Aiguilles
Aiguilles is a commune with 394 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2011 ) in the Hautes-Alpes department in the Provence- Alpes- Côte d' Azur. It belongs to the district Briançon and community association L' Escarton du Queyras. Aiguilles is also the main town ( chef-lieu ) of the Canton of Aiguilles.
Geography
The 40-km ² large municipality in the Aiguilles Queyras includes a portion of the upper Guiltales in the Cozie Alps, near the border between France and Italy. In the current flowing to the west Guil lead numerous mountain streams (Torrent du Lombard, Torrent de - Peynin ).
The foothills transverse to the main Alpine ridge achieve Aiguilles heights of over 2400 m altitude:
These include:
North of Guiltales
- Petit Roche Brune 3078 m
- La Serre de l' Aigle 2496 m
- Pic du Malrif 2906 m
South of the Guiltales
- Pic du Fond de Peynin 2912 m
- Gardiole de l' Alp 2786 m
To Aiguilles include the districts of La Condamine, Peynin, Le Lombard and Les Eygliers.
Neighboring communities of Aiguilles are Cervières in the north, Abriès in the east, in the southeast and Ristolas Molines -en- Queyras in the southwest and west.
History
Finds from Gallo-Roman suggest a long history of the place. The built wooden houses were very susceptible to fires. For large parts of the village were in 1746 and 1829 ravaged by fires. After the last major fire many inhabitants emigrated to the Americas, especially to Argentina, Colombia and Chile. Some of the families there -down to prosperity returned to the beginning of the 20th century back to Aiguilles and built beautiful villas.
Demographics
Attractions
- Parish Church of St. John the Baptist ( Eglise Saint -Jean -Baptiste ) reconstructed from the 17th century, after fire damage in the 19th century
- Sacred Heart Chapel ( Chapelle du Sacré- Cœur ) next to the parish church, was formerly part of a Penitent Brotherhood
- Sundial with the inscription " Nihil sine sole" ( Nothing without sun)
- Numerous wells
Sundial in Aiguilles
Economy and infrastructure
Main industry in Aiguilles is the hospitality industry today. For the tourists are numerous hotels and pensions available. The season is winter when the ski lifts are four south-east of the village prepared in operation and five runs.
From Gap to the A 51 can be reached Aiguilles over the Durance valley and the Guiltal. From Briançon performs the access route to the Col Agnel Aiguilles.