Seyne

Geology and landforms

The village is situated at an altitude 1,260 metres (4,130 ft). The valley bottoms with deep soil and cut hedges in the Seyne Valley are nicknamed the Swiss Provençal.

Hydrography

It is crossed by the Blanche, a tributary of the Durance.

Communication and transport

Seyne is accessible by the departmental road RD 900, between Le Lauzet-Ubaye in the north, and Digne in the south. The nearest SNCF railway station is the Gare de Digne.

Environment

The municipality has 2,800 hectares (6,900 acres) of woods and forests.

Natural and technological hazards

None of the 200 communes of the Department is in the zero seismic risk zone. The Canton of Seyne is in zone 1b (low seismicity) determined by the 1991 classification, based on historical earthquakes, and in zone 4 (medium risk) according to the probabilistic classification EC8 of 2011. The commune of Seyne is also exposed to three other natural hazards:

The commune of Seyne is more exposed to a risk of technological origin, that of transport of dangerous goods by road. The departmental RD 900 (the former Route nationale 100) can allow for the road transport of dangerous goods.

The predictable natural risk prevention plan (PPR) the commune was prescribed in 2006 for avalanche, flood, land movement and earthquake risk; the DICRIM does not exist.

The following list includes earthquakes felt strongly in Seyne. They exceeded a macro-seismic intensity level V on the MSK scale (sleepers awake, falling objects). The specified intensities are those felt in the town, the intensity can be stronger at the epicentre:

Toponymy

The name of the village, as it appears the first time in 1147 (in Sedena), would refer to the Gallic tribe of the Édenates, or would be built on the root *Sed-, for rock, according to Charles Rostaing. According to the Fénie couple, the name comes from a Pre-Celtic root oronym (mountain toponym), *Sed-. The municipality is named Sanha in Vivaro-Alpine and Provençal of the classical norm, and Sagno in the Mistralian norm.

Antiquity

Before the Roman conquest, Seyne was the capital of the Édénates. It received the status of civitas, under the Roman Empire.

Middle Ages

In the Middle Ages, it appeared in charters in 1146 (in Sedena) When Ramon Berenguer IV of Barcelona forced the submission of the Provençal baronial who revolted (Baussenque Wars). After taking control of Arles, he summoned the Lords of Haute-Provence to Seyne where they renewed their tribute. The lords were the Counts of Provence, who endowed the consulate as early as 1223 (1220 according to André Gouron), which served as a model to all consulates around. Around the 1220s, a large tower was built to defend the city, which was then called Seyne-la-Grande-Tour. A regional council took place in 1267. The Saint-Jacques Hospital was founded in 1293, followed at the end of the 15th century by the Hôtel-Dieu.

The death of Queen Jeanne I opened a succession crisis at the head of the Comté de Provence, the towns of the Union of Aix (1382-1387), supporting Charles, Duke of Durazzo against Louis I, Duke of Anjou. The community supported the Durazzo side until 18 September 1385, and then changed camp to join the Angevins through the patient negotiations of Marie de Blois, Louis I's widow and regent of their son Louis II. The surrender of Seyne involved the communities of Couloubrous and Beauvillars.

The fair, which was held at Seyne at the end of the Middle Ages, benefitted from the crossroads location, and continued until the end of the Ancien Régime. Seyne was a baillie which subsequently became a seneschal headquarters: This included the communities of Auzet, Barles, La Bréole, Montclar, Pontis, Selonnet, Saint-Martin-lès-Seyne, Saint-Vincent, Ubaye, Verdaches, Le Vernet.

The community of Beauvillars had 88 feus at the enumeration of 1316. It depended administratively upon Seyne. In the 15th century, the inhabitants of Beauvillars, who wanted to empower themselves, were massacred, the survivors deported, and the name of Beauvillars erased from the archives.

The community of Couloubrous (Colobrosium, cited in the 13th century), is also attached to 15th century Seyne. There were 19 feus in 1316, and it also had a consulate.

Early modern (1483-1789)

With the creation of the printing press, writings and ideas spread, and in the middle of the 16th century, Protestantism was implanted in Seyne. Through the Edict of Amboise (1563), adherents of this religion were allowed to build a temple, but away from the city.

