History
The hamlet of Les Baraques (or Barraques) was originally a relay stop for stagecoaches (the term 'baraque' describes the stables for horses on the great journeys of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.) It was an important stop at the foot of the Col Bayard, on the road joining Dauphiné to the province of Gap which was then under the political authority of Dauphiné. The bridge was also a crossroads, particularly important when François de Bonne of Lesdiguières, steward of Dauphiné, returned to the town of Saint-Bonnet.
Les Baraques, therefore, was a place where there were food and shelter, and this continues today. The hamlet has never changed its name, but the town hall was recently moved there, and it is now the name of the town ('La Fare') which appears on signs at the entrance to the village.
Read more about this topic: La Fare-en-Champsaur
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