Embrun (; , , , and ) is a commune in the

Hautes-Alpes Hautes-Alpes (; ; ) is a Departments of France, department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region of Southeastern France. It is located in the heart of the French Alps, after which it is named. Hautes-Alpes had a population ...

department in the

Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (commonly shortened to PACA), also known as Région Sud, is one of the eighteen Regions of France, administrative regions of France, located at the far southeastern point of the Metropolitan France, mainland. The main P ...

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

in southeastern

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Description

It is located between Gap and

Briançon Briançon (, ) is the sole Subprefectures in France, subprefecture of the Hautes-Alpes Departments of France, department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region in Southeastern France. It is the highest city in France at an a ...

and at the eastern end of one of the largest artificial lakes in Western

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

: the Lac de Serre-Ponçon. The Canadian town of

Embrun, Ontario Embrun (ˈɛmbrən in English; ), is a community in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario in the Eastern Ontario region. Embrun is also part of the National Capital Region (Canada), National Capital Region. Embr ...

was named after Embrun in 1856.

History

Embrun was formerly known as Ebrodunum ( in

Greek language Greek (, ; , ) is an Indo-European languages, Indo-European language, constituting an independent Hellenic languages, Hellenic branch within the Indo-European language family. It is native to Greece, Cyprus, Italy (in Calabria and Salento), south ...

sources). There is some variation in the writing of the first part of the name. It is Epebrodunum in

Strabo Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called "Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo, Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-si ...

's text, but later translators corrected it. Strabo (iv.) says that from Tarasco to the borders of the

Vocontii The Vocontii (Gaulish: *''Uocontioi''; Ancient Greek, Greek: Οὐοκόντιοι, Οὐοκοντίων) were a Gauls, Gallic people dwelling on the western foothills of the Alps during the La Tène culture, Iron Age and the Roman period. The Vo ...

and the beginning of the ascent of the

Alps The Alps () are some of the highest and most extensive mountain ranges in Europe, stretching approximately across eight Alpine countries (from west to east): Monaco, France, Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria and Slovenia. ...

, through the Druentia and Caballio, is 63 miles; and from thence to the other boundaries of the Vocontii, to the kingdom of Cottius (the Alpes Cottiae), to the village of Ebrodunum, 99 miles. Ebrodunum was in the ''civitas'' (tribal state) of the Caturiges, and just on the borders of the Vocontii, as it appears. The position of Ebrodunum is easily determined by the itineraries and the name.

Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; , ; ; – 160s/170s AD) was a Greco-Roman mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were important to later Byzantine science, Byzant ...

(iii. 1) mentions Eborodunum as the city of the Caturiges, and no other. In the Jerusalem Itinerary Ebrodunum is called ''Mansio'', like Caturiges (modern Chorges), which was also in the territory of the Caturiges. There are Roman remains at Chorges, and none are mentioned at Embrun, though it appears that the cathedral of Embrun is built on the site of a Roman temple, or that some of the materials of a temple were used for it. Ebrodunum was, for a time, the capital of the

Roman province The Roman provinces (, pl. ) were the administrative regions of Ancient Rome outside Roman Italy that were controlled by the Romans under the Roman Republic and later the Roman Empire. Each province was ruled by a Roman appointed as Roman g ...

of '' Alpes Maritimae''. In the feudal age, it was an important archbishopric see. The town was sacked in 1585 by

Huguenots The Huguenots ( , ; ) are a Religious denomination, religious group of French people, French Protestants who held to the Reformed (Calvinist) tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, ...

and in 1692 by the duke of Savoy during the

Nine Years' War The Nine Years' War was a European great power conflict from 1688 to 1697 between Kingdom of France, France and the Grand Alliance (League of Augsburg), Grand Alliance. Although largely concentrated in Europe, fighting spread to colonial poss ...

. In stage 17 of the 2013 Tour de France, Embrun was the starting point for an

individual time trial An individual time trial (ITT) is a road bicycle race in which cyclists race alone against the clock (in French: ''contre la montre'' – literally "against the watch", in Italian: ''tappa a cronometro'' "stopwatch stage"). There are also trac ...

. In 2017, stage 19 of the Tour de France started at Embrun.

Ecclesiastical history

Embrun was the see of a bishopric since the fourth century, which became a Metropolitan archbishopric in the fourteenth century and was suppressed in the French Revolution.

Population

Climate

Embrun features an

oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate or maritime climate, is the temperate climate sub-type in Köppen climate classification, Köppen classification represented as ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of co ...

(''Cfb'') with strong continental influences (''Dfb''). Winters are rather cold and snowy. Winter nights are very cold (about ) compare to the other French cities. That's because Embrun is very far from the French coasts, and near the mountains. It creates a severe climate throughout the year. In spite of the cold winters, summers tend to be hot and hazy. The afternoon average temperatures are around , but can sometimes exceed . Embrun-porche des lions tympan

Transport

*Espace Delaroche R.Alpine Meilleure Embrun The commune is served by ''Gare d’Embrun'' train station, which is connected to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

by a night train (''Intercités de nuit''), and also by TER regional trains to Gap station, La Brillanne- Oraison, and intermediate train stations. There are also buses and a single bus-tram line.

Notable people

* Henri Arnaud (1643 in Embrun – 1721) a pastor of the

Waldensians The Waldensians, also known as Waldenses (), Vallenses, Valdesi, or Vaudois, are adherents of a church tradition that began as an ascetic movement within Western Christianity before the Reformation. Originally known as the Poor of Lyon in the l ...

in Piedmont, who turned soldier. * François Jullien (born 1951 in Embrun) a French philosopher, Hellenist and

sinologist Sinology, also referred to as China studies, is a subfield of area studies or East Asian studies involved in social sciences and humanities research on China. It is an academic discipline that focuses on the study of the Chinese civilizatio ...

. * Coraline Hugue (born 1984 in Embrun), former Olympic cross-country skier.

References

* *

External links

*
INSEE

Embrun Office of Tourism
(in French). {{authority control Communes of Hautes-Alpes Caturiges Dauphiné Vauban fortifications in France