The town was captured and looted by the Protestant captain Paulon de Mauvans in the summer of 1560, during the Wars of Religion. The town was again attacked by Protestants in 1574, who retained it thereafter. The Baron of Germany hid here in 1585, before the offensive of the Catholic League, without preventing the capture of the city by the Duke of Épernon. During the siege, the bell tower was destroyed. At the end of the Wars of Religion, Lesdiguières established a camp where he prepared his campaign for the reconquest of Provence, against the Catholic Leaguers.

The reformation had despite these fights some success in Seyne, and a part of the inhabitants remained Protestant. The Protestant community remained into the 17th century around his temple, through the Edict of Nantes (1598). However, the abolition of the edict of Nantes (1688) was fatal, and the community disappeared, the people either emigrated or members were converted by force.

In 1656, the two hospitals (Hôtel-Dieu and hospital Saint-Jacques) merged into a single institution. The two were relocated to a single building in 1734.

In 1690, the Marquis de Parelle led the Piedmontaise army of 5,000 men which descended from the Ubaye Valley and besieged Seyne. The city was obliged to negotiate, the medieval enclosure was insufficient to ensure his defence, and the ransom was set at 11,000 livres. However, with the rise of the militia of Provence and the regiment of Alsace they were driven back. On 24 December, funds were unblocked and new bastions built by Niquet, the new enclosure completed in August 1691 leaving the great tower outside of the city, but enhanced.

After the more serious alert of 1692, the entire Alpine border was reconsidered by Vauban. On tour in December 1692, he asked for the construction of a citadel including the great tower. Richerand led the work from 1693 to 1699. Although not satisfied during his trip of inspection in 1700, Vauban failed to modify the fortifications, in part by building redoubts of setbacks in the north. The annexation of Ubaye by the Treaty of Utrecht took away enough of the threat, for the work to be pushed back indefinitely (except for repairs to the walls in 1786). In this state, the city was occupied by the Austro-Sardes in 1748 (War of the Austrian Succession) and in 1815, at the end wars of the Empire. The place was almost disarmed at the end of the Ancien Régime, it had nine guns served by a garrison of three invalids, and an arsenal of 93 guns.

The city was the seat of a viguerie until the French Revolution and an office of the Poste Royale at the end of the Ancien Régime.

French Revolution

Shortly before the French Revolution, unrest mounted. In addition to the fiscal problems of several years, the harvest of 1788 was bad and the winter of 1788-89 was very cold. The election of the Estates-General of 1789 had been prepared by those States of Provence in 1788 and in January 1789, which had contributed to highlight the political oppositions of class and cause some agitation. At the end of March, at the time of the drafting of the Cahiers de doléances, an insurrectional wave shook Provence. A wheat riot occurred at Seyne, on 29 March. Peasants gathered, protesting with cries and threatening the wealthy. However, the riot went no further, and caused no change, unlike others in the region. As a first step, the reaction consisted in gathering of the Maréchaussée staff on-site. Then lawsuits were commissioned by the Parliament of Provence, but convictions were not executed. The lack of convictions was provoked by the Storming of the Bastille along with the troubles of the Great Fear, by way of appeasement, an amnesty occurred in early August.

The news of the Storming of the Bastille was welcomed, this event announced the end of royal arbitrariness and, perhaps, the most profound changes in the organization of France. Immediately after the arrival of the new regime, a great phenomenon of collective fear seized France, for fear of the conspiracy of the aristocrats who wished to recover their privileges. Rumours of troops in arms devastating everything in their path propagated at high speed, causing shots of weapons, the organization of militias and anti-nobility violence. This Great Fear came from Tallard, and awareness of the fear of the Mâconnais reached Seyne on the evening of 31 July 1789. The consuls of Turriers and Bellaffaire, being warned by those at Gap that a troop of 5-6,000 brigands was headed to Haute-Provence after having plundered the Dauphiné, transmitted the news to the consuls of Seyne. Immediately put on alert by the rumor, the consuls of Seyne transmitted the news to Sisteron and Digne, thereby spreading the Great Fear. They also prevented all parishes within the purview of the viguerie of Seyne, and sent messengers to Gap and Embrun to ask news. The arsenal of the Citadel of Seyne was requisitioned, and 93 guns and nine cannons were distributed to Seyne and the villages of Saint-Pons, Selonnet and Chardavon. Men came to take refuge with their furniture and their livestock away from the walls of the citadel.

In the night, messengers from Rochebrune and La Motte confirmed 'News', and add that Romans had been sacked. From the south, disquieting news arrived on the occupation of Castellane by 4,000 Barbets and the advance of 1,000 Piedmont in the Durance Valley. On 2 August, the panic declined, with the facts being clarified from the earlier rumours. However, a significant change took place. All communities Department were to be armed, organized to defend themselves and to defend their neighbours. A sense of solidarity was born within communities and between neighbouring communities, and the consuls usually decided to maintain the National Guard on foot. As soon as the fear had settled, the authorities recommended to disarm workers and landless peasants, and to keep only the owners of land and businesses in the National Guard.

The patriotic society of the municipality was created during summer of 1792.

19th century

Seyne gained some industrialization in the 19th century, with the development of textile industries.

As with many municipalities of the Department, Seyne acquired schools well before the Jules Ferry laws. In 1863, it had five, the main town and also installed in the villages of Pompiery, Bas-Chardavon, Pons and Couloubroux. These schools provided a primary education for boys. In the main town, a school for girls was imposed by the Falloux Laws of 1851. The commune took advantage of subsidies from the second Duruy Law (1877) to rebuild or renovate its schools. Only the Bas-Chardavon school was not addressed.

Environmental policy

Seyne is classified as a flower in the towns and villages floral competition.

Administration

A brigade of the National Gendarmerie is located in the main town of Seyne.

Demographic evolution

In 2012, Seyne had 1419 inhabitants (with stagnation since 1999). From the 21st century, communes with less than 10,000 inhabitants have the census held every five years (2004, 2009 and 2014, etc. for Seyne). Since 2004, the other figures are estimates.

In 2008, the commune was ranked in the 6,862nd position at the national level, while it was in the 6,215th position in 1999, and 22nd at the departmental level of 200 communes.

The demographic history of Seyne, after the loss of population of the 14th and 15th centuries, and the long period of growth until the beginning of the 19th century, is marked by a period of 'spread' where the population remained relatively stable at a high level. This period lasts from 1821 to 1861. The rural exodus then causes a movement of long-term demographic decline. By 1921, the town had lost more than half its population from the maximum of 1846. The downward movement continued until the 1970s. Since then, the population growth has resumed but without returning to the level of 1911.

Age pyramid

The population of the commune is relatively old. The rate of people over 60 years age (34.1%) is higher than the national rate (21.6%) and the departmental rate (27.3%). Like national and departmental allocations, the female population of the commune is greater than the male population. The rate (52.2%) is of a similar order of magnitude as the national rate (51.6%).

The distribution of the population of the commune by age is, in 2007, as follows:

Education

The municipality has three educational institutions:

Health

A local hospital is located in the municipality.

Economy

The economy of Seyne revolves around sports activities and tourism.

Industry

Alp'entreprise, active in the building and public works (BTP) sector, has 15 employees.

Tourism

The commune has a downhill ski station at Le Grand Puy and a Nordic skiing station at Col du Fanget. Formerly, the town had one or two ski lifts to Col Saint-Jean.

The long-distance trail 6, connecting Sainte-Foy to Saint-Paul-sur-Ubaye, crosses Seyne.

Fortifications

Medieval fortifications remain:

The rest of the enclosure in fact consisted of the walls of the houses, built continuously, without openings to the outside.

In 1690-1691, the engineer Niquet had begun new, much larger, enclosure works with nine bastion towers, of which six survive. These towers were at two levels, the lower level was set to a pentagonal plan, which was an innovation of Niquet. These works were reviewed by Vauban, who requested the addition of a citadel during his visit in 1692. The Citadel of Seyne was built by Richerand, from 1693, and completed in 1700. This citadel, too narrow, known as Vauban but which did not satisfy him during his inspection trip, dominates the Blanche Valley. 200 metres (660 ft) long by 50 metres (160 ft) wide, it incorporates an old tower modified to accommodate artillery, is equipped with a barracks, and its entry was forbidden, on the side of the town, by a tenaille. The enclosure, meanwhile, was completed in 1705.

