Arvieux (French pronunciation: [aʁvjø]; Occitan: Arvieus) is a commune of the Hautes-Alpes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of south-eastern France.

One of the oldest monuments of the village and the valley of the Izoard, Campanile Brunissard, is itself only a fascinating summary of the economic, cultural and social life in the Hautes-Alpes, especially in Queyras 1 .

Occupied since antiquity, Arvieux was the first valley which was reached when passing through the Col Néal which was probably the ancient access route to the upper Queyras.

Part of this pathway, under overhanging cliffs, is still visible today (the Chemin de Charve).

During antiquity the area was inhabited by Gallic people called Quariates by the Romans whose name is probably formed from a Celtic root meaning "those of the cauldron" and from which Queyras is derived.

The region suffered several invasions after the end of the Roman Empire with many Saracen incursions.

At the end of the Middle Ages the Dauphin Humbert II, while short of money, gave a little more independence to the Escartons in exchange for an annual rent.

The charter gave the inhabitants of the escartons the status of "francs-bourgeois", that is to say they were exempt from feudal service in exchange for an annual rent.

Justice however remained a privilege of the Dauphin and the inhabitants of the escartons had to participate in the defence of the Dauphiné.

In 1349, six years after the signing of the charter, the Dauphiné was ceded to France who perpetuated these rights until the French Revolution.

During the war against the Catholic League of Augsburg from 1690 to 1696 Arvieux is crossed by the troops of the King of France and had to provide wood, fodder, food, and animals for the army.

After the Revolution some of the inhabitants became officially Protestant and the inhabitants of Arvieux were divided between the two religious communities: the majority of Catholics were in the village of Arvieux and at the bottom of the valley while there were mainly Protestants in the present top of the valley at Brunissard and La Chalp which was the place of residence of their pastor.

The difficult living conditions in the mountains as well as more specific calamities (Brunissard was completely destroyed by fire in 1882) explain this phenomenon.

This transition was nevertheless late in Arvieux and it was the commune in Queyras where agro-pastoral culture lasted the longest - up to about World War II.

The Gens du Renom or Race des Sorciers who were the lower caste people 2.

The Gens de la Belle who formed a kind of local aristocracy This distinction (which was not related to Protestants and Catholics) lasted until the town opened to the outside in the second half of the 20th century.

Blazon: Azure, three fesses wavy Argent debruised by a dolphin of Or barbed, crested, eared, and scaled Gules.

Crafts (pottery, manufacture of wooden toys of Queyras, carved furniture) and livestock (for cheese making) also have an important role.