commune
A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to:
Administrative-territorial entities
* Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township
** Communes of ...
in the
department
Department may refer to:
* Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility
Government and military
*Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...
of
Hautes-Alpes
Hautes-Alpes (; oc, Auts Aups; en, Upper Alps) is a department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of Southeastern France. It is located in the heart of the French Alps, after which it is named. Hautes-Alpes had a population of 141,220 ...
in the
Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (; or , ; commonly shortened to PACA; en, Provence-Alps-French Riviera, italic=yes; also branded as Région Sud) is one of the eighteen administrative regions of France, the far southeastern on the mainland. Its pref ...
region
In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...
in southeastern
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
The commune is located in the western part of Champsaur on the left bank of the river Drac opposite
Saint-Bonnet-en-Champsaur
Saint-Bonnet-en-Champsaur is a Communes of France, commune in the Hautes-Alpes Departments of France, department in southeastern France. It was expanded in January 2013, following the merger of the former communes of Bénévent-et-Charbillac and L ...
. It is backed by Mount Mouttet in the foothills of the
Dévoluy
Dévoluy is a commune in the Hautes-Alpes department in Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France. It is the result of the merger, on 1 January 2013, of the four communes of Agnières-en-Dévoluy, La Cluse, Saint-Disdier, and ...
massif. Its geographical position gives it a pleasant climate in summer but colder in winter.
The town extends from the river Drac (at an elevation of 950m downstream from the bridge of
Saint-Bonnet-en-Champsaur
Saint-Bonnet-en-Champsaur is a Communes of France, commune in the Hautes-Alpes Departments of France, department in southeastern France. It was expanded in January 2013, following the merger of the former communes of Bénévent-et-Charbillac and L ...
) to the heights of Coste Folle (alt. 2079m). The terrain consists of:
* the edge of the Drac which is now largely constrained by the road;
* the Chaup plain, the ancient area of the glacial valley which provides a plateau for crops and pastures;
* a forest of
pine
A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden accep ...
and
larch
Larches are deciduous conifers in the genus ''Larix'', of the family Pinaceae (subfamily Laricoideae). Growing from tall, they are native to much of the cooler temperate northern hemisphere, on lowlands in the north and high on mountains furt ...
which is used for its timber;
* unusable cliffs and rocky slopes;
* some easily accessible areas high on Mount Mouttet.
The old town consists of three closely sited hamlets called ''Les Farelles'', ''La Fare'' and ''Le Serre'', and is located on the Chaup plain at an elevation of 1100 metres. This is the older part of the village which is exclusively agricultural and very poor.
The lower part of the village, ''Les Baraques'', ''Les Allards'' and ''Bonnette'') was developed around the
Grenoble
lat, Gratianopolis
, commune status = Prefecture and commune
, image = Panorama grenoble.png
, image size =
, caption = From upper left: Panorama of the city, Grenoble’s cable cars, place Saint- ...
route nationale
A ''route nationale'', or simply ''nationale'', is a class of trunk road in France. They are important roads of national significance which cross broad portions of the French territory, in contrast to departmental or communal roads which serve m ...
85) on the
Route Napoléon
The Route Napoléon is the route taken by Napoléon in 1815 on his return from Elba. It is now concurrent with sections of routes N85, D1085, D4085, and D6085.
The route begins at Golfe-Juan, where Napoleon disembarked 1 March 1815, beginning ...
with a hotel, a tourist office, a cafe and several shops including a supermarket. The council has recently been moved from the old town to ''Les Baraques''.
''La Fare'' communicates with Saint-Bonnet, the 'capital' of Champsaur, via the only bridge on the Drac. The two municipalities are complementary: Saint-Bonnet offers a greater range of services and businesses but is off the main road, and La Fare, which is smaller but better placed, acts as a suburb of the town.
History
The hamlet of ''Les Baraques'' (or ''Barraques'') was originally a relay stop for stagecoaches (the term 'baraque' describes the stables for horses on the great journeys of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.) It was an important stop at the foot of the Col Bayard, on the road joining
Dauphiné
The Dauphiné (, ) is a former province in Southeastern France, whose area roughly corresponded to that of the present departments of Isère, Drôme and Hautes-Alpes. The Dauphiné was originally the Dauphiné of Viennois.
In the 12th centu ...
to the province of Gap which was then under the political authority of Dauphiné. The bridge was also a crossroads, particularly important when
François de Bonne
François () is a French masculine given name and surname, equivalent to the English name Francis.
People with the given name
* Francis I of France, King of France (), known as "the Father and Restorer of Letters"
* Francis II of France, Kin ...
of Lesdiguières, steward of Dauphiné, returned to the town of Saint-Bonnet.
''Les Baraques'', therefore, was a place where there were food and shelter, and this continues today. The hamlet has never changed its name, but the town hall was recently moved there, and it is now the name of the town ('La Fare') which appears on signs at the entrance to the village.
Population
Sights
* The old village and its church and cemetery;
* The aqueduct of the Pont-du-Fossé canal on ''La Fare'' stream (nineteenth century);
* The site of Notre-Dame de Bois-Vert, with views of Saint-Bonnet and the
Vieux Chaillol
The Vieux Chaillol (; oc, Vièlh Chalhòl) is a mountain in the Écrins National Park, located in Hautes-Alpes, southeastern France. It has an elevation of 3,163 Meters above sea level and forms a moderate to hard, full day hike from the startin ...
massif, and the starting point for walks in a larch forest (alt. 1360 meters, accessible by car). In winter, a waterfall of ice attracts climbers;
* Mount Mouttet and its cliffs, a view on the valley and mountains surrounding the Queyras valley to the east of the Alps (altitude 1800 m., accessible only to experienced walkers);
* Developments in
kayaking
Kayaking is the use of a kayak for moving over water. It is distinguished from canoeing by the sitting position of the paddler and the number of blades on the paddle. A kayak is a low-to-the-water, canoe-like boat in which the paddler sits fac ...
and canoeing on the Drac from the Saint-Bonnet bridge to the ''La Guinguette'' bridge 5 km downstream;