Blieux

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

History

The commune of Blieux first appeared on maps in 1100.[1]

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).[2]

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.[3] 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'.[4]

La Melle, the name of a nearby hamlet, comes from the Celtic word, mello, meaning an elevated location.[5]

Economy

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

Geography

The village is located at an altitude of 950m,[1] in the vally 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
Year Pop. ±%
1765 823 —    
1793 913 +10.9%
1800 801 −12.3%
1806 818 +2.1%
1821 810 −1.0%
1831 907 +12.0%
1836 969 +6.8%
1841 876 −9.6%
1846 802 −8.4%
1851 780 −2.7%
1856 735 −5.8%
1861 736 +0.1%
1866 650 −11.7%
1872 598 −8.0%
1876 573 −4.2%
1881 560 −2.3%
1886 537 −4.1%
1891 508 −5.4%
1896 449 −11.6%
1901 442 −1.6%
1906 403 −8.8%
1911 374 −7.2%
1921 241 −35.6%
1926 200 −17.0%
1931 181 −9.5%
1936 160 −11.6%
1946 110 −31.2%
1954 100 −9.1%
1962 73 −27.0%
1968 59 −19.2%
1975 54 −8.5%
1982 59 +9.3%
1990 57 −3.4%
1999 59 +3.5%
2008 57 −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

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  1. 1.0 1.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. 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
  3. 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
  4. Charles Rostaing, Essai sur la toponymie de la Provence (depuis les origines jusqu’aux invasions barbares), Laffite Reprints, Marseille, 1973, p. 85
  5. Rostaing, p. 206