Aiglun () is a commune in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France.
Geography
Aiglun is located about 6 km southeast of Digne following Route nationale N85, which runs mostly parallel to the Bléone river which forms the southeastern border of the commune. Highway N85 continues through the southern part of the commune towards the next town of Malijai. The village lies about 3 km north of the N85 along a country road, the Avenue Marius Autric, which loops through the commune to intersect with Highway D17 outside the southwestern border of the commune. No other major roads run through the commune, and access is via country roads and lanes. Much of the commune is forested, with patches of farmland.
Hydrography
A large number of streams cover all parts of the commune, most of which flow into the Bléone river on the southeastern border, which is itself a tributary of the Durance river.
Localities and hamlets
In addition to the village, the town has three other hamlets: Les Lavendes Les Grees Le Thoron
Neighbouring communes
Natural and technological hazards
All of the 200 communes of the department are in some seismic risk. The canton of Digne-les-Bains-2, to which Aiglun belongs, is zoned 1b (low risk) according to the classification of 1991, based on historical earthquakes, and in Zone 4 (medium risk) according to the probability classification EC8 of 2011. The commune of Aiglun is exposed to three other natural hazards: Forest fire Flooding (in the valley of the Bléone ) Landslide: the community is almost entirely classified medium-to-high hazard.
Aiglun is also exposed to a risk of technological origin: the transport of hazardous materials by rail, road and pipeline. As regards the railway, the St. Auban to Digne line is closed and so there is no traffic. The National Highway 85 can be used for the road transport of dangerous goods. Finally, the pipeline for feeding natural gas to Digne passes through the commune and is thus an additional risk factor.
The prevention plan for foreseeable natural risks (PPR) of the commune was approved in 2006 for flood risk, landslide and earthquake and the Dossier of communal information on major risks (DICRIM) has existed since 2011.
The commune has been the site of several natural disasters: an earthquake in 1984, floods and mudslides in 1996 and 2001, drought in 1989, 1990, and 1998, and landslides in 1996.
The earthquake of 19 June 1984 had its epicentre in Aiglun and a macro-seismic intensity of VI on the Medvedev–Sponheuer–Karnik scale (MSK). On 25 July 2001 a storm with hail and rainfall of 150mm in three hours caused floods.
Toponymy
The name of the town appears for the first time in texts of 1195 (according to Rostaing and Nègre) in the form: Aiglezino (and Aygladuno in 1319). The term is based on the Latin aquila meaning "eagle" and the Gallic dunum meaning "height" and would therefore mean "height of the eagle". According to Fénié, it has two oronymic roots: *akw-il plus the Celtic dunum.
History
In ancient times, the Bodiontiques (or Bodiontici) inhabited the valley of the Bléone, and so it was Gallic people who lived in what is now the commune of Aiglun. The Bodiontiques, who were defeated by Augustus Caesar at the same time as other people living in the area of the Tropaeum Alpium (from 14 BC to 14 AD), were attached to the Roman province of Alpes-Maritimes at its creation. The Roman road linking Sisteron to Vence crossed the territory of the present commune. Some Gallo-Roman tombs have been found.
The community of Aiglun was under the Viguerie of Digne and the church of the Bishop of Digne who received income related to the church. In return he provided his canons. On the secular side, the village was divided between multiple lords (similar to feudal barons) which by 1315 had reached 22 in number. The village was an ancient fortress called castrum de Aglenio in the Middle Ages.
At the end of the Second World War, the Liberation of Aiglun was marked by the passage of a column of the U.S. 36th Infantry Division on 19 August 1944, coming from Malijai as reinforcements to secondary column stopped at Digne, to outflank the German garrison at Digne.
Until the middle of the 20th century, grapevines were cultivated in the commune on 55 hectares of land for local consumption. Part of the production was sold to Digne. This activity has now disappeared.
Heraldry
Transport
The railway line from Saint-Auban to Digne passed through the town but has been closed since 1991.