Orsières

Orsières
State :	Switzerland
Canton :	Valais (VS)
District :	Entremont
BFS no. :	6034
Postal code :	1937 Orsières 1938 Champex-Lac
Coordinates :	577 262  /  97649 coordinates: 46 ° 1 '48 "  N , 7 ° 8' 42"  O ; CH1903:  577 262  /  97649
Height :	887  m above sea level M.
Height range :	773–3893 m above sea level M.
Area :	164.93  km²
Residents:	3187 (December 31, 2018)
Population density :	19 inhabitants per km²
Website:	www.orsieres.ch
Orsières
Location of the municipality

Orsières is a political municipality and a civil parish in the Entremont district in the French-speaking part of the Swiss canton of Valais . The municipalities include the villages Branche, Chamoille, Champex-Lac , Chez-les-Addy-Maligue, Chez-les-Giroud, Chez-les-Reuses, Commeire, Issert, La Douay, La Fouly , La Rosière, Le Biolley, Les Arlaches, Orsières, Prassurny, Prayon, Praz-de-Fort, Reppaz, Somlaproz, Soulalex and Verlonnaz .

geography

The sixth largest municipality in the canton of Valais in terms of area extends over 165 km² and includes the two valleys Val Ferret and Vallée de Champex. The market town is located on the Dranse d'Entremont on the upper reaches of the Dranse , which flows into the Rhone at Martigny .

Orsières is located in the southwest of the canton of Valais and borders on seven neighboring municipalities and two countries: in the north with Sembrancher and Bovernier , in the south with Liddes and Italy, in the east with Bagnes , Liddes and Bourg-Saint-Pierre and in the west with Martigny-Combe , Trento and France. In the southwest of the municipality is the Mont Dolent , where at 3820  m above sea level. M. the triangle between France, Italy and Switzerland is located.

In addition to glaciers and rocks, the municipality has 3500 hectares of forest area, which makes the community of Orsières the largest forest owner in Switzerland.

Two Alpine valleys branch out in Orsières: the pass road leads through the Val d'Entremont over the Grosser St. Bernhard into the Italian Aosta Valley and the Val Ferret west of it to the foothills of the Mont Blanc group .

history

Orsières was first mentioned as Pons Ursarii in 972 when a group of Saracens captured the abbot of Cluny, Maiolus , near the Dransebrücke . In 1052 the Bishop of Sitten Aymon transferred the village and serfs inherited from his uