Briançon
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A view of the Collegiate Church of Notre-Dame and Saint-Nicolas
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 Briançon
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Location within Provence-A.-C.d'A. region
Briançon
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| Coordinates: 44°53′47″N 6°38′08″E / 44.8964°N 6.6356°ECoordinates: 44°53′47″N 6°38′08″E / 44.8964°N 6.6356°E | ||
| Country | France | |
| Region | Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur | |
| Department | Hautes-Alpes | |
| Arrondissement | Briançon | |
| Canton | Briançon-1 and 2 | |
| Intercommunality | Briançon | |
| Government | ||
| • Mayor (2009–2014) | Gérard Fromm | |
| Area1 | 28.07 km2 (10.84 sq mi) | |
| Population (2008)2 | 11,645 | |
| • Density | 410/km2 (1,100/sq mi) | |
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) | |
| • Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) | |
| INSEE/Postal code | 05023 /05100 | |
| Elevation | 1,167–2,540 m (3,829–8,333 ft) | |
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1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. 2Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once. |
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1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.
Briançon (French pronunciation: [bʁi.jɑ̃.sɔ̃]) a commune in the Hautes-Alpes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department.
At an altitude of 1,326 metres (4,350 feet) it is the highest city in France, based on the French definition as a community containing more than 2,000 inhabitants. Briançon's most recent population estimate is 11,645.
Briançon is built on a plateau centred on the confluence of the Durance and the Guisane rivers.
Briançon was the Brigantium of the Romans and formed part of the kingdom of King Cottius. Brigantium was marked as the first place in Gallia after Alpis Cottia (Mont Genèvre). At Brigantium the road branched, to the west through Grenoble to Vienna (modern Vienne), on the Rhone; to the south through Ebrodunum (modern Embrun), to Vapincum (modern Gap). Both the Antonine Itinerary and the Table give the route from Brigantium to Vapincum. The Table places Brigantium 6 M.P. from Alpis Cottia. Strabo mentions the village Brigantium, and on a road to Alpis Cottia, but his words are obscure. Ptolemy mentions Brigantium as within the limits of the Segusini, or people of Segusio (modern Susa), in Piedmont; but it seems, as D'Anville observes, to be beyond the natural limits of the Segusini. Walckenaer (vol. i. p. 540) justifies Ptolemy in this matter by supposing that he follows a description of Italy made before the new divisions of Augustus, which we know from Pliny. Walckenaer also supports his justification of Ptolemy by the Jerusalem Itinerary, which makes the Alpes Cottiae commence at Rama (near modern La Roche-de-Rame) between Embrun and Briançon.
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