc in the 16th century.

The toponymy of the commune is influenced by the mountainous character of the region, the Mediterranean climate, and the Occitan culture. The Chemin des Côtes (Path of the hills)  which passes over the crest of the Lure, bordering Peipin, is also a path which is used to climb the peaks. Its neighbour, the Chemin de Plaine Longue (Path of the long plain) leads to the high plateau. There is also the Côtes Chaudes (Hot hills), near the Ponchonnière (pointed summit). The Pas des Bœufs indicates a way of passage or a pass in Occitan dialect.

Erosion, aggravated by deforestation, washes pebbles from the mountains that accumulate at the bottom of slopes: this kind of area is called Gravas (near Forest); the Roubines refer to black marl or clay - i.e. robines in French.

The Ravines de la Romigière and of Buis are named after the vegetation: in Occitan romigière is a place where brambles grow.

Human occupation and land use have resulted in several specific names: there are several places called Grand-Champ; Condamine is manorial land, indivisible and exempt from taxation; Forest is a hamlet - not in a forest but an isolated village. Finally, sheepfarming with the Occitan Jas (sheep pen) has provided several names: Jas de Mathieu in Lure, Les Jas, and the hamlet of Jas in the Forest vale.

History

Prehistory
During the construction of the A51 autoroute a prehistoric site was excavated at Ponchonnières which was occupied by the Chasséen, then the Neolithic, and finally the Chalcolithic peoples around 3000 B.C. The site was occupied by agro-pastoralists who built huts of about 20 m2 with the top being 4 or 5 m high. Their herds consisted mainly of small ruminants (70-80%) and cattle (about 20%). The consumption of meat from the herd was supplemented by the collection of molluscs (snails but also 18 other species). Anthracological studies have shown that the wood used for fires was oak (green or pubescent) which shows that the forest was still quite widely present at this time.

Gallic and Roman period
During Antiquity the territory of Aubignosc belonged to the Sogiontii whose territory extended from south of the Baronnies to the Durance. The Sogiontiques were federated with the Vocontii and, after the Roman conquest, they were attached with them to the Roman province of Gallia Narbonensis. In the 2nd century they are detached from Voconces and form a distinct civitas with its capital at Segustero (Sisteron). An ancient tomb was found in the commune in 1962.

The A51 works also identified Gallo-Roman buildings. These facilities, located at Présidentes, corresponded to a village or a small town. The inhabitants lived on agriculture while there was a large area where a libertus (freedman), Gaius Iulius Thallus, lived on the site of the current village. Thallus, a Roman citizen, is the oldest known inhabitant of Aubignosc. The quality of the construction of the village at Présidentes is fairly average: the walls are made of pebbles and the mortar is simple lime.

The Romans built a temple to Sylvanus whose altar was reused in the church as the base of the font.

Middle Ages
While the south-east of Gaul was Burgundian land, the king of the Ostrogoths, Theodoric the Great, conquered the region between the Durance, the Rhône, and Isère in 510. The commune depended briefly on Italy until 526. In order to reconcile with the Burgundian king Godomar III, the Ostrogothic regent Amalasontha gave him the territory.

In the Middle Ages the Aubignosc community was part of the viguerie of Sisteron and the Abbey of Cruis owned a priory. The Aubignosc community had the privilege of not paying queste (similar to Taille) to the Counts of Provence (and their successors, the kings of France) until the French Revolution.

Contemporary period
Following a dispute between the priest and his parishioners, a large part of the community embraced Protestant worship en masse.

After the French coup of 1851 of 2 December by Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte, the areas around Sisteron, Forcalquier, and Manosque developed a resistance movement to defend the Republic: 15,000 armed men were mobilized. The Resistance took control of the prefecture at Digne and formed a "Departmental Committee of resistance". The army, who rallied to Napoleon III, overcame this movement. After the failure of the insurrection severe repression continued for those who stood to defend the Republic: 8 inhabitants of Aubignosc were brought before the Joint Commission, the most common punishment being deportation to Algeria.

As with many communes in the department Aubignosc had schools well before the Jules Ferry laws: in 1863 it had two - installed in the main village and also in Forest - which provided primary education for boys. No instruction was given to girls: neither the Falloux Act (1851), which required the opening of a girls' school in communes with more than 800 inhabitants nor the first Duruy Law (1867), which lowers the threshold to 500 inhabitants, affected Aubignosc. The town benefited from subsidies from the second Duruy law (1877) to construct new schools to replace the old but it was not until the Ferry laws that girls from the commune had regular schooling.

In many communes the department has had a significant rural exodus from the 1850s. The commune lost half of its population in a little over a hundred years.

The region was also affected by regional or national fatal episodes: epidemics of cholera and the world wars (men died at the front during the First World War). During the Second World War the department was occupied by Italy in 1942-1943 then by Nazi Germany until August 1944. At that time the nearby town of Sisteron was bombed by the Allies as part of the Provence landings. The commune and Digne were liberated on 19 August 1944.

Until the middle of the 20th century, vines were cultivated in Aubignosc. The wine product, however, was of poor quality and was for home consumption with a portion of the production attributable to owners from Sisteron. This culture is now abandoned.

Heraldry

Politics and Administration

Municipal administration
According to its size, the commune has a municipal council of 15 members (Article L2121-2 of the General Code of local authorities). During the 2014 elections there was only one round and René Avinens was elected councillor with 258 votes, or 94.5% of the vote. The turnout was 68.76%. He was then appointed mayor by the council.

Mayors
The election of mayors was a major innovation from the French Revolution of 1789. From 1790 to 1795 mayors were elected by suffrage for a 2-year term. From 1795 to 1800, there were no mayors - the commune simply designated a municipal agent who was delegated to the Municipality of the Canton.

In 1799-1800, the Consulate revisited the election of mayors who were now appointed by the central government. This system is maintained in subsequent governments with the exception of the Second Republic (1848-1851). After retaining the authoritarian system, the Third Republic liberalized it with the law of 5 April 1884 administration of Commons: the council, elected by universal suffrage, elects the mayor from among its members.

List of Successive Mayors

Mayors from 1930

War memorials in the commune

Administrative and legal bodies
Aubignosc was part of the Arrondissement of Sisteron from 17 February 1800 to 10 September 1926 when it was incorporated into the Arrondissement of Forcalquier and the second constituency of Alpes-de-Haute-Provence. Aubignosc has been part of the Canton of Volonne since 1793, and became part of the new canton of Château-Arnoux-Saint-Auban in 2015. Aubignosc is under the jurisdiction of the Tribunal d'instance of Forcalquier, the Industrial Tribunal of Manosque, and the High Court of Digne-les-Bains.

Tax system

The regional part of tax is not applicable for Aubignosc.

Business Tax (TP) was replaced in 2010 by the Enterprise property contribution (CFE) based on the rental value of property and the value-added contribution of the business sector (CVAE) (the two forming the Territorial Economic Contribution (CET) which is a Local Tax introduced by the Finance Act of 2010

Population

Economy

Overview
In 2017, the active population amounted to 299 people, including 35 unemployed (12%). These workers are in majority employees (84%), and are in majority employed outside the commune (84%).

Most of the jobs in the commune (79%) are in services and administration and the construction sector accounts for 11% of employment.

At the end of 2015 the active establishments in the commune were mainly shops and services (31 out of 65 establishments) and companies in the construction sector (13 out of 65).

There is an Equestrian centre and some local tourism with associated businesses such as La Magnanerie restaurant.

Agriculture

There is an important agricultural cooperative in the commune.

At the end of 2015 the primary sector (agriculture, forestry, fisheries) had 9 establishments.

The number of farms, according to the Agreste Department of Agriculture survey, remained stable in the 2000s with 7 professional farms and 3 polyculture farms. Conversely the utilized agricultural area (UAA) has declined sharply in the same period, from 1,051 to 483 hectares, a figure that is higher than that of 1988 when the utilized agricultural area was only 314 hectares.

Labels
Aubignosc is included in the area for four Appellation d'origine contrôlée (AOC) labels (including Lavender oil of Haute-Provence and Banon cheese) and nine Protected Geographical Indication (IGP) labels (including Apples of Alpes de Haute-Durance, Honey of Provence, Lamb of Sisteron).

The culture of the olive has been practiced in the commune for centuries although limited to small areas. The terrain of the commune is at the altitudinal limit for the olive tree which can hardly be grown above 650 metres. Currently olives cover 22 hectares of the commune with 1,600 trees. The oil produced from olives harvested in the commune use the AOC labels Huile d'olive de Provence and Huile d'olive de Haute-Provence.

From the labels covering the commune, those for wine (VDP of Alpes-de-Haute-Provence white, red and rosé; VDP of Méditerranée, white, red and rosé) are not used as the vines are not cultivated for commercial production in the commune.

Although the culture of lavender is now mechanized and now has an organized market as well as an AOC for "Essential oil of Lavender from Haute-Provence" since 1981, it has not seen its production revived in the region.