The stronghold, in the front line at the time of its construction, was found in the third line after the Treaty of Utrecht (1713), which reunited the Ubaye Valley with France, was defended by two invalid companies to the Revolution, and a reduced garrison during the period between 1790-1815. The restoration added an advanced battery or hornwork, a rebuilt door (1821), and added some casemates for rear firing and caponiers. It was decommissioned in 1866, then occupied by a single guard from 1887 to 1907 before being sold. Passed from hand to hand, the commune bought it in 1977, and has since begun restoration work. The enclosure is a listed historic monument.

Civil architecture

Several houses, of the streets of the old centre, date from the 17th century, including the old town hall (main street) and a house nearby from 1788, which has an arched gate. Another house, which has always been on the high street, dates from 1605. A further house on the high street dates from 1708 and, nearby, a further one from the end of the Middle Ages, of which the overhang is supported by consoles of wood mouldings. Other houses of the high street, retained in front of the arches, have characteristic medieval elements. However, these date to the 18th century.

The hospital was built in 1734. A carved bench, leather seat, and a five foot long table of beech, from the 17th and the 18th centuries, which are currently kept at the Town Hall, originally came from the hospital. These items are classified as historic monument objects.

Several farms in the commune are fortified.

The Church of Our Lady of Nazareth

The Church of Our Lady of Nazareth (Notre-Dame-de-Nazareth), Romanesque style, has completely retained its primitive appearance. Legendarily attributed to Charlemagne, the actual construction of the present building can be traced back to the middle of the 12th century. The western façade is decorated with a large rose window with twelve rays. It is also decorated with a sundial, composed on a marble slab, dating from 1878. The old porch has disappeared. Its arching portal has retained its carved capitals. The nave, 8.5 metres (28 ft) long and 14.5 metres (48 ft) high, is composed of three arched barrel bays, and is separated with a double-roll of a double-arch. The choir has a flat chevet and is also barrel-vaulted. Before the choir, two side chapels form a false transept. The portal of the south façade is Gothic (beginning from the 13th or 14th century). It has the distinction of being framed by two separations of arches which rely on the surrounding buttresses. The gate leaves date to 1631. The spire was rebuilt after the siege of the Duke of Épernon. Some works of consolidation (repointing, restoration of the southwestern buttresses) were made in 1967.

The capitals are carved human faces and characters with the bodies twisted by the torments that devils impose upon them. The baptismal fonts are 4 metres (13 ft) diameter. The church is a classified historic monument since 1862.

The Holy Family altarpiece was painted directly onto the panel of the retable, in archaic style, during the 17th century. The wood carved decorated pulpit, dating back to the turn of the 17th and 18th centuries is classified.

The furniture of the church includes:

Finally, the priest has full vestments (chasuble, dalmatic, clevis, veil covering the chalice, purse, stole, maniple), satin brocaded, with colourful ornaments, and with an undecorated cross of a landscape, from the 18th century. This is a unique set for the Department, and is also classified as an historic monument object.

Dominican Church

The Church of the Dominicans, of classic style, is built on a relatively complex plan. In the nave with six bays, each wide span is followed by a narrow span, all flattened and barrel-vaulted. The narrow spans were filled with an oeil-de-boeuf, the wide aisles are square bays.

The six reliquary busts, from the 17th century, are still archaic style and are classified as historic monument objects. The church is decorated with a Crucifixion of the 17th century, where Christ is surrounded by all the instruments of the Passion and with two penitents and two angels, and is also classified. The convent, which forms part of the church, was built in 1683 and is a registered monument. The veil of the Saint-Sacrement of the church is golden embroidered silk (67 cm by 71 cm). It represents two angels in prayer on either side of an altar on which a silver lamb is sacrificed. This veil has been a classified object since 1908.

Chapels

The town still has many chapels:

Museums

Events

Notable people