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Gap
Place J. Marcellin
Jean Marcellin Square



Gap, Hautes-Alpes is located in France
Red pog
Gap
Coordinates: 44°33′34″N 6°04′43″E / 44.5594, 6.0786Coordinates: 44°33′34″N 6°04′43″E / 44.5594, 6.0786
Country France
Region Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
Department Hautes-Alpes
Arrondissement Gap
Government
 • Mayor (2008–2014) Roger Didier
Area1 110.43 km2 (42.64 sq mi)
Population (2009)2 41,170
 • Density 370/km2 (970/sq mi)
INSEE/Postal code 05061 / 05000
Elevation 625–2,360 m (2,051–7,740 ft)
(avg. 745 m or 2,444 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. 2 Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once.

Gap (French: [gap] ; Occitan: Gap) is a commune in southeastern France, the capital and largest settlement of the Hautes-Alpes department. At 750m above sea level, it is France's highest prefecture (departmental capital).

Geography[]

An Alpine crossroads at the intersection of D994 and Route nationale 85 the Route Napoléon, Gap lies 745 metres (2,400 ft) above sea level along the right bank of the Luye River (close to where it joins the Durance River). The region around Gap is known as Gapençais.

History[]

Originally founded by the Gauls, the Roman emperor Augustus seized the town in 14 BC and renamed it Vapincum. Eight years later, a Roman road was started, which linked the city to what is now Valencia, Spain. Vapincum grew as a transportation hub and was fortified by later Roman Emperors to protect it against Barbarians. From 28 December 986, the Bishop of Gap had sovereignty over the city due to concerns about future Muslim invasions, and held that power until Revolutionary reforms in 1801 despite Gap being annexed by the French crown in 1512.[1]

When the former royal province of Dauphiné was re-organised by the French Revolutionary government in 1790, Gap was made prefecture of the new Hautes-Alpes department, which it remains to this day.[2]

Napoleon I left Elba in February 1815 and had reached Gap on 15 March with 40 horsemen and 10 grenadiers where he had thousands of copies of his Proclamations printed. The whole population of the city accompanied Napoleon when he left Gap.

Gap ran a bid to host the 2018 Winter Olympics,[3] but lost out as France's candidate to nearby Annecy. The games were eventually awarded to Pyeongchang in South Korea.[4]

Population[]

Historical population
Year Pop. ±%
1793 6,014
1800 8,050 +33.9%
1806 8,891 +10.4%
1821 6,714 −24.5%
1831 7,215 +7.5%
1836 7,854 +8.9%
1841 8,599 +9.5%
1846 8,724 +1.5%
1851 8,797 +0.8%
1856 8,912 +1.3%
1861 8,219 −7.8%
1866 8,165 −0.7%
1872 8,927 +9.3%
1876 9,294 +4.1%
1881 10,765 +15.8%
1886 11,621 +8.0%
1891 10,478 −9.8%
1896 11,376 +8.6%
1901 11,018 −3.1%
1906 10,823 −1.8%
1911 10,647 −1.6%
1921 9,859 −7.4%
1926 10,660 +8.1%
1931 11,717 +9.9%
1936 13,600 +16.1%
1946 16,371 +20.4%
1954 17,317 +5.8%
1962 20,478 +18.3%
1968 23,994 +17.2%
1975 28,233 +17.7%
1982 30,676 +8.7%
1990 33,444 +9.0%
1999 36,269 +8.4%
2008 38,584 +6.4%

Personalities[]

  • Jean-Christophe Lafaille, mountaineer
  • Christian Audigier, designer
  • Sébastien Ogier, rally driver
  • William Farel (1489-1565), early Protestant and translator of the Bible to French and Occitan

Sights[]

  • Conservatoire botanique national alpin de Gap-Charance
  • Domaine de Charance

See also[]

  • Gap Cathedral
  • Communes of the Hautes-Alpes department

References[]

  • PD-icon This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domainHerbermann, Charles, ed (1913). Catholic Encyclopedia. Robert Appleton Company. 
  • Gallia Christiana (Nova, 1715), I, 452–473, Instrumenta, 86–89, (Nova, 1725), III, 1051–1107; Instrumenta, 177–188, 205–8;
  • Albanes, Gallia christiana Novissima (Montbeliard, 1899), I,
  • Depery, Histoire hagiologique du diocese de Gap (Gap, 1852);
  • Honoré Fisquet, France Pontificale (Paris, 1868);
  • Gaillaud, Histoire de Notre Dame d'Embrun (Gap, 1862);
  • Roman, Sigillographie du diocese de Gap (Grenoble, 1870);
  • IDEM, Tableau historique du département des Hautes-Alpes (Paris, 1889–91);
  • Chevalier, Topo-bibl., pp. 988, 1266.

External links[]

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This page uses content from the English language Wikipedia. The original content was at Gap, Hautes-Alpes. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with this Familypedia wiki, the content of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons License.
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