Barles


Barles is a French 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.

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. This ridge is passable at the Col des Tomples.
The peak of Val-Haut is in the western part of the commune and, between Barles and Bayons are the peaks of Chanau and Oratoire, both located outside the commune. Farther south are the summits of Clot Ginoux or the Cimettes and Laupie or Tourtoureau. A little further south is the Col de la Clapouse deep in the valley of the Descoure stream which gives access to the valley of Esparron-la-Bâtie. South of Monges is the peak of Chine or Rabanu. Many places are named after this peak: Bergerie de Chine, 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 at 1909 m, and Grande Cloche 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 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, a promontory of Blayeul also known as the Quatre Termes, is located between the communes of Barles, Verdaches, Esclangon 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 commune has 862 hectares of woods and forests.

Localities and Hamlets

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 according to the deterministic classification of 1991 and based on its seismic history and in zone 4 according to the probabilistic classification EC8 of 2011. Barles also faces four other natural hazards:
Barles is not exposed to any risk of technological origin identified by the prefecture.
There is no plan for prevention of foreseeable natural risks 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 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 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 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. 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 after thunderstorms and Barles was sometimes cut off by landslides. 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 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, Vaux, Forest, Sauvans, and Saint Clement. The town benefited from subsidies in the second Duruy Law 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 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. 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
FromToName
18001805Jean Baptiste Nicolas
18061807Honoré Meynier
18081812Antoine Arnaud
18131815Jean André Audemar
18151816Joseph Léon Richaud
18161818Jacques Xavier Richaud
18181826Jean Antoine Megy
18271829Jean Jacques Audemar
18291831Jean Barthélémy Bonnet
18311833Alexandre Nicolas
18331834Louis Leydet
18341835Jean André Bonnet
18351837Jean Barthélémy Bonnet
18381842Louis Leydet
18421843Jean Antoine Arnaud
18431848Jean Jacques Audemar
18481848Jean Joseph Richier
18481855Jean Laurent Megy
18551860Jean André Nicolas
18611862Jean Alexandre Leydet
18621870Jean André Bonnet
18711876Pierre Nicolas
18771880Rémy Nicolas
18811884Pierre Nicolas
18841892Jean Baptiste Bonnet
18921902Léon Joseph Amielh

;Mayors from 1971
FromToNamePartyPosition
19711983Aimé Nicolas
19832020Claude Payan

Demography

In 2010 the commune had 156 inhabitants. The evolution of the number of inhabitants is known from the population censuses conducted in the commune since 1793. From the 21st century, a census of communes with fewer than 10,000 inhabitants is held every five years, unlike larger communes that have a sample survey every year.

Economy

General overview

The commune lives from logging, farming, sheep farming, and tourism.
In 2009, the workforce was 67 people including 16 unemployed. These workers were mostly employees and mainly worked outside the commune. Most commune businesses are in the primary sector. 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 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, 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.
The town is included in the scope of the label Pommes des Alpes de Haute-Durance.

Industry

At the end of 2010 the secondary sector had 3 establishments without any employees.

Service activities

At the end of 2010 the tertiary sector 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:
Second homes provide an important complement to the capacity with 58 secondary homes containing 258 beds..

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:
Barles is best known for the Clues de Barles, 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 by Pierre Magnan took place partly in Barles.