Goats milk from Provençal, Rove, and Alpine goats can be used to manufacture Banon cheese as in 111 other communes in Alpes-de-Haute-Provence.

Lamb of Sisteron is a red label appellation protected since 26 June 2003.

Honey of Provence is protected by a red label associated with a protected geographical indication as for honey from all flowers for Lavender Honey.

Apples of Alpes de Haute-Durance received a Protected Geographical Indication in 2010.

Industry
At the end of 2015 the secondary sector (industry and construction) had 17 establishments employing 11 people.

A quarry operated by Carrières et ballastières des Alpes transforms the limestone into aggregate.

Service activities
At the end of 2015, the tertiary sector (trades and services) had 31 establishments (with 36 employees) plus 8 administrative establishments (with 30 employees).

According to the Departmental Observatory of tourism, tourism is secondary in the commune with less than 1 per capita tourist per year. Nevertheless, the commune has several tourist accommodations available:
at least one hotel in 2007, (two-star). It has only 9 rooms;
the town also has a small range of furnished accommodation.

Second homes are of marginal importance with 17 units out of the 300 housing units in the commune.

Culture and heritage

Civil heritage
The commune has one building that is registered as a historical monument:
The Agricultural Cooperative (1983)

Other places of interest in the commune:
A Noble House in Gravas decorated with a tower called a country house and which had an Ice house at the end of the 17th century.
A Renaissance-style House at Forest which may have been the priory.

Religious heritage
The Church of Saint Julien dates to 1662  andfeatures a double Nave and a cul-de-four vault over the Apse. The rectangular building adjoining it has some cut stones which were reused from an old church. The Church contains many items that are registered as historical objects:
A Painting: Saint Ann, Saint Mary, and Saint Joachim (17th century)
A Chalice (19th century)
2 Monstrances (18th century)
A Painting with frame: Virgin with a rose (18th century)
A Statue: Virgin and Child (18th century)
A Statue: Saint Julien (19th century)
A Painting: Virgin and Child between Saint Roch and Saint Ignace of Loyola (18th century)
The Church of the Nativity of the Virgin (1754) is located in the hamlet of Forest. The Church contains many items that are registered as historical objects:
A Cross (18th century)
A Statue: Virgin and Child (18th century)
A Statue: Saint Antoine of Padoue (19th century)
A Statue: Assumption (19th century)
A Painting: Sainte Famille (19th century)

Monuments in Aubignosc

Facilities

Education

The commune has a public primary school. The fourth class closed in 2010 at which date there were 64 children but there is nevertheless a canteen and a daycare centre.

Health
There is no doctor in Aubignosc and the closest is at Peipin (1.16 km), two others at Volonne (4.14 km), and there are others in Château-Arnoux (4.81 km). The nearest pharmacy is also at Peipin or Volonne.

Aubignosc depends on the Manosque hospital.

Sports
There is a sports field is on the communal boundary straddling Aubignosc and Peipin.

Worship
Aubignosc was part of the diocese and viguerie of Sisteron.

See also
Communes of the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department

Bibliography
 Raymond Collier, Haute-Provence monumental and artistic, Digne, Imprimerie Louis Jean, 1986, 559 p.
 Under the direction of Édouard Baratier, Georges Duby, and Ernest Hildesheimer, Historical Atlas of Provence, County of Venaissin, Principality of Orange, County of Nice, Principality of Monaco, Librairie Armand Colin, Paris, 1969
 Guy Barruol, Nerte Dautier, and Bernard Mondon (coord.), Mount Ventoux. Encyclopedia of a Provençale Mountain

External links
Aubignosc on the old IGN website
Official Aubignosc website
Aubignosc on Géoportail, National Geographic Institute (IGN) website
Aubignosc on the 1750 Cassini Map

Notes and references

Notes

References

Communes of Alpes-de-Haute-Provence


Auzet is a commune in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of south-eastern France.

The inhabitants of the commune are known as Auzetans or Auzetanes.

Geography
Auzet is located some 45 km north-east of Sisteron and 35 km west by south-west of Barcelonnette. Access to the commune is by the D7 road from Seyne in the north which passes through the length of the commune and the village and joins the D900A on the southern border of the commune. Apart from the village there are the hamlets of L'Infernet, L'Infernet Haut, and L'Infernet Bas north of the village. The commune is very rugged with snow-capped mountains and forested slopes with 1,168 hectares of forest.

Numerous streams rise mostly in the north of the commune and flow south: the Grave river rises in the north of the commune and gathers countless tributaries as it flows south to join the Bés on the southern border; on the western side the Ravin de Gau, the Ravin de Garnier, the Grave des Planes, and the Ravin du Passavoux all converge with other tributaries to join the Grave; in the east the Ravin du Tourondet, the Ravin du Mairague, and the Ravin du Lausier all flow south and merge to form the Ruisseau de Compolin which continues south to join the Mardaric south of the commune.

The area of the commune is 3,453 hectares and its altitude varies between 1,068 and 2,028 metres. The village is located at 1,180 m above sea level. The highest peaks are the Tête Grosse (Big Head) (2032 m), Clot de Bouc (1962 m) and the cols of Fanget (1459 m) and Grangeasse.

Natural and technological hazards
None of the 200 communes in the department is in a no seismic risk zone. The Canton of Seyne to which Auzet belongs is zone 1b (low risk) according to the deterministic classification of 1991, which is based on the historical seismic activities, and zone 4 (medium risk) according to the probabilistic classification EC8 of 2011. Auzet is also exposed to four other natural hazards:
avalanche
wildfire
flood
landslide

Auzet is not exposed to any risk of technological origin identified by the prefecture.

No risk prevention plan for foreseeable natural risks (PPR) exists for the commune and there is no DICRIM.

Habitat
In 2013 the commune built two certified passive buildings (heating needs are less than 15 kilowatts m²/year) with four housing units at 1200 m altitude.

The passive concept is the most advanced in the world and is the only one which can dispense with conventional heating. The heating power is provided by 10w/m2 of fresh air (ventilation).

Neighbouring communes and villages

Toponymy
The name Auzet appears for the first time in charters of 1058 under the name Ausitum. In referring to sheep belonging to the Abbey of Saint Victor, Marseille, it appeared as Alisino in 814 with forty inhabitants.

History
In 1958 loggers discovered a deposit of iron and bronze objects dating from the La Tène period: spearheads, knives, and bits for horses.

In 1351 reference was made to the community, or rather to its chaplain, indicating that the priest of the church did not depend on an Abbey. From the 13th to the 18th century there was a mill in the ravine of Saint Andrieu.

The death of Queen Joanna I re-opened a succession crisis at the head of the County of Provence with the cities of the Aix Union (1382-1387) supporting Charles de Duras against Louis I of Anjou. The Auzet community supported Duras until 1386 when it switched sides to join the Angevins through patient negotiation by Marie of Blois, widow of Louis I and regent for their son Louis II.

In the 18th century a fair was held in Auzet.

During the French Revolution the commune had a patriotic society formed after the end of 1792.

In the 19th century Auzet was one of the last towns in the region to develop a school: in the survey of 1863 it was among the 17 communes in the department (245) not to possess one and awaited the Jules Ferry laws to install it.

During the Second World War a colony of Jewish children at the Col du Fanget was saved. Joseph Isoard and his brother Armand with their wives Julie and Simone saved Jews from deportation and were therefore distinguished as Righteous among the Nations.

Heraldry

Administration

List of Successive Mayors

Demography
In 2017 the commune had 98 inhabitants.

Economy

Overview
In 2017 the active population stood at 45 people including 7 unemployed. These workers are mostly self-employed (58%) and mostly work outside the commune (58%). Most of the employees in the commune have jobs in trade and services with 12 positions.

At the end of 2015 businesses active in the commune were mainly agricultural (7 out of 22 businesses) and the tertiary sector (8 out of 22).

Agriculture
At the end of 2010 the primary sector (agriculture, forestry, fisheries) had 7 businesses.

The number of farms, according to the Agreste survey by the Ministry of Agriculture, was 7 in 2010, all livestock. Auzet had suffered a severe loss of farms, losing six of the ten farms present in the commune from 1988 to 2000. The utilized agricultural area (UAA) has increased from 418 hectares in 1988 to 728 hectares in 2010 distributed among cattle (656 ha) and sheep (71 ha).

Auzet is included in the area of the label Apples of Alpes de Haute-Durance.

Industry
At the end of 2010 the secondary sector (industry and construction) had three businesses employing no people.

Service activities
At the end of 2010 the tertiary sector (trades and services) had eight businesses (employing a total of 12 people) plus four institutions in the administrative sector, health and social (one employee).

The main employer is a school of music - the Music and Environment Centre Fontaine de l’Ours created in 1997.

According to the Departmental Observatory of tourism, tourism is very important for the commune with more than five tourist arrivals per capita. Most of the accommodation capacity is non-market. Several tourist accommodation structures exist in the commune:
several furnished;
some cottages;
several collective accommodation are present including a cottage.

It is nevertheless second homes that weigh heaviest in the capacity with 83 dwellings affected (59% of homes are second homes).

Local culture and heritage
The Parish Church, under the patronage of Saint Andrew and Saint Bartholomew, was built in the 15th  or 16th century near Riou but was engulfed by a flood that deposited a lot of gravel in 1787, then again in 1807. Despite some partial cleanup work it became very damp. It was demolished in March 1872 and its reconstruction was completed in 1874. The current nave is 11 m long, 6 m wide and 8.5 m high; the chevet is 6.4 m long. The spire rises to 22.8 m in height. The church contains a silver Ciborium (17th century) which is registered as an historical object.

The Water gap of Verdaches where an ancient cache of arms was found in 1958.

See also
Communes of the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department

Bibliography
 Under the direction of Édouard Baratier, Georges Duby, and Ernest Hildesheimer, Historical Atlas Provence, County of Venaissin, Principality of Orange, County of Nice, Principality of Monaco, Librairie Armand Colin, Paris, 1969
 Raymond Collier, Haute-Provence monumental and artistic, Digne, Imprimerie Louis Jean, 1986, 559 p.
 Jeanne Sicard, "The tribulations of the little church of Auzet", in Chronicles of Haute-Provence, Bulletin de la Société scientifique littéraire des Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, No. 304, 1987 p. 117-126

References

External links
Auzet on Géoportail, National Geographic Institute (IGN) website
Auzet on the 1750 Cassini Map

Communes of Alpes-de-Haute-Provence


Altamirano is a village in Janos Municipality in northwestern Chihuahua, Mexico. It had a 2010 census population of 255 inhabitants and is situated 1,800 meters (5,906 ft.) above sea level.

References
2010 census tables: INEGI

Populated places in Chihuahua (state)


Barles () is a commune in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of south-eastern France.

The inhabitants of the commune are known as Barlatans or Barlatanes in French.

Geography
The village is located at an altitude of 987 m in the Bès valley some 30 km north by north-east of Digne-les-Bains and 30 km south by south-east of Gap. Access to the commune is by the D900A road from Verdaches in the east which passes through the village and continues south to Esclangon. The D7 road also comes from Auzet in the north-east and joins the D900A on the eastern border of the commune.

Relief
Barles is very compartmentalized, divided into valleys separated by high mountains and steep ridges. The Bès Valley links these valleys but, cut by Water gaps, it was not a means of travel for many decades and most travel was on foot and mule along mule tracks via the heights.

Between Barles and Verdaches is the summit of Marzenc at 1934 m and, further north, the Tomples (1955 m). This ridge is passable at the Col des Tomples (1893 m).

The peak of Val-Haut is in the western part of the commune and, between Barles and Bayons are the peaks of Chanau (1885 m) and Oratoire (2072m), both located outside the commune. Farther south are the summits of Clot Ginoux or the Cimettes (2112 m) and Laupie or Tourtoureau (2025 m). A little further south is the Col de la Clapouse (1692 m) deep in the valley of the Descoure stream which gives access to the valley of Esparron-la-Bâtie (Bayons commune). South of Monges (2115 m, Authon commune) is the peak of Chine or Rabanu (1952 m). Many places are named after this peak: Bergerie de Chine (Chine pastures), Old hut of Chine, Collet de Chine, and the Barre de Chine between.

Further south, on the border between Barles and La Robine-sur-Galabre, the main peaks are the Summit of Nibles or Petit Cloche (Small Bell) at 1909 m, and Grande Cloche (Big Bell) or Cloche de Barles at 1885 m which is at the beginning of a long ridge oriented east-west. This ridge is crossed only by the Pas de Pierre (1407 m) and ends at the Barles Water gap. This water gap goes to the other side of the Bès under the name of Serre de la Croix and passes near the Bès via the Pas du Château. The valley of Saint-Clément is closed to the south by the ridge and in the north by the Proussier ridge. The Dou (1971 m), a promontory of Blayeul (2189 m) also known as the Quatre Termes (Four Terms), is located between the communes of Barles, Verdaches, Esclangon (part of La Javie) and Beaujeu.

Hydrography

The Bès river passes through the commune and the village flowing west from Verdaches and continuing south to join the Blèone at Plan de Tauze.

Many tributaries flow into the right bank of the Bes in the commune. From east to south-west these are:
The Ravin de Charui
The Torrent de Val Haut
The Descoure
The Ravin du Pillot
The Gros Vavon

Environment
The commune has 862 hectares of woods and forests.

Localities and Hamlets

Right bank of the Bès:
 Le Seignas
 Vaux
 le Forest (a hamlet)
 le Château
 Chine
 Saint-Pierre
 le Bourguet
 le Villard
 Val-Haut
 Le Moulin
 le Prieuré
 l'Adroit
 la Sorbière
 Charruis
 les Vignes
 le Jasset
 Préoura
 la Lâme
 les Sauvans
 Basse-Bloude
 Haute-Bloude
 le Mas
 Paravoux
 la Gorge
Left bank of the Bès:
 La Barricade
 le Laus
 les Pinées
 la Bâtie
 le Fanget
 Sigons ou Sigonce
 Proussier
 Saint-Clément
 le Lauset
 les Eyssarts

Natural and technological risks
None of the 200 communes in the department is in a no seismic risk zone. The canton of Seyne to which Barles belongs is in area 1b (low risk) according to the deterministic classification of 1991 and based on its seismic history and in zone 4 (medium risk) according to the probabilistic classification EC8 of 2011. Barles also faces four other natural hazards:

Avalanche
Forest fire
Flood
Earthquake

Barles is not exposed to any risk of technological origin identified by the prefecture.

There is no plan for prevention of foreseeable natural risks (PPR) for the commune and there is no DICRIM.

Among the major floods that have occurred are the storm of 18 August 1739 which caused flooding of Bès and destroyed the embankments and some farmland as well as flooding the low-lying houses. In 1917 heavy rains caused a landslide that blocked the Bès river. The natural dam could not be reached by workmen and a passage was not cleared until the autumn.

Toponymy
According to Charles Rostaing the name of the area comes from the oronymic or mountain root *BAR. According to Ernest Negro, who proposed a similar explanation, the name is formed from the Gallic barro, meaning a summit, and the diminutive -ulus, giving the meaning "small mountain". According to Rostaing, the place name is pre-Gallic.

History

Ancient times
In Ancient times the Bodiontici populated the Bléone valley as did the Gauls who lived in the area of the modern Barles commune. The Bodiontici were defeated by Augustus at the same time as the other peoples living in the Tropaeum Alpium before 14 BC. Barles was attached to the province of Alpes-Maritimes at the time of its creation in 14 BC.

Middle Ages
The area appears for the first time in texts in 1193 as Barlis. A castle existed in 1206. In 1300, a small Jewish community was established at Barles. A hospital welcoming the sick and travelers was established at Barles in 1351.

In the Middle Ages some taxes were paid collectively by the community. The distribution per capita was their responsibility and the authorities did not intervene in this distribution. Some taxes were imposed on the Barles community together with Feissal. In the 13th and 14th  centuries Barles depended on the viguerie of Digne.

The death of Queen Joanna I of Naples created a crisis of succession for the County of Provence. The towns of the Union of Aix (1382-1387) supported Charles, Duke of Durazzo, against Louis I, Duke of Anjou. The Barles community supported Charles until 1386 then changed sides to join the Angevins due to the negotiations of Marie of Blois, Duchess of Anjou, widow of Louis I, and regent for their son Louis II of Naples. At the end of the war, Marie of Blois attached Barles to the bailiwick of Seyne. At that time the only routes to the south, open only to pedestrians, passed through the Pas de Saint-Pierre (1407 m) and Tanaron in the west and Saint Clement, the Pas-du-Casteou in Esclangon in the East. The most used routes, however, moved to the west and went through Esparron-la-Bâtie or via Feissal and Authon: most of the cultural and economic exchanges were elsewhere in Sisteron but the habit of usually marrying in the Massif des Monges lasted until the 1900s.

Modern times
In 1602 a lead mine was briefly opened (or simply explored) in Barles at a place called Les Cluses. The ore also contained silver and copper. In 1614 another concession was granted for the same mine.

Excessive deforestation worsened natural climate phenomena such as floods and landslides or mudslides. Landslides in 1746 and 1755 caused the destruction of 20 houses. On the eve of the French Revolution there were two fiefs in Barles: the fief of Barles itself and that of Auzet (from its valuation in 1783). Disorders related to the wheat supply crisis and the new tax system took place in 1790.

Contemporary period
In 1820, an Italian miner operated a copper mine for a few days. This was the last attempt to mine ore in the commune: in the end none were profitable.

Until the 19th century there were no roads in Barles. The nearest road was the Route nationale 100, from Digne to Coni via the Col du Labouret and Verdaches which was built in 1854. A mule path, Communal path No. 7, was built around the same time and gradually improved in the 1860s: it was the only road construction in Barles in the 19th century. This path was often difficult to use when the weather was bad especially the passage through the Eyssarts ravine (towards Saint Clement) after thunderstorms and Barles was sometimes cut off by landslides (as in 1890 in Tanaron). The clues of Saint-Clément were traversed by tunnels the width of a mule.

