Allos
Allos is a commune in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France.
Allos is a high mountain commune in the southern Alps. The commune experienced a significant rural exodus in the 19th century, following the population movement of the department. Then the town was overwhelmed for eighty years by winter sports: the construction of accommodations and ski-lifts has changed the landscape and the mountain urbanisation. The economy was profoundly altered with almost all jobs being found in tourism. Traditional agricultural activities persisted only marginally.
Historically Allos, located in the valley of the Verdon, has long been linked to the Ubaye Valley: first at the time when Ubaye belonged to the States of Savoy then after it became part of France it continued to be administered across the Col d'Allos. Even after the Revolution, it was attached to the Barcelonnette district. It was not until 1985 that it was turned towards the valley by accepting the connection to the Canton of Colmars.
Geography
Allos is located some 12 km south of Barcelonnette and some 100 km north-west of Nice at an altitude of 1425 m. The Allos valley is traversed by the Verdon which has its source in the Foux d'Allos in the Sestriere valley at 2500 m altitude.Access to the commune is by the D908 road: a tortuous road running off the D902 south of Barcelonette which passes through the heart of the commune and the village before continuing south to Colmars.
Located at the edge of the Mercantour National Park, the country of Upper Verdon and the Allos valley offers landscapes of great beauty: from the famous Lac d'Allos which is the largest mountain lake in Europe to the waterfall of La Lance, near Colmars-les-Alpes. The flora is rich and varied depending on the altitude: larch, spruce, fir as well as Alpine clematis, peonies, and Martagon.
Geology
The mountains around Allos are composed of black schist.Relief
All around Allos from the Col d'Allos and in a clockwise direction:- on a north-south ridge of the Cheiroueche mountain which overlooks the village, the Roche Grande, completely denuded of vegetation;
- to the north: the Petit Cheval de Bois and the Grand Cheval de Bois, the Pichs or Nivoulet ;
- to the east: the Cimet, separated from the Teton by the small col de Talon, Mount Pelat, and between Allos and Mont Pelat the Tête du Vallonnet and the Tête de Prachastel ;
- around Lake Allos: the Trou de l'Aigle, the Col de la Petite Cayolle, the Garrets summit, the Montagne de l'Avalanche, the Tete du Lac, the group of Tours du Lac which is five peaks between 2585 and 2745 m, and the Tete de Valplane ;
- to the South: the Roche Cline and on the right bank of the Verdon the Autapie ;
- to the west: the Gros Tapie, the summit of Valcibière, the Mourre Gros, the Tete Noire, the Tete de l'Auriac, the Trois-Évêchés, the Tete de la Sestriere ;
- to the northwest of the Col d'Allos: the Tete de Vescal .
Environment
The town has 1,869 hectares of woods and forests.Hamlets
- La Beaumelle;
- La Beaume;
- La Foux;
- La Foux d’Allos;
- Le Seignus ;
- le Villard ;
- Le Brec Bas et Haut;
- Sainte-Brigitte ;
- Le Foreston;
- Bouchiers;
- La Peyrière ;
- Prémin;
- Montgros;
- Champrichard;
- La Colette;
Natural and technological risks
None of the 200 communes of the department is in a no-risk seismic area. The commune is in zone 1b according to the deterministic classification of 1991 and based on historical earthquakes. It is in Zone 4 according to the ECS probability classification of 2011. Allos commune is also exposed to four other natural hazards:avalanche,
forest fire,
flooding,
landslide.
Allos commune is exposed to a risk of technological origin - i.e. the risk of dam breakage on the hill reservoir of Tardée above the Foux-d'Allos ski-station.
The prevention plan for foreseeable natural risks for the commune was approved in 1998 for flood risk, landslide, and avalanche; and a Communal Dossier on Major Risks has existed since 2010.
The commune has been the location of several natural disasters: an earthquake in 1984, flooding and mudslides in 1994 and 2003. In November 2012 a landslide cut off the only access road to the hamlets of Bouchiers and La Colette - a cut that lasted more than seven months.
Toponymy
The locality appears for the first time in texts from 1056 under the name of ad Alodes which means Allods in Occitan. A Pre-Gallic hypothesis has also been considered more in line with local phonetic rules such as Fénié. The name Allos derived then from Al- designating "rocks". The form Alodes would be in this case a bad romanization. The commune is called Alòs in Occitan Vivaro-Alpine dialect.The name of the station La Foux-d'Allos means "narrow gorges" between the surrounding peaks.
