Briançon

Sister cities

• Susa
• Rosenheim

History

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 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. In the 1040s it came into the hands of the counts of Albon and thenceforth shared the fate of the Dauphiné. The Briançonnais included not only the upper valley of the Durance (with those of its affluents, the Gyronde and the Guil) but also the valley of the Dora Riparia (Césanne, Oulx, Bardonnèche and Exilles) and that of the Chisone (Fénestrelles, Pérouse, Pragelas). The glens all lay on the eastern slope of the chain of the Alps. However the Treaty of Utrecht (1713) handed all of those valleys to Savoy in exchange for that of Barcelonnette, on the west slope of the Alps. In 1815 Briançon successfully withstood a siege of…

Geography

Briançon is located near the Italian border, in the Serre Chevalier ski area. It is built on a plateau centred on the confluence of the Durance and the Guisane rivers. Briançon station has rail connections to Gap, Marseille, Valence and Paris. Due to its elevation, Briançon features a warm-summer humid continental climate (Köppen : Dfb), bordering on an oceanic climate (Cfb) under the Köppen system. Summers are warm with cool nights, and winters are cold and snowy.