As with many communes in the department, Barles adopted schools well before the Jules Ferry laws: in 1863 it had two, installed one in the main village and one in a hamlet, both of which provided primary education for boys. Although the Falloux Laws (1851) did not require the opening of a school for girls unless a commune had more than 800 inhabitants, the commune instructed their girls in 1863. The lack of roads lead to the multiplication of schools: from one for boys in 1863 the commune created five by 1881. These were located in the main village (104 inhabitants, 170 with dependent hamlets in 1881), Vaux (49 inhabitants in 1881), Forest (108 inhabitants), Sauvans (82 inhabitants with Bloudes and Le Mas in 1881), and Saint Clement (87 inhabitants with Lauzet at the same date). The town benefited from subsidies in the second Duruy Law (1877) which were used to build a new school at Sauvans and to renovate the others.

The construction of a road through the Barles Water gap was initiated in 1882 to link Digne to Verdaches and Coni. It was inaugurated in July 1913. The construction was long and difficult: starting in 1891 it covered the Saint Clement Water gap (currently called clues de Barles) which, in 1908, was traversed through the drilling of new tunnels. The opening of the road allowed the creation of a Stagecoach service by a Barles innkeeper which was replaced by a coach in the 20th century.

The types of livestock at the end of the 19th century testified to the hardness of farming and livelihoods. There were few horses and oxen were used to work the land (19 horses and 14 oxen). Mules were preferred to work sloping land and light soils. A few years later the fair, which was held in Barles the Monday following May 16, disappeared. Barlatans preferred to attend the fairs at Authon while the people of Saint-Clément preferred those at Digne.

In the 1950s roads were built to serve the hamlets that had preserved the use of mules, pack saddles and sleds until that time.

Barles appears as Barles on the 1750 Cassini Map and the same on the 1790 version.

Heraldry

Administration

List of Successive Mayors

Mayors from 1971

Demography
In 2017 the commune had 134 inhabitants.

Economy

General overview
The commune lives from logging, farming, sheep farming, and tourism.

In 2009, the workforce was 67 people including 16 unemployed (11 at the end of 2011). These workers were mostly employees (40 of 51) and mainly worked outside the commune (36 of 51 workers). Most commune businesses are in the primary sector (15 of 27 in 2010). There are three businesses in the industry and construction sector and nine in service and administration.

Agriculture
At the end of 2010 the primary sector (agriculture, forestry) had fifteen establishments each with one employee.

According to the Agreste survey by the Ministry of Agriculture the number of farms declined in the 2000s from seven to six including three breeding sheep. The utilized agricultural area (UAA), which increased sharply from 1988 to 2000 and which was 1047 hectares in 1832, sank in the 2000s to less than 850 hectares. The fall was due to the disappearance of two sheep farms in the 2000s (650 of 1000 hectares lost were sheep pastures).

The town is included in the scope of the label Pommes des Alpes de Haute-Durance (Apples of the Alps of Haute-Durance).

Industry
At the end of 2010 the secondary sector (industry and construction) had 3 establishments without any employees.

Service activities
At the end of 2010 the tertiary sector (trade, services) had three establishments without any employees to which can be added six administrative facilities with a total of four employees.

According to the Departmental Observatory of Tourism, the tourism function is important for the town, with between 1 and 5 tourists per inhabitant. Most of the accommodation capacity is non-market. Several accommodation facilities for tourism purpose exist in the commune:

1 campsite with a capacity of 60 sites;
1 "Gites de France" furnished accommodation 3 star with a capacity of 5 beds

Second homes provide an important complement to the capacity with 58 secondary homes containing 258 beds. (30-49% of dwellings are second homes).

Education

The commune has a primary school.

Culture and heritage

Civil heritage
The single arch bridge over the  Bès dates from 1740. It is built on the old mule road from Digne to Barles via Tanaron. Holes used to fix the Centring during construction are still visible.

Religious heritage
The Notre-Dame Church was built in 1853 on the site of the former Saint-Roch chapel, which was destroyed at that time, to replace the Saint-Pierre church. It has an apse at each end of the nave. It retains the name Notre Dame which was the parish church at the same time as the Saint-Pierre Church in the Cemetery. In the cemetery Saint Peter's chapel, the old parish church built with gray and yellow stone, was restored in the early 1980s.

The chapel of the priory of Saint-André at Forest is still the subject of an annual pilgrimage. There is also a priory church at Saint Clement.

The Notre Dame Church contains many items that are registered as historical objects:
A Chalice with Paten (19th century)
A Monstrance (19th century)
A Cabinet (19th century)
A Banner of the Virgin (19th century)
A Painting: Christ on the cross (19th century)
A Painting: Assumption of the Virgin (19th century)
A Processional Cross (19th century)
An Altar Cross (19th century)
6 Candlesticks (19th century)
A Statue: Virgin and child (18th century)
A Statue: Saint Joseph (18th century)
A Clock
A Pulpit (19th century)
A Bust Reliquary: Saint Clair (18th century)

Environment
Barles is best known for the Clues de Barles (Barles Water gaps), two short very constricted canyons located on the road below the village. There are similar formations upstream at the clues de Verdaches.

Literature
The events in the detective novel Les Courriers de la mort (Messengers of Death) (1986) by Pierre Magnan took place partly in Barles.

See also
Communes of the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department

Bibliography
Raymond Collier, La Haute-Provence monumentale et artistique, Digne, Imprimerie Louis Jean,? 1986, 559 p.
Under the direction of Édouard Baratier, Georges Duby, and Ernest Hildesheimer, Historical Atlas. Provence, Comtat Venaissin, Principality of Orange, County of Nice, Principality of Monaco, Paris, Librairie Armand Colin, 1969 (notice BnF no FRBNF35450017h)

References

Communes of Alpes-de-Haute-Provence


Barras (; ) is a commune in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of south-eastern France.

The inhabitants of the commune are known as Barrasiens or Barrasiennes.

Geography

Barras is located some 6 km west of Digne-les-Bains and 14 km south-east of Sisteron. The highest point in the commune is the summit of Ruth (1298m). The sole access to the commune is the D17 road which branches from Route nationale N85 at Mallemoisson and goes north through the commune and the village and continues north to join the D3 near Thoard. Apart from the village there are the hamlets of Les Bourguignons and Les Beauduns. The commune is mostly farmland on a fairly rugged landscape.

Les Duyes stream forms the eastern border of the commune as it flows south to join the Bléone west of Les Grillons. The Ravin de Vaunaves forms most of the north-eastern border as it flows south-east to join Les Duyes. The Ravin de Fulgon and the Ravin de Rostan rise in the west of the commune and flow east joining before flowing into Les Duyes. The Ravin de Barbarine forms part of the western border of the commune as it flows south to join Les Duyes in the south-eastern corner of the commune.

Natural and technological risks
None of the 200 communes in the department is in a no seismic risk zone. The Canton of Digne-les-Bains-2 to which Barras belongs is in area 1b (low risk) according to the deterministic classification of 1991 and based on its seismic history and in zone 4 (medium risk) according to the probabilistic classification EC8 of 2011. Barras also faces three other natural hazards:
Forest fire,
Flooding (in the Duyes valley)
Landslide: the commune's main concern with an average to high hazard

Barras is not exposed to any risk of technological origin identified by the prefecture.

There is no plan for prevention of foreseeable natural risks (PPR) for the commune and there is no DICRIM.

The commune was the subject of two natural disaster orders in 1994 for floods and mudslides (one order for the winter 1993-1994 and one for autumn).

Toponymy
The locality appears for the first time in texts in 1202 (Barracio). According to Charles Rostaing it is from an oronymic (meaning mountain) root *BAR. According to Ernest Negro it comes from the Gallic barro with the augmentative suffix -as.

The toponym La Garde, above Tournefort, may refer to a fortified settlement of the 9th - 10th century and the name Bourguignons refers to the name of the people (Burgundians).

History

In Ancient times, the Bodiontici populated the Bléone valley and its tributaries as well as the Gauls who lived in the current commune of Barras. The Bodiontici were defeated by Augustus at the same time as the other peoples present on the Tropaeum Alpium (before 14 BC.). Barras was attached to the province of Alpes-Maritimes at the time of its creation. An ancient settlement has been found at Saint-Pierre and Chapelier south of the village. The priory of Ganagobie Abbey existed in the 11th century.

In 1070 a person named Féraud donated the fiefdom of Beaucouse (now in the commune of Thoard) to the Abbey of Saint-Victor of Marseille. Most of the territory of Barras was part of this fief so Barras had the Abbey Saint-Victor as lord. At that time there was a large estate (villa) in Saint Domnin where the abbey installed a priory which passed to the Bishop of Gap in the 14th century.