History
The name of the people located in the upper valley of the Verdon is not certain but it may be the Eguiturii. At the end of the Roman Empire the upper valley of the Verdon depended on the civitas and the bishopric of Thorame.It is possible that the first village was built around Notre-Dame-du-Valvert in the High Middle Ages. It would then have been perched at Banivol before moving lower in the 12th to 13th centuries. The village was cited in 1056 and had its own consulat from 1233, by privilege from the Comte de Provence, and a Fair. Allos belonged to the Counts of Provence until 1388 then, with the Ubaye Valley and Nice, passed to the Counts of Savoy until 1713. From that time until the beginning of the French Revolution Allos was administratively attached to Barcelonnette. The first division of Basses-Alpes included Allos in the Barcelonnette district.
During the Wars of religion the Duke of Lesdiguières bombarded the town without taking it in 1597. He had brought his army through the Col de Thuiles.
The peculiarities of the Allos community, which occupies several deep valleys and whose habitat is dispersed across multiple villages, led to the creation of three parishes in the 17th century: one in La Foux, one in Bouchiers, and one in Baumelle. A large number of chapels were also built: 29 in total throughout history.
Several major fires ravaged the town in 1718, 1747, and 1769.
During the French Revolution the commune had a patriotic society which was created at the end of 1792.
In the 20th century Allos became a tourist town: in 1935, the ski-lifts were built at Seignus and Foux. In the 1970s, when winter sports become mass entertainment, more ski resorts were built in two hamlets. It was not until 1985 qu'Allos turns towards the valley by integrating with the Arrondissement of Castellane.
Heraldry
Canting arms: Allos, in Latin Allosium, in Provençal Alouès. Alo-west Wing-bone.Administration
List of Successive Mayors| From | To | Name | Party | Position |
| 1726 | Jean-Hyacinthe Pascalis | |||
| 1748 | Hyacinthe Pellissier | |||
| 1750 | Honoré Pascalis | |||
| 1751 | Pierre-Jacques Pascalis | |||
| 1756 | Alexandre Pascalis du Laus | |||
| 1758 | Pierre Pellissier | |||
| 1780 | Joseph Guirand | |||
| 1794 | 1796 | Michel Michel | ||
| 1796 | 1798 | Pellissier | ||
| 1798 | 1799 | Joseph Caire | ||
| 1799 | 1800 | Jacques Gariel | ||
| 1800 | 1801 | Guirand | ||
| 1801 | 1802 | Alexandre Pellissier | ||
| 1802 | 1803 | Jean Honnorat | ||
| 1803 | 1806 | Hyacinthe-Marie Gariel | ||
| 1806 | 1813 | Augier | ||
| 1813 | 1830 | Rebattu | ||
| 1830 | 1840 | Jean-Jacques-Laurent Gaubert | ||
| 1840 | 1843 | Pierre Pascal | ||
| 1843 | 1846 | Hyacinthe Pellat | ||
| 1846 | 1856 | Joseph Pellissier | ||
| 1856 | 1886 | Désiré Boyer | ||
| 1886 | 1888 | Sébastien Reynaud | ||
| 1888 | Antoine Reynaud |
;Mayors from 1971
| From | To | Name | Party | Position |
| 1971 | 1996 | René Cèze | RPR | |
| 1996 | 2014 | Michel Lantelme | President of the Haut-Verdon Val d'Allos Community of communes | |
| 2014 | 2015 | Chantal Caire-Caïs | DVG | |
| 2015 | 2020 | Marie-Annick Boizard | ||
| 2020 | Current | Michel Lantelme |
The election of the City Council in March 2008 was the subject of an appeal to the administrative court of Marseille; the judgment led to new elections in September.
Population
The inhabitants of the commune are known as Allossards or Allossardes in French.Education
The town has had a computerized library since 2004 in the Haut-Verdon library network and has two primary schools.Economy
Overview
Allos is a high mountain commune whose main resource is tourism - hiking in the summer - but especially winter sports.In 2017 the active population was 525 people including 24 unemployed. These workers are mostly employed and the vast majority work in the commune. This can be explained by the predominance of the tourism sector which provides sufficient employment to the people of the commune. As a result, most of the people of the commune work in services and administration. Industry, construction and agriculture employ 12 people in total.
At the end of 2015 establishments active in the commune were mainly shops and services and health and social administrative sector.
Agriculture
At the end of 2015 the primary sector had 9 different establishments with 2 employees.Most of the survey data from the Ministry of Agriculture are subject to statistical secrecy which indicates low numbers and extent of cultivated land. In 2000 three farms used a utilized agricultural area of 281 hectares - the area has been in sharp decline since 1988.
