The resort villages
LE REPOSOIR
‘Here is my place of repose! ‘ the monk Jean D’Espagne is reported to have said when he discovered the valley of Le Béol, offered by the Seigneurs of Faucigny for the establishment of a Carthusian monastery in the 12th century. At the time, the monks rented land to the peasants of the valley of the river Arve so that in summer they could lead their livestock across the mountain pastures, in return for a payment in-kind. But the peasants showed cunning and secretly kept some milk for themselves, which according to local legend led to the creation of the famous reblochon cheese (1). From 1932 to the present day, the Carthusian monastery, listed as a Historical Monument, has been a Carmelite convent for some twenty sisters, and the farmers have retained their tradition of producing cheese, although it is now done in the light of day. The commune is located at an altitude of between 820 and 2,749 metres, stretching from the village to the peaks and housing 525 residents as well as a number of shops and artisans. In winter, family Alpine skiing resorts are set up in two sites: one in the village and the other higher up at more than 1,300 metres in Chalet Neuf. In summer, the famous Col de la Colombière regularly sees the Tour de France pass through, as well as providing access to the valley of Le Grand-Bornand. In winter this route is closed. Le Reposoir has also been chosen for the reintroduction of the bearded vulture to the Alps, a successful operation, with two couples currently nesting in the cliffs (2). On an architectural level, the commune contains several high pasture chalets and farms dating from the late 19th century.
(1) & (2), to find out more, look at the page “Zoom sur…”
http://2ccam.fr/fr/decouvrir/culture-et-patrimoine/patrimoine/zoom-sur/
MONT-SAXONNEX
Located on the Bornes Massif at the base of Le Bargy, the commune of Mont-Saxonnex extends from an altitude of 750 to 2,438 metres. A dynamic mountain village (shops, artisans, bar-topping factories), it has 1,500 year-round residents, known as les Dumonts. Mixing modern and older architectural styles, the village has learnt to find its place between the past and the future. The Notre-Dame-de-l’Assomption church, built on a rocky outcrop, dominates both the village and the valley of the Arve. It offers a remarkable view from the Faucigny Panoramic Lookout. In winter, its Alpine ski resort offers 15 km of slopes for every level, looking out over a panorama stretching from the Monts du Jura to Mont-Blanc. In summer, the heights offer beautiful hikes to different lakes and even to some rock-climbing sites.
NANCY-SUR-CLUSES
Between the valleys of Cluses and Le Reposoir, Nancy-sur-Cluses is a commune of our region with 438 residents. The village, at an altitude of 900 metres, traditionally accommodated the winter residences of the peasants. Higher up, at around 1,300 metres, in the Col de Romme, a small community of the same name was populated in the summer for the hay and mountain pastures. This community of Romme has today become a family ski resort in winter, and has managed to preserve its peasant architecture with some thirty cabins decorated with wood panels, called tavaillons, dating from the late 19th century.
The village of Nancy-sur-Cluses itself contains some remarkable housing architecture linked to a mercantile emigration of peddlers in the 17th and 18th centuries across Europe. Many of these salesmen became rich and – to both affirm their social status and acknowledge their land of origin – began to undertake bourgeois improvements. The most remarkable popular structure is a stone granary from 1671 which includes illustrated lintels and a wrought-iron door, the only of their kind in Savoie.
SAINT-SIGISMOND
Located halfway between Cluses and the Les Carroz d’Arâches resort, the commune of Saint-Sigismond is lodged at an altitude of 990 metres with a population of 628 residents. It contains a dozen dispersed communities, traditionally with an agro-pastoral function. Higher up, the community of Châtelard, due to its distance from the town, has its own chapel and a former school where it is still possible to view the inner courtyard and wooden toilet block. The commune has a rich peasant heritage with over a hundred buildings from the 18th and 19th centuries (high mountain chalets, farms, barns and granaries). The town square is also rich with history, with its church, presbytery and town hall. This town hall was the house of Claude Joseph Ballaloud (18th century), a pioneer of the valley’s clockmaking industry and creator of Faucigny’s first village band, set up in the square, in the House of the Republican Lyre. In winter, the commune is famous for its Agy plateau with 38 km of slopes for cross-country skiing. In summer, the mountain pastures are criss-crossed with numerous trails for hiking, walking, cycling and horse-riding