The medieval community in Barras was characterized by scattered settlements. It had 37 fires in 1315. It was heavily depopulated by the crises of the 14th century (the Black Death and the Hundred Years War) and the population was completely eliminated in 1471. The smaller fief of Barras belonged to the counts of Provence until 1297 when Charles II of Naples gave it to a noble family which took the name of the fief (the Barras family). This family lasted until the 19th century and provided many officers such as Jean-Antoine Barras de la Penne (1650-1730) and Jacques Melchior Barras de Saint-Laurent (1719 to 1793).

The community of Tournefort was larger than that of Barras in the Middle Ages: it had 48 fires in 1315 but it was also heavily depopulated by the crises of the 14th century and declared uninhabited in 1400 then annexed by Barras in the 15th century. At the same time soldiers seized the castle of Tournefort and threatened the region through their raids and looting. After the successful siege of the castle of Briançonnet (during the same uprising), the army from Sisteron laid siege to Tournefort castle in 1393 and expelled the brigands.

The church was part of the Abbey of Chardavon (currently in the commune of Saint-Geniez) and the Abbey received the revenues attached to this church.

The Patriotic Society of Barras was created in 1791: it was one of the first in the Lower Alps, probably due to the fact that the parish priest, Jean Gaspard Gassend, was deputy to the States General. It corresponded at that time both with the Jacobin Club and the Feuillants Club.

Barras appears as Les Barras on the 1750 Cassini Map and the same on the 1790 version.

The Coup d'état of 2 December 1851 committed by Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte against the French Second Republic provoked an armed uprising in the Lower Alps in defence of the Constitution. After the failure of the uprising harsh repression continued on those who stood up to defend the Republic: 5 inhabitants of Barras were brought before the Joint Committee.

As with many communes in the department, Barras had a school well before the Jules Ferry laws: in 1863 the school already provided a primary education for boys. By contrast no instruction was given to girls: neither the Falloux Laws (1851), which required the opening of a girls' school in communes with more than 800 inhabitants, nor the first Duruy Law (1867), which lowered the threshold to 500 inhabitants, concerned Barras. The second Duruy Act (1877) allowed it, thanks to government subsidies, to build a new school but it was only after the Ferry laws that the village girls were enrolled.

Until the middle of the 20th century vines were cultivated in Barras. The wine product was of poor quality and was intended for local consumption. This culture is now abandoned. Similarly, olive trees, grown on small areas in the 19th century up to an altitude of 600 metres and exceptionally up to 700 metres, is now gone.

Heraldry

Administration

List of Successive Mayors

Education
The commune has a primary school.

Demography
In 2017 the commune had 142 inhabitants.

The demographic history of Barras, after the decimation in the 14th and 15th centuries and the gradual growth until the beginning of the 19th century, is marked by a period of "slack" where the population remained relatively stable at a high level. This period lasted from 1806 to 1861. The rural exodus then caused a movement of long-term population decline. In 1926 the town had lost over half of its population compared to the historical peak of 1836. The downward movement was interrupted in the 1980s. Since then the population of Barras overtook the threshold of 150 inhabitants equivalent to half that of 1836.

Economy

General overview
In 2017 the active population was 67 people including 5 unemployed. These workers are mostly employees (65%) and mainly work outside the commune (71%).

Agriculture
At the end of 2015 the primary sector (agriculture, forestry) had seven active establishments within the meaning of Insee and no salaried jobs.

According to Agreste survey by the Ministry of Agriculture the number of farms increased slightly in the 2000s, going from ten to eleven, mainly sheep and cattle farms. From 1988 to 2000, the utilised agricultural area (UAA) increased sharply from 311 hectares to 1289 while the number of farms fell from 14 to 11. The UAA declined slightly during the past decade, but remains at a high level at 1215 hectares.

The commune is included in the scope of the Appellation d'origine contrôlée Huile d'olive de Provence AOC (Olive oil of Provence AOC).

Service activities
At the end of 2015 the tertiary sector (trade, services) had 7 establishments with 3 employees, to which can be added 4 administrative institutions employing 4 people.

According to the Departmental Observatory of Tourism, the tourist function is of secondary importance to the town with less than one tourist received per capita with no facilities at all in the commune.

There are 10 second homes in the commune.

Culture and heritage

Religious heritage
The Church of Saint Nicolas (17th century) has a bell tower with arches and two windows above the church. The nave rises to the roof. The door indicates a date in the 17th century. Its Retable is decorated with a common theme of the Donation pof the Rosary.

The Church contains a Baptismal font (19th century) that is registered as an historical object.

The commune also has three chapels in ruins:
Saint Louis Chapel from 1732 in the village with a small steeple, converted into a henhouse;
Saint Peter's Cemetery Chapel, Romanesque, is the old parish church;
Saint Valentine's Chapel on a hill overlooking the village of Mirabeau, existed in the 17th century, but was in ruins at the end of the 19th century.

Notable people linked to the commune
 Jean Gaspard Gassend, deputy in the States General of 1789
 Paul Barras (1755-1829), revolutionary, was Viscount of Barras

See also
Communes of the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department

Bibliography
Raymond Collier, Haute-Provence, monumental and artistic, Digne, Louis Jean Printing,1986, 559 p.
Under the direction of Édouard Baratier, Georges Duby, and Ernest Hildesheimer, Historical Atlas, Provence, Venaissin County, Principality of Orange, County of Nice, Principality of Monaco, Paris, Librairie Armand Colin, 1969 (Record BNF No. FRBNF35450017h)

References

Communes of Alpes-de-Haute-Provence


Bayons () is a commune in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of south-eastern France.

The inhabitants of the commune are known as Bayonnais or Bayonnaises.

Geography
Bayons is located in the Massif des Monges some 20 km south by south-east of Gap and 15 km north-east of Sisteron. Access to the commune is by the D1 road from Clamensane in the west which passes through the commune and the village before continuing north to Turriers.

Bayons is situated in a vast Cirque surrounded by high mountains, through which the Sasse flows - exiting through a narrow clue. The commune was formed from the merger of four communes in 1973: Astoin, Bayons, Esparron-la-Bâtie and Reynier. Except for Astoin, the communes joined to Bayons in 1973 are located in parallel valleys perpendicular to the Sasse and downstream from Bayons. The commune is located in a region of mountainous relief and has a Mediterranean climate with challenging features (drought, irregular and heavy rains) as well as a mountain climate (cold with snow in winter). It is traversed by some tumultuous rivers. Agriculture in the area has always been difficult. The population of the four communes peaked in 1836 with 1625 inhabitants but a century and a half later, 90% of this population had been lost due to the rural exodus that began early and had more breadth in these four communes than in the rest of the department. This persuaded the government to propose the merger of the communes which took place on 1 April 1973. Since then the population has almost doubled: farms have been retained sometimes using regional quality labels. The communal economy is based on tourism but the majority of people in the commune work outside.

Geology

The commune is located in the middle of three major geological Alpine formations:

the Nappe of Digne to the east at the tip of the Valavoire lobe: there is a thrust sheet - i.e. a slab nearly 5000 m thick which was displaced towards the south-west during the Oligocene at the end of the formation of the Alps. The lobes (or scales) correspond to the ragged edge west of the nappe;
the Durance fault to the south-west in the valley;
the Plateau of Valensole to the south-east: a Molassic Basin from the Miocene and Pliocene composed of detritic sedimentary rocks (deposits related to the erosion of mountains which emerged in the Oligocene).

During the last two major glaciations: the Riss glaciation and the Würm glaciation, there were many small glaciers in the commune. A glacier occupied the northern slope of the Tête des Monges. During the Riss glaciation, a diffluence from the Durance glacier crossed the Col des Sagnes and went down to the Sasse valley. The Würm glaciation was less extensive and only reached Les Tourniquets. It was during this glacial period that the Triassic gypsum and moraines were created that make the terrain unstable in this part of the valley. Another Riss glaciation diffluence reached the top of the Trente Pas torrent but this did not recur during the Würm glaciation.

Relief

The relief of the commune is mountainous, low, but very compartmentalized making communication difficult. It has partly been shaped by glaciers. The main structural element is the Sasse valley, which drains several basins separated by Water gaps.

The southernmost of these basins is the former commune of Reynier, semi-circular in shape with the diameter towards the north-east. This diameter is a ridge of mountains rising between 1200 m and 1700 m separating the Reynier basin from the Esparron-la-Bâtie valley. From north to south:

the Pategue (1282 m);
the Charène Ridge;
Colle Ridge;
the Citadelle (1438m);
the Pinée ridge (>1600m);
the Maladrech Ridge (>1700m) to the south-east.

Several mountains then define a wide semicircle. On the north side (the side facing Reynier) they slope gently and form green mountain meadows. On the south and west side they form a line of steeper slopes. From east to west and from south to north they are:

the Raus Ridge (1832 m);
the Serrière des Cabanes;
the Clot des Martres Ridge;
the Dormeilleuse Ridge which rises to the Croix Saint-Jean (1826m) when it connects to Jouère mountain;
the Jouère mountain whose peak extends towards the Reynier mountain. This mountain forms a basin to the north, along the Sasse. In the middle of this basin is Le Puy (1367m): another mountain with a ridge in the south and an inclined slope to the north.

