Blieux

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

Blieux
Commune
A ravine in the territory of the Blieux commune
Coat of arms
Location of Blieux
Blieux
Blieux
Coordinates: 43°52′24″N 6°22′18″E
CountryFrance
RegionProvence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
DepartmentAlpes-de-Haute-Provence
ArrondissementCastellane
CantonRiez
Government
 • Mayor (2008–2014) Marcel Collomp
Area
1
56.8 km2 (21.9 sq mi)
Population
 (2017-01-01)[1]
60
 • Density1.1/km2 (2.7/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code
04030 /04330
Elevation831–1,921 m (2,726–6,302 ft)
(avg. 950 m or 3,120 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

History

The commune of Blieux first appeared on maps in 1100.[2]

Much later, during the French Revolution, records show that the residents of Blieux had created a political club (patriotic society), which was very common at the time. (See Jacobin Club).[3]

Name of the commune

According to Ernest Nègre, the first recorded name for the commune, Bleus, was derived from the Occitan word bleusse, meaning 'dry'. This was likely a reference to the local soil.[4] By contrast, Charles Rostaing argues that the name derives from the pre-Indo-European root word, *BL, meaning 'mountain in the form of a spur'.[5]

La Melle, the name of a nearby hamlet, comes from the Celtic word, mello, meaning an elevated location.[6]

Economy

Historically, Blieux was a pastoral community, with a yearly alpine grazing cycle known as transhumance. As with much of Provence, tourism the primary source of economic activity today.

Geography

The village is located at an altitude of 950m,[2] in the valley formed by a tributary of the river Asse, known as the 'Asse de Blieux'.

Hamlets
  • le Bas-Chadoul
  • la Melle
  • la Tuilière
  • Thon
  • La Castelle

Summits and passes
  • Mont Chiran (1905 m)
  • le Grand Mourre (1898 m)
  • Crête de Montmuye (Montmuye ridge) (Highest point: 1621 m)
  • Le Mourre de Chanier ( 1930 m)

Population
Historical population
YearPop.±%
1765823—    
1793913+10.9%
1800801−12.3%
1806818+2.1%
1821810−1.0%
1831907+12.0%
1836969+6.8%
1841876−9.6%
1846802−8.4%
1851780−2.7%
1856735−5.8%
1861736+0.1%
1866650−11.7%
1872598−8.0%
1876573−4.2%
1881560−2.3%
1886537−4.1%
1891508−5.4%
YearPop.±%
1896449−11.6%
1901442−1.6%
1906403−8.8%
1911374−7.2%
1921241−35.6%
1926200−17.0%
1931181−9.5%
1936160−11.6%
1946110−31.2%
1954100−9.1%
196273−27.0%
196859−19.2%
197554−8.5%
198259+9.3%
199057−3.4%
199959+3.5%
200857−3.4%

With the exception of those that have been totally abandoned, Blieux is one of the communities in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department that has experienced the greatest population decline from the mid-19th to the mid-20th centuries.

Inhabitants are known as Blieuxois.

See also

References
  1. "Populations légales 2017". INSEE. Retrieved 6 January 2020.
  2. de La Torre, Michel (1989). Deslogis-Lacoste (ed.). Alpes-de-Haute-Provence : le guide complet des 200 communes (in French). Paris. p. 72. ISBN 2-7399-5004-7.
  3. Patrice Alphand, « Les Sociétés populaires», La Révolution dans les Basses-Alpes, Annales de Haute-Provence, bulletin de la société scientifique et littéraire des Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, no. 307, 1989, pp. 296-298
  4. Ernest Nègre, Toponymie générale de la France : étymologie de 35 000 noms de lieux, Genève : Librairie Droz, 1990. Volume II : Formations dialectales. Notice 23793, p 1281
  5. Charles Rostaing, Essai sur la toponymie de la Provence (depuis les origines jusqu’aux invasions barbares), Laffite Reprints, Marseille, 1973, p. 85
  6. Rostaing, p. 206
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.