Industry
In late 2015 the secondary sector had 29 establishments mainly crafts. The sector employs 10 people.Service activities
The commune has two ski-stations:- Val d'Allos-La Foux, which links to the Pra-Loup ski area;
- Val d'Allos-Le Seignus, which is called the village-station because it is connected by Aerial tramway to Allos village.
In late 2015 the tertiary sector had 372 establishments plus 91 administrative establishments and the health and social sectors.
According to the Department of Tourism, tourism activity is very important for the commune with more than 5 tourists per resident and with a large capacity for accommodation. Several accommodation facilities for tourists exist in the commune :
- 10 hotels with a capacity of 161 beds;
- no camping;
- some furnished, some approved;
- B & Bs are absent from the commune;
- a large carrying capacity in various collective accommodations.
Culture and heritage
The commune contains a very large number of sites that are registered as historical monuments. Lists below are abridged showing the main sites.There is also a very large number of items registered as historical objects located at:
- The Chapel of Notre-Dame-de-la-Fleur
- The Chapel of Notre-Dame-de-la-Salette
- The Chapel of Saint-Antoine
- The Chapel of Saint-Laurent
- The Chapel of Saint Pierre
- The Chapel of Saint Sebastian
- The Chapel of Sainte-Marie-Madeleine
- The Church of Notre-Dame-de-Valvert
- The Church of Notre-Dame-de-la-Baumelle
- The Chapel of Notre-Dame-de-Lumiere
- The Church of Saint John the Baptist
Civil heritage
There are still remnants of medieval structures:- The City Fortifications
- The Banivol Tower is 7.2 m square. It may have protected a small town.
- The Cooperative Dairy Factory
- The Abrau Bridge
- A Lavoir
- The Town Hall
- The Ski-station of Foux d'Allos in the classic style of ski-stations with roofs dominated by corrugated iron with a presence of roof slate and traditional scale tiles.
- A Sundial in Allos village.
Religious monuments
The churches and rural chapels are in a simple alpine style imposed by the climate. Notre-Dame-de-Valvert at Allos is a good example from the 13th century.The extent of the commune with its large population the 19th century, when the parishes and their branches were under the Concordat plan, made communications difficult due to the terrain and snow in winter. All these conditions justified the creation of several parish churches which are now registered as historical monuments:
- The Church of Notre-Dame-de-Valvert
- The Parish Church of Saint John the Baptist at la Foux in traditional Romanesque style and whose facade is decorated with a sundial from 1757. It has an ex-voto in leather from Cordoba dated 1675;
- The Parish Church of Saint-Antoine at Bouchier
- The Chapel of Saint Sebastian or Chapel of White Penitents has the rise to glory of Saint Sebastian painted on the dome. It is used for parish worship in Winter.
- The Chapel of Notre-Dame-de-la-Fleur at Villard-Haut
- The Chapel of Sainte-Marie-Madeleine at Villard-Bas
- The Chapel of Notre-Dame-de-Grâce at Seignus-Bas.
- The Chapel of Sainte-Brigitte and Saint-Joseph at Sainte-Brigitte
- The Chapel of Saint-Roch at Plan-Ouest
- The Chapel of Saint Laurent at Seignus-Haut
- The Chapel of Notre-Dame-de-Lumière at Baumelle
- The Chapel of Saint-Pierre near Basse-Colette has a Retable closed by two small doors from the 16th century
- The Chapel of Notre-Dame-de-la-Salette at Charrières-Sud
- The Chapel of Notre-Dame-des-Monts has a sundial dated 1757 and bearing the legend Dieu seul est éternel; déjà loin de toi
- The Chapel of Saint-Jacques at Seignus-Bas
The Church of Notre-Dame-de-Valvert
The parish church of Allos dates from the first half of the 13th century and was listed as a historical monument in 1846 for the parts dating from the second half of the 9th and 10th centuries.It is built in Brickwork in a regular way with a chevet made of a single semicircular Apse, vaulted in cul-de-four. Like all churches in alpine style only the south wall has three bays which are semicircular.
The decor is unusual with walls decorated with a series of small arcs. The decor is a late development of the Lombard band. The capitals are adorned with foliage, except for the facade, and decorated with masks and animals. The front is reinforced by two buttresses at the corners.
Raymond Collier identifies several characteristics of Notre-Dame-de-Valvert different from the communal type of alpine Romanesque:
- the pilasters supporting the Arc-doubleaux are replaced by engaged columns ;
Notable people linked to the commune
- Patritti: a painter of the 19th century
- Jean-Esprit Pellissier, priest until 1905, he was the historian of the town.
- Simon-Jude Honnorat, doctor and also the town historian and author of the ''Great dictionary of the Occitan language''