Aiglun, Alpes-Maritimes

Aiglun is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France.

Aiglun
Commune
A general view of the village
Coat of arms
Location of Aiglun
Aiglun
Aiglun
Coordinates: 43°51′30″N 6°54′54″E
CountryFrance
RegionProvence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
DepartmentAlpes-Maritimes
ArrondissementGrasse
CantonVence
IntercommunalityAlpes d'Azur
Government
 • Mayor (2014-2020) Didier Nicolas
Area
1
15.37 km2 (5.93 sq mi)
Population
 (2017-01-01)[1]
91
 • Density5.9/km2 (15/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code
06001 /06910
Elevation373–1,541 m (1,224–5,056 ft)
(avg. 624 m or 2,047 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

The inhabitants of the commune are known as Aiglenois or Aiglenoises.[2]

Geography

Aiglun is a remote mountain commune some 40 km north-east of Nice in a straight line. There are only two access routes to the commune - the first by Highway D17 from Roquesteron to the east. Heading west on Highway D17 continue left onto Highway D10 which continues via a mountainous route into the commune and the village of Aiglun. The other access is the continuation of Highway D10 west from Aiglun over a circuitous mountain route to Le Mas. The Estéron river passes through the commune south of the village and forms part of the western border of the commune as well as a small portion of the eastern border. Numerous streams feed into this river in the commune.

The northern part of the commune consists of high snow-capped mountains while the southern part is less high mountains. There are few roads however there are four hamlets in the Esteron Valley: Vascogne, Les Lones, Le Colombier, and L'Escle.[3]

Neighbouring communes and villages

History

In 1388 the village of Aiglun was under the protection of the House of Savoy like the rest of the region during the "Dédition of Nice to Savoy"[4] from 1388.

At the Treaty of Turin on 24 March 1760, the commune became French (the kingdom of France and that of Sardinia then proceeded to boundary adjustments and therefore there was an exchange of territories).

Toponymy

The name of the town appears for the first time in texts around 1200 in the form Ayglezuni. This was derived from the Latin word Aquila, meaning "eagle", and the Gallic dunum, meaning "height" and signifies as a whole the "height of the eagle".[5]

Heraldry
Arms of Aiglun
 Blazon:

Azure, a spread eagle of Argent over a salmon the same.

Administration

List of Successive Mayors of Aiglun[6]

Mayors from 1870 to 1942
FromToNamePartyPosition
18701874Jean-Baptiste GRANIER
18741876Antoine BERNARD
18761878Louis BERNARD
18781881Auguste BONNEFROI
18811884Désiré MARTEL
18841888Joseph DAUMAS
18881896Désiré MARTEL
18961900Jean-Pierre JAUME
19001901Pierre GUIZOL
19011912Joseph ROBIN
19121920Jean-Pierre JAUME
19201942Antoine ROUX
The Town Hall
Mayors from 1942
FromToNamePartyPosition
19421945François BLANC
19451978Pierre MARTIN
19782001Marius BLANC
20012005Irene MontiglioSE
20052014Charles BremondDVD
2014CurrentDidier Nicolas

(Not all data is known)

Population
Historical population
YearPop.±% p.a.
1793 240—    
1800 203−2.36%
1806 261+4.28%
1821 250−0.29%
1831 266+0.62%
1836 248−1.39%
1841 351+7.19%
1846 366+0.84%
1851 380+0.75%
1856 344−1.97%
1861 286−3.63%
1866 286+0.00%
1872 272−0.83%
1876 268−0.37%
1881 218−4.05%
1886 187−3.02%
1891 241+5.20%
1896 175−6.20%
YearPop.±% p.a.
1901 150−3.04%
1906 152+0.27%
1911 142−1.35%
1921 100−3.45%
1926 115+2.83%
1931 110−0.89%
1936 123+2.26%
1946 95−2.55%
1954 90−0.67%
1962 58−5.34%
1968 50−2.44%
1975 70+4.92%
1982 94+4.30%
1990 91−0.40%
1999 106+1.71%
2007 92−1.76%
2012 91−0.22%
2017 91+0.00%
Source: EHESS[7] and INSEE[8]
The Estéron river
Aiglun War Memorial

Politics

Presidential Elections Second Round:[9]

ElectionWinning CandidateParty%
2017 Marine Le Pen FN 68.12
2012 Nicolas Sarkozy UMP 68.54
2007 Nicolas Sarkozy UMP 78.75
2002 Jacques Chirac RPR 59.09

Sites and Monuments

The village is known for its steep climbing walls over 200 metres high with high difficulty routes. The Aiglun canyon is also popular for canyoning enthusiasts.

  • The Village
  • First tunnel on the road to the village
  • The bridge entering Aiglun
  • The cliff road into Aiglun
  • An Oratory in the cliff face
  • The entry to Aiglun
  • Main entrance to Aiglun
  • Aiglun Water Trough
  • Aiglun Church

Notable people
  • Fanny Robiane. Daughter of Joseph Robin, who was mayor of Aiglun in the early 20th century, this French theatre actress died in 1982 at Aiglun, where she retired and she has left a rich archive (autographed books, including by Armand Godoy, Jean-Richard Bloch and others; pictures; clippings, etc.). Her memory is still alive with the people of Aiglun (the Aiglenois) who knew her and plans are underway to honour her. A cultural association sponsored among others by the commune and the General Council launched since 2004 called "Fanny Robiane Encounter" devoted to theatre, poetry, music and other one-time cultural events are scheduled throughout the year. Sometimes these events are carried out in collaboration with the University of Nice.

See also
  • Communes of the Alpes-Maritimes department
  • Yves Bernard, The Tourist and Cultural Directory of the Alpes-Maritimes and Monaco, p. 149 Publishing Campanile, 1997 (ISBN 978-2-912366-00-9)

Notes and references

Notes

    References
    1. "Populations légales 2017". INSEE. Retrieved 6 January 2020.
    2. Inhabitants of Alpes-Maritimes (in French)
    3. Google Maps
    4. This was a charter of 28 September 1388 which attached Nice to the new territories of Provence for the House of Savoy. See Dédition de Nice à la Savoie in the French Wikipedia
    5. Ernest Nègre, Toponymie générale de la France: etymology of 35,000 place names, Genève: Librairie Droz, 1990. Collection of Roman and French Publications, volume 193. Volume I : Preceltic, Celtic, and Roman words, § 2725, p. 173,
    6. List of Mayors of France
    7. Des villages de Cassini aux communes d'aujourd'hui: Commune data sheet Aiglun, EHESS. (in French)
    8. Population en historique depuis 1968, INSEE
    9. http://www.lemonde.fr/data/france/presidentielle-2017/
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