North of Reynier basin, the Bayons gorge provides access to the upper valley of the Sasse and the Bayons basin. This basin is bounded on the north by a small massif dominated by Pointe d'Eyrolle (1754m) and Grande Gautière (1825m) which opens to several valleys in the east and south:

to the north is the valley where Astoin is located and which communicates with the Turriers basin through a gorge - the Col des Sagnes (1182 m) - and Les Tourniquets;
Trente Pas and Sasse valleys are to the north-east limited by the summits of Terre Grosse (1598m), Tête de Charbonnier (1681m), Tête Grosse (2032m), and Chanau (1885m).

Facing Bayons, is l'Oratoire summit (2072 m).Tête Grosse

Finally, wedged between the Bayons basin and that of Reynier, is the long valley of Esparron-la-Bâtie Sasse closed off from the Sasse by the Rochers de la Lause. The ridges north of this valley are led to the top of l'Oratoire and are marked by the Rocher de l'Aigle (1499m) and the Rocher du Midi (1461m). This valley widens and is closed to the east by the Summit of Clot Ginoux (also called the Cimettes) (2112m), the summit of Laupie (or Tourtoureau) (2025m), and the summit of Les Monges (2115m).

Hydrography

The commune is traversed by the Sasse, a tributary of the Durance, which is formed from many streams and has many tributaries draining the adjacent valleys. On the right bank the Sasse receives:

the stream from the Trente Pas ravine;
the Eau Amère stream which becomes the Clastre when traversing Les Tourniquets;
the Mardaric, which passes at the foot of Bayons;
the Rouinon, whose confluence with the Sasse is between Forest-Lacour and Bédoin.

The left bank tributaries of the Sasse are:
the Chabert, a stream 5.5 km long flowing through the Bayons basin;
the Riou de Pont, which drains the Esparron-la-Bâtie valley and, when crossing the Rochers de la Lause, forms a waterfall and becomes the Ruisseau des Tines, a stream 10 km long;
the Reynier, a stream 9.1 km long.

In the upper part of the Esparron-la-Bâtie valley is a small lake, Lake Esparron at 1544m, to the east of the Maladrech ridge.

Environment

The town has 5500 hectares of woods and forests or 44% of its area.

Chamois are endemic in the Massif of Monges but had nearly disappeared from the area in the 1970s as victims of intensive hunting. The National Forests Office (ONF) has created a game reserve in the Haute Combe which includes the reserves of Monges, Hautes-Graves-Ruinon, and Montsérieux. Since the 1980s the species is still hunted but with quotas.

The Mouflon had been exterminated and its presence is due to its reintroduction in early 1990. Two population nuclei are in the commune: in the hunting reserve of the Hautes-Graves-Ruinon and in the Massif des Monges. Roe Deer had also disappeared since the beginning of the 19th century together with its natural environment the forest. It has returned to the commune from a core reintroduced into the Vançon valley in the 1970s. The presence of the Alpine marmot is also mainly due to reintroductions. The otter, which was once present, has disappeared but has not been reintroduced.

Natural and technological risks
None of the 200 communes in the department is in a no seismic risk zone. Bayons is in area 1b (low risk) according to the deterministic classification of 1991 and based on its seismic history and in zone 4 (medium risk) according to the probabilistic classification EC8 of 2011. Bayons also faces four other natural hazards:
Avalanche
Forest fire
Flood
Landslide

Bayons is not exposed to any risk of technological origin identified by the prefecture.

There is no plan for prevention of foreseeable natural risks (PPR) for the commune and there is no DICRIM.

The commune has been the subject of orders for natural disasters in 1994 for floods, landslides and mudslides. The worst flooding occurred in 1492 when rains caused the formation of debris flows that destroyed several hamlets and part of the village. This monstrous flood has remained in the annals of the commune. See the History section for details.

Localities and hamlets
In addition to the village, the town includes several hamlets:

Astoin (chief village of a former commune);
Haute Combe;
Basse Combe;
La Rouchaye;
Esparron-la-Bâtie (chief village of a former commune);
Le Pont;
Baudinard;
Le Gayne;
Le Sapie;
Le Forest-Lacour;
Reynier (chief village of a former commune).

Pictures of roads and bridges in the commune

History

Prehistory and Ancient times
Although Homo heidelbergensis probably inhabited the Monges massif several hundreds of thousands of years ago there is no evidence that they specifically occupied the area of Bayons. The Vitrolles site, 30 km to the west, shows that 11,000 years ago the area was frequented by hunters and gatherers who came in summer then went away to the south.

Most of the Durance valleys and the Massif des Monges experienced the Neolithic Revolution when Mesolithic societies disappeared and were replaced by Cardium pottery (6000 BC.) and then by the Chasséen culture (4700-3500 BC). The Lithic core found at Thèze was an example of the technical progress in the era: stone tools are no longer cut by impact but by pressure applied on the chosen part.

A treasure of Massaliatic obols dating from the Gallic period (3rd and 2nd century BC.) was discovered in the commune in 1850. The romanization of Bayons in the following centuries is manifested by constructions at altitude.

Middle Ages

Astoin
The castrum of Astoin was near the mule track connecting Bayons to Turriers.

The Counts of Provence were lords of Astoin during the 14th and 15th century through the Ayroles and Ancelle families (co-lord of Dromon in 1385). During the crisis caused by the death of Queen Joanna I of Naples, Raoux Ancelle, Lord of Astoin, fought with Charles, Duke of Durazzo, against Louis I of Anjou. The rallying of Sisteron to the Angevin cause in November 1385 brought about his change of commitment and he paid homage to Louis from 30 November 1385.

Astoin had 28 fires in 1315 but only 6 in 1471. It was at that time that the old site, located on a hill 500 m from the current site and named Vière (Old Provençal meaning "village"), was abandoned in favour of the current site. By 1765 there were 264 inhabitants.

Bayons

Bayons is cited around 1200 in the form Baions. The community had a consulate in 1233 and was the largest community in the viguerie of Sisteron. The two churches and their income belonged to the Abbey of l'Ile-Barbe in Lyon. The oldest church was the Church of Our Lady of Nazareth which was located in the Clastre valley, probably on the medieval site of the village. The community owned the lands called gastes which also belonged to the lord. These lands were farmed by the community often as pasture. At Bayons, they were traditionally granted against a tasque equivalent to one eighth of the harvest. The income of the community allowed it to gradually redeem all manorial rights before 1789 including the privilege granted by the counts of Provence banning the grazing of foreign herds (from outside the commune) in Bayons lands. The Counts of Provence also levied a toll on cattle migrations passing through Bayons.

In 1300 a small Jewish community was established in Bayons which is an indication of its position as a tiny relatively unknown rural hamlet. In 1348 Queen Joanna I of Naples, driven from her Kingdom of Naples, had to take refuge in Provence. To regain her Neapolitan States she sold Avignon to the Pope for 80,000 florins and at the same time obtained papal absolution to wash away suspicion in the murder of her first husband Andrew, Duke of Calabria. Grateful, she offered the fief of Valernes to William II Roger, brother of the pope. This was made a viscounty by letters patent in 1350. The new viscounty included the communities of Bayons, Vaumeilh, La Motte-du-Caire, Bellaffaire, Gigors, Lauzet, Les Mées, Mézel, Entrevennes, and Castellet, with their jurisdictions and dependencies.

In 1359 the residents of Bayons sued those of Seyne, claiming the privilege of not paying the toll to come to the fair at Saint-Michel de Seyne. They obtained satisfaction but the people of Seyne won on appeal. Fortifications were built in the 14th century which were inspected in 1403 by the provost of the Viscount of Valernes. Another fortification was built above Bédoin on the mountain called the Chateau: it allowed the monitoring of the road from Sisteron to Seyne.

On 26 July 1492 heavy rains cause a devastating flood of the Sasse. Le Mardaric, the torrent passing Bayons, had a debris flow that destroyed the village. The hamlets of la Montahne (identified with that of Combes) and Rouinon were also affected Rouinon. The Fontainier torrent also caused damage to cultivated land. Four people were killed. Livestock was also affected with hundreds of animals washed away. Finally loosened soils were washed away by rain together with ripe wheat and vines in the following days. According to residents rocks of 5 tons were displaced by the floods.

Esparron-la-Bâtie

The village of Esparron was cited in 1200 under the name of castrum Sparronis et bastita. There were two village communities, and one fief held by a lord. Esparron-la-Bâtie was hardest hit by the crises of the 14th century (the Black Death and the Hundred Years War) than its neighbours, as it had 74 fires in 1315 but only 12 in 1471. By 1765 it had a population of 205. The Counts of Provence levied a toll on cattle migrations passing through Esparron-la-Bâtie and lords were the Morier or Mourier family from the 13th to the 17th Century.
The parish church was heavily damaged by the end of the religious wars. In 1641 repairs had still not been done and the lord of Esparron was ordered to pay for two thirds of the work with the remaining third by the priory.

