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Monks and Monasteries Just like in England and Wales, the Cistercian monks went looking for remote havens from the world. They found what they were looking for in the valleys leading south from Lake Geneva.
St Jean d’Aulps was founded by them when they built their monastery in the twelfth century. It survived up until the French Revolution and is now in ruin and looks pretty similar to those in England such as Rivaulx. If you are in St Jean in the summer then you’ll see why the Cistercians came and stayed. The Augustinian establishment in the Abondance valley at Chapelle d’Abondance fared better and is well worth a visit to see the cloisters. There are more if this interests you and you want to travel and search.
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Haute Savoie is not in France Or it wasn’t until the nineteenth century and then it seems like it was acquired by something amounting to a “con-trick” promising a future plebisite which has never happened.
Savoy (Savoie) was a separate wealthy Dukedom bridging the major trade routes between France and Italy. |
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Castles and protection …… Castles also dot the hills to the south of Lake Geneva, within half an hour or so of St Jean. Some can be visited and some just seen from afar. They are castles of noblemen rather than kings and show just how important the area was to defend and control.
Gold …… Gold and lead mining also took place. The Mines d’Or above Morzine is now a beauty spot with a small lake and restaurant but it was once a source of wealth for the town. It also sits on one of the high walking routes over into Switzerland. Naturally it was also a smuggling route!
Occupation and war …… Between 1940 and 1945 the whole area was one of resistance, in particular because it offered a direct route over the high mountain passes into Switzerland and safety. At one time St Jean d’Aulps was occupied by Italians and a nineteenth century farmhouse a few doors down from Chalet Belle Dranse still has the internal walls standing which they built in its upper barn to house their troops.
When out for long walks, particularly in the Pays du Gavot, you will come across roadside and village cemetery memorials to Savoyards, young and old who died in these years.
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What did they do in the Alps before skiing was invented? It’s in France and nothing much of importance happened did it? Well not quite. If you are interested then there are monasteries and abbeys to explore, castles to find and a separate country to discover. All in all if you’re interested in exploring more than the flora and fauna then there’s room for your interest. There are a few books in the chalet which explain more. |
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You’ll have heard of the Savoy Hotel in London by the Thames; well that was where they had their “embassy” in medieval times. It sat half in what is now France and half in Italy – as far a Turin.
Wealth was based on a number of rich trading towns such as Yvoire on the south bank of Lake Geneva which is well worth a visit.
If you think your French is good but you can’t understand easily what the locals are saying then it’s hardly your fault. There is definitely a mindset that we’re different and not the same as the rest of France and the Savoyarde accent is quite distinct and difficult. |