Gap, Hautes-Alpes
Encyclopedia
Gap is a commune
in southeastern France, the capital of the Hautes-Alpes
department.
crossroads at the intersection of D994 and Route nationale 85 the Route Napoléon
, Gap lies 745 metres (2,444.2 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.
s, the Roman emperor
Augustus
seized the town in 14 BC and renamed it Vapincum. Gap was annexed by the French crown in 1512. The city of Gap has announced their interest in hosting the Winter Olympic Games in 2018.
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.
Communes of France
The commune is the lowest level of administrative division in the French Republic. French communes are roughly equivalent to incorporated municipalities or villages in the United States or Gemeinden in Germany...
in southeastern France, the capital of the Hautes-Alpes
Hautes-Alpes
Hautes-Alpes is a department in southeastern France named after the Alps mountain range.- History :Hautes-Alpes is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790...
department.
Geography
An AlpineAlps
The Alps is one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany to France in the west....
crossroads at the intersection of D994 and Route nationale 85 the Route Napoléon
Route Napoléon
Route Napoléon is the route taken by Napoléon in 1815 on his return from Elba. It is now a 325-kilometre section of the Route nationale 85.The route begins at Golfe-Juan, where Napoleon disembarked 1 March 1815, beginning the Hundred Days that ended at Waterloo. The road was inaugurated in 1932; it...
, Gap lies 745 metres (2,444.2 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 GaulGaul
Gaul was a region of Western Europe during the Iron Age and Roman era, encompassing present day France, Luxembourg and Belgium, most of Switzerland, the western part of Northern Italy, as well as the parts of the Netherlands and Germany on the left bank of the Rhine. The Gauls were the speakers of...
s, the Roman emperor
Roman Emperor
The Roman emperor was the ruler of the Roman State during the imperial period . The Romans had no single term for the office although at any given time, a given title was associated with the emperor...
Augustus
Augustus
Augustus ;23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14) is considered the first emperor of the Roman Empire, which he ruled alone from 27 BC until his death in 14 AD.The dates of his rule are contemporary dates; Augustus lived under two calendars, the Roman Republican until 45 BC, and the Julian...
seized the town in 14 BC and renamed it Vapincum. Gap was annexed by the French crown in 1512. The city of Gap has announced their interest in hosting the Winter Olympic Games in 2018.
Napoleon I
Napoleon I of France
Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader during the latter stages of the French Revolution.As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815...
left Elba
Elba
Elba is a Mediterranean island in Tuscany, Italy, from the coastal town of Piombino. The largest island of the Tuscan Archipelago, Elba is also part of the National Park of the Tuscan Archipelago and the third largest island in Italy after Sicily and Sardinia...
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.
Population
Personalities
- The French ski mountaineer Laëtitia RouxLaëtitia RouxLaëtitia Roux is a French ski mountaineer.Roux is born in Gap, Hautes-Alpes and started ski mountaineering at the age of nine years. In autumns of 2005 she joined the PACA section of the Fédération française de la montagne et de l’escalade . At first she competed in December of the same year at...
was born in Gap on 21 June 1985. - The French mountaineer Jean-Christophe LafailleJean-Christophe LafailleJean-Christophe Lafaille was a French mountaineer noted for a number of difficult ascents in the Alps and Himalaya, and for what has been described as "perhaps the finest self-rescue ever performed in the Himalaya", when he was forced to descend the mile-high south face of Annapurna alone with a...
was born in Gap on 31 March 1965 - The French born designer Christian AudigierChristian Audigierthumb|Christian Audigier.Christian Audigier, born on May 21, 1958 in Avignon , is a fashion designer and French entrepreneur installed in the United States. In 2010, his fortune was estimated at 250 million dollars.- Biography :...
is originally from Gap. - The French rally driver Sebastien OgierSébastien OgierSébastien Ogier is a French rally driver. He won the Junior World Rally Championship in 2008 and last drove in the World Rally Championship for the Citroën World Rally Team. His co-driver is compatriot Julien Ingrassia. They are set to join Volkswagen's WRC team when they enter the championship in...
, a rising star in the World Rally Championship, born in 17 Dec 1983.
Points of interest
- Conservatoire botanique national alpin de Gap-CharanceConservatoire botanique national alpin de Gap-CharanceThe Conservatoire botanique national alpin de Gap-Charance is a national conservatory specializing in alpine plants, located in the Domaine de Charance, about 4 km northwest of Gap, Hautes-Alpes, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France....
- Domaine de Charance