Reynier

Reynier is reported for the first time in charters of 1232 as castrum Rainieri. The community had 25 fires in 1471 and 218 inhabitants by 1765. This former fief of the Bishops of Gap was owned by the Abon family from the 15th to the 17th century then by the Boniface family until the French Revolution.

Modern times
From the 16th century the lordship of Astoin belonged successively to Turriers, Castellane, Boniface, then to Hugues. At Esparron the Pélissier family succeeded Mourier in the 17th century.

In the 16th century Louis de Barras, Lord of Melan, allowed the grazing of sheep flocks in Bayons from Estiver (against payment of a fee), while herds from Reynier and Esparron-la-Bâtie wintered at La Roque and Corbières.

Bayons appears as Bayons on the 1750 Cassini Map and the same on the 1790 version.
Astoin appears as Aftoin on the 1750 Cassini Map and as Astoin on the 1790 version.
Esparron-la-Bâtie appears as Efparron on the 1750 Cassini Map and as Esparron on the 1790 version.
Reynier appears as Reynier on the 1750 Cassini Map and the same on the 1790 version.

French Revolution
At the beginning of the French Revolution, the news of the storming of the Bastille was welcomed but caused a phenomenon of collective fear in the population of a possible aristocratic reaction. Locally, the Great Fear came from Tallard and belonging to the contemporary fear of the Mâconnais reached the area of La Motte-du-Caire on the evening of 31 July 1789. The consuls of the village community were warned that a troop of five or six thousand brigands were coming towards Haute-Provence after pillaging the Dauphiné. The communities of La Motte, Clamensane, Saint-Geniez, Authon, Curbans, Bayons, and Claret together created a troop of 700 armed men. They put the Marquis of Hugues de Beaujeu at its head. He decided to stand in front of the danger by going towards the danger and to monitor the boats on the Durance.

After 2 August the panic subsided and the original rumours clarified. An important change took place: the communities were armed and organized to defend themselves and their neighbours. A sense of solidarity was born within the communities and between neighbouring communities and consuls decide to maintain the national guards. Immediately after the fear subsided, however, the authorities recommended disarming the workers and the landless and keep only landowners in the National Guard.

Contemporary period

The French coup d'état of 1851 committed by Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte against the French Second Republic provoked an armed uprising in the Lower Alps in defense of the Constitution. After the failure of the uprising there was a severe crackdown on those who stood up to defend the Republic with one inhabitant of Bayons.

Like many communes in the department, Bayons adopted schools well before the Jules Ferry laws: in 1863 there were already two schools providing primary education for boys located in the main village and at Combe. Although the Falloux Laws (1851) did not require the opening of a school for girls in communes with less than 800 inhabitants, Bayons, with less than 700 inhabitants in 1861, also had a school for girls. The second Duruy Act (1877) allowed it, thanks to government subsidies, to build new village school.

Astoin, Esparron-la-Bâtie, and Reynier communes each had a boys' school in 1863 but no school for girls. In these communes it was not the Ferry laws that allowed girls into school.

The very isolated hamlet of Rouinon had 46 inhabitants in 1886 as well as a school (until 1911) and a mailbox (until 1929). This small community also had its own Chapel of Saint Joseph. Near Rouinon, the chapel for the hamlet of Forest-Lacour was destroyed at the end of the 19th century to allow the passage of the road: the Church had noted its declining attendance for several years.

The commune sheltered a maquis unit during World War II in the Tramalou district. It consisted of Francs-tireurs partisans (Maverick Partisans) or FTP. On 21 July 1944, taking advantage of a shift in the German garrison of Sisteron, the Bayons FTP raided the citadel of Sisteron to rescue fifty resistance fighter detainees. On 26 July 1944, the same FTP unit was surprised by the German reaction using mortars which resulted in 21 dead. Three teenagers in a farm were also killed. A monument was erected in their memory located on an abandoned road to Turriers.

Since World War II
Vines were cultivated in the communes of Astoin, Bayons, Esparron-la-Bâtie and Reynier until the middle of the 20th century. The wine was mediocre and intended only for home consumption. This culture has since been abandoned.

The commune of Bayons merged with the communes of Esparron-la-Bâtie, Astoin, and Reynier in 1973.

Heraldry

Politics and administration

Municipal administration
The municipal council is composed of 9 members, including the mayor.

List of Successive Mayors

Judicial and administrative proceedings
Bayons falls within the area of the Tribunal d'instance (District court) of Digne-les-Bains, the Tribunal de grande instance (High Court) of Digne-les-Bains, the Cour d'appel (Appeal court) of Aix-en-Provence, the Tribunal pour enfants (Juvenile court) of Digne-les-Bains, the Conseil de prud'hommes (Labour Court) of Digne-les-Bains, the Tribunal de commerce (Commercial Court) of Manosque, the Tribunal administratif (Administrative tribunal) of Marseille, and the Cour administrative d'appel (Administrative Court of Appeal) of Marseille

Budget and taxation

Demography
In 2017 the commune had 183 inhabitants.

Economy

Overview
In 2017 the workforce was 68 people, including 14 unemployed. These people are mostly employees (67%) and many work outside the commune (58%). At the end of 2015 there were a total of 24 business enterprises in the commune: 7 in agriculture, 3 in industry, 1 in construction, 10 in trade, transport, and services, and 3 in administration, education, health, or social services. Only the tertiary sector employed staff with 22 employees.

Agriculture

According to the Agreste survey by the Ministry of Agriculture the number of farms dropped sharply in the 2000s from 17 to 10. Sheep farms represented half of these farms. From 1988 to 2000 the agricultural land area (SAU) increased from 1100 hectares to 1216 while the number of farms fell from 20 to 17. The SAU has continued to increase during the last decade reaching 1352 hectares including 720 dedicated to sheep farming.

Farms practicing polyculture disappeared in the 2000s.

Labels

Bayons commune has an Appellation d'origine contrôlée (AOC) for Lavender oil of Haute-Provence and 30 Geographical Protected Indications (IGP) including: Apples of Alpes de Haute-Durance, Honey of Provence, Lamb of Sisteron, and many Méditérranée wine labels.

Labels of Bayons

Industry

A Small hydro electric power station was installed in the late 1980s on Ruisseau des Tines (old town of Esparron-la-Bâtie).

Service activities

According to the Departmental Observatory of Tourism, tourism is important for the commune with between 1 and 5 tourists accommodated per capita but most of the accommodation capacity is non-market. Several tourist accommodation facilities exist in the commune:

 1 furnished accommodation with 4 beds
 1 Bed and Breakfast with 4 beds
 2 Hostels with 16 beds

It is nevertheless second homes that have the greatest capacity with 160 second homes and a total of 798 beds.

Culture and heritage

Cultural festivals
On the first Rogation day there is a procession from Bayons to Forest and return.

Civil heritage
A House with arched windows, possibly a lordly mansion, on the village square.
A Chateau from the 18th century at Esparron
A ruined Rectangular Tower above the village from the 13th or 14th century.

Religious heritage
The Church of Saint Anne at Astoin was the former castrum church dedicated to Saint-Michel. The Parish of Astoin was merged with Bayons in 1711.
The Church of Saint-Christophe and Saint Sebastian at Esparron. The former Church of Saint Vincent de Reynier on the hill is in ruins: it was an old chapel chosen to replace the parish church at the end of the Wars of religion in 1599. It was replaced by another Church of Saint Vincent in 1833.
The Chapel of Basse Combe was restored in the 2000s.
The Saint Mary Magdalene Chapel in Haute Combe is in ruins.
The Chapel Notre-Dame-Secours-des-Pécheurs at Baudinard was built by the inhabitants in 1867-1868 for the new cemetery which replaced the old cemetery which was far away.

The Church of Notre-Dame-de-Bethléem (11th century) is registered as an historical monument. The church is large for the size of the village (35m long and 9m wide with a height of 15m at the Nave). It once housed a priory from the Abbey of l'Ile-Barbe. It is of Roman architecture with Gothic influences. According to Mark de Leeuw it is a building where Alpine art of the 13th century is demonstrated with the most finesse. Its facade is divided by buttresses, the choir is flanked by side chapels, and the Apse is flat. The bays of the apse are large  and the Oeil-de-boeuf (or Ox-eye window) on the western facade gives a beautiful light inside the church and on the baptismal font installed in the centre of the nave. The capitals are decorated with foliage, jewels, and trilobes.

The vaults were rebuilt several times: the choir in the 14th century and the nave in 1664. Other comprehensive repairs took place from 1664 to 1689 and the tower is repaired in 1724. A clock was added to it in 1742. Many other repairs took place throughout the 20th century and roofs were restored to their original angles in 1995.

