Barcelonnette
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Commune of Barcelonnette | |
| Location | |
| Coordinates | |
| Administration | |
|---|---|
| Country | France |
| Région | Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur |
| Département | Alpes-de-Haute-Provence (sous-préfecture) |
| Arrondissement | Barcelonnette |
| Canton | Barcelonnette (chief town) |
| Mayor | Jean Chabre (2001-2008) |
| Statistics | |
| Altitude | 1,115 m–2,680 m (avg. 1,132 m) |
| Land area¹ | 16.42 km² |
| Population² (1999) |
2,819 |
| - Density (1999) | 171/km² |
| Miscellaneous | |
| INSEE/Postal code | 04019/ 04400 |
| ¹ French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq. mi. or 247 acres) and river estuaries. | |
| ² Population sans doubles comptes: single count of residents of multiple communes (e.g. students and military personnel). | |
 |
|
Barcelonnette (Barciloneta / Barcilona in Occitan) is a small town and commune in the Southern French Alps, in Alpes-de-Haute-Provence département, of which it is a sous-préfecture, in the Ubaye Valley.
Contents |
[edit] History
The city's name comes Raimond-Bérenger IV de Barcelone, count of Barcelona and count of Provence, who founded the city in 1231.
[edit] Situation
The city and the region around has been the center of French immigration wave to the Americas (mostly Mexico) at the end 19th/ beginning 20th century. Families which had prospered abroad came back and built the huge mansions that one can see all over the town called "Meson Mexique". Today, a big community of Barcelonettes live in Mexico City and the city of Puebla in Mexico. The most notorious of these descendants is Mexican comedian Eugenio Derbez.
[edit] Geography
It is built at a height of 3717 ft. on the right bank of the Ubaye river, on which it is the most well-known place.
[edit] Miscellaneous
It is mainly a tourist and resort centre, serving many ski lodges.
Barcelonnette is situated in a wide and very fertile valley, and is surrounded by many villas, called "Maisons Mexicaines" (Mexican houses), which where built by natives who have made their fortune in Mexico.
[edit] Gallery
|
[edit] External links
This Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur geography article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.