The Church contains many items that are registered as historical objects:

A Cross (Crucifix) (18th century)
A Chalice (19th century)
A Cross (Crucifix) (17th century)
A Painting: Joseph of Léonissa (17th century)
The main Altar (18th century)
A Painting: Assumption (17th century)
A Painting: Death of Saint Joseph (17th century)
A Painting: Saints Jacques and Peter at the foot of the virgin (17th century)
The enclosures in the 2 lateral chapels (17th century)
A Pulpit (17th century)
2 Pews (19th century)
A Statue: Virgin and child (18th century)
A Painting with frame: Virgin of pity (18th century)
A Painting: Saint Blaise (1750)
A Painting: Adoration of the Magi (17th century)
A Retable: Adoration of the magi (18th century)
A Bronze bell (1510)
A Baptismal font (16th century)

Churches Picture gallery

See also
Communes of the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department

Bibliography used in this Article
Raymond Collier,  Haute-Provence Monumental and artistic, Digne, Louis Jean Printing, 1986, 559 pages
Under the direction of Edward Baratier, Georges Duby, and Ernest Hildesheimer, Historical Atlas. Provence, Venaissin County, Principality of Orange, County of Nice, Principality of Monaco, Paris, Librairie Armand Colin, 1969 BNF FRBNF35450017h
Guy Barruol, Nerte Dautier, Bernard Mondon (coord.), Mount Ventoux. Encyclopedia of a Provencal mountain

Bibliography not used in this Article
Hélène Vésian Claude Gouron, The Way of Liberty - on the passive resistance of Haute-Provence ()

References

Communes of Alpes-de-Haute-Provence


Beaujeu (; ) is a commune in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of south-eastern France.

The inhabitants of the commune are known as Beaujolais or Beaujolaises.

Geography
Beaujeu is located some 30 km east of Sisteron and 20 km north-east of Digne-les-Bains at an altitude of 880 m. Access to the commune is by the D900 road from Le Vernet in the north which passes through the length of the commune and continues south to Digne. The commune is rugged and mountainous.

An enormous number of streams rise all over the commune which mostly converge on the Arigéol which flows south to join the Bléone at La Javie.

Geology
The mountains around Beaujeu are composed of black shale.

Relief
Blayeul Summit (2189 m) with a radio relay mast
Chappe summit (1667 m)
Col du Labouret (1240 m) on the D900 road

Environment
The commune has 2793 hectares of woods and forests - 61% of its area.

Hamlets

 Boullard
 le Clucheret
 l'Escale
 Fonfrède
 le Labouret
 Saint-Pierre
 les Traverses-Hautes
 le Villard

Natural and technological risks
None of the 200 communes in the department is in a no seismic risk zone. Beaujeu is in zone 1b (low risk) according to the deterministic classification of 1991 and based on its seismic history and in zone 4 (medium risk) according to the probabilistic classification EC8 of 2011. Beaujeu also faces four other natural hazards:
Avalanche
Forest fire
Flood (in the Arigéol valley)
Landslide

Beaujeu is also exposed to a risk of technological origin, namely the carriage of dangerous goods on the highway.

There is no plan for prevention of foreseeable natural risks (PPR) for the commune and there is no DICRIM.

The town has been subject to several natural disasters for flooding, mudslides, and landslides in 1986, 1994, and 1996. The landslide on 18 May 1996 carried away two 20,000 volt power pylons.

Toponymy
The term for the locality in 1147 comes from the Latin bellom jugum, meaning "beautiful mountain". It then became Bèl jog, a confusion with the Occitan bèl joc which means beau jeu in French.

The name of the hamlet Clucheret seems to come from its status as a parish which would have earned it the name of Clocher (Bell tower).

The name of the Chappe summit (1667 m) which borders Prads-Haute-Bléone is in memory of the existence of a semaphore visual telegraph relay station called telegraph Chappe after Claude Chappe who designed it in 1794.

Beaujeu appears as Beaujou on the 1750 Cassini Map and as Beaujun on the 1790 version.

History
In Ancient times the Bodiontici populated the Bléone valley as well as the Gauls who lived in the current commune of Beaujeu. The Bodiontici were defeated by Augustus at the same time as the other people present on the Tropaeum Alpium before 14 BC. The commune was attached to the province of Alpes-Maritimes at the time of its creation.

According to an inventory of the property of the Abbey of St. Victor, Marseille, the abbey are owned several tenures and bergeries among which la Bouisse, Champ Premier, la Sébière, and Auche can be identified. Later there were three distinct communities, each with its church at Beaujeu, Le Clucheret, and Saint-Pierre-des-Auches. The Church of Saint Peter was originally built higher and the priory depended on the Augustinian Abbey of Valence.

The locality appears for the first time in charters of 1147 (Beljog), and a Motte-and-bailey castle was built in the 11th century at a place called La Tour.

The barony of Beaujeu extended over the communities of Mariaud and Clucheiret. A toll was established on the Col de Labouret road at the end of the Middle Ages.

In 1309, William of Roumoules was reported as lord of Roumoules, Beaujeu, Bédéjun, Bras-d'Asse, Entrages, Majastres, Vergons, and Estoublon. The death of Queen Joanna I of Naples reopened a crisis of succession to head the county of Provence and the cities of the Union of Aix (1382-1387) supported Charles, Duke of Durazzo, against Louis I of Anjou. The lord of Beaujeu and Mariaud, Gui Saint-Marcial, supported the Duke of Anjou in spring 1382, this support being conditional on the participation of the Duke in the relief expedition for the Queen.

During the French Revolution the commune had a patriotic society, founded after the end of 1792.

The French coup d'état of 1851 committed by Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte against the French Second Republic provoked an armed uprising in the Lower Alps in defence of the Constitution. After the failure of the uprising there was a severe crackdown on those who stood up to defend the Republic which included one inhabitant of Beaujeu.

As with many communes in the department Beaujeu had a school well before the Jules Ferry laws. In 1775 it already has a school that opened in winter. In 1863 there were four: in the main village and in remote villages (Saint-Pierre, Boulard, and Fontfrède), which provided primary education for boys. No instruction was given to girls: neither the Falloux Laws (1851), which required the opening of a girls' school in communes of over 800 inhabitants nor the first Duruy Law (1867), which lowers the threshold to 500 inhabitants, concerned Beaujeu. The subsidies from the second Duruy Act (1877) were used to build a new school and remodel another. It was only with the Ferry laws that the girls of Beaujeu were regularly educated.

Heraldry

Administration

List of Successive Mayors

Demography
In 2017 the commune had 130 inhabitants.

Economy
In 2017 the workforce was 71 people, including 9 unemployed. These people were mostly employees (82%) and most worked outside the commune (78%). At the end of 2015 there were a total of 12 business enterprises in the commune: 6 in agriculture, 1 in construction, 2 in trade, transport, and services, and 3 in Administration, education, health, or social services. 3 Agricultural enterprises and one administrative establishment employed staff.

According to the Departmental Observatory of Tourism, tourism is important for the commune with between one and five tourists accommodated per capita. In the total absence of any housing facilities these are second homes that can accommodate tourists. (the 42 second homes account for over a third of the communal housing and have 208 beds).

Culture and heritage

There were two coaching inns on the Labouret road, one in the village and one at the foot of the pass whose slope was very difficult.

Religious heritage

The Chapel of Saint-Blaise at Clucheret contains three items that are registered as historical objects:
A Paten (18th century)
A Painting: Saint Blaise (19th century)
A Processional cross (1683)
The Chapel of Sainte-Anne at Labouret contains one item that is registered as historical objects:
A Chalice with Paten (18th century)
The Church of Notre-Dame-de-l’Assomption at Beaujeu contains several items that are registered as historical objects:
A Statue: Saint Eloi (18th century)
A Painting: Sainte Famille (18th century)
A Statue: Virgin and child (18th century)
A Painting: Donation of the Rosary (18th century)
A Tabernacle (17th century)
The Church of Saint-Pierre-des-Auches at Saint-Pierre  contains several items that are registered as historical objects:
A Pulpit (19th century)
A Painting: Donation of the Rosary (1839)
A Statue: Saint Joseph (19th century)
A Statue: Virgin and child (19th century)
A Processional cross (18th century)
A Painting: Christ on the Cross (1830)
A Statue: Saint Peter (18th century)
A Painting: Saints Roch and Sebastian (1683)
A Chest (13th century)

See also
Communes of the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department

References

Communes of Alpes-de-Haute-Provence


Beauvezer (; ) is a commune in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department in southeastern France.

Population

See also
Communes of the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department

References

Communes of Alpes-de-Haute-Provence
Alpes-de-Haute-Provence communes articles needing translation from French Wikipedia


Bellaffaire (; ) is a commune in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department in southeastern France.

Population

See also
Communes of the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department

References

Communes of Alpes-de-Haute-Provence
Alpes-de-Haute-Provence communes articles needing translation from French Wikipedia


Bevons is a commune in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department in southeastern France.

Population

See also
Communes of the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department

References

Communes of Alpes-de-Haute-Provence
Alpes-de-Haute-Provence communes articles needing translation from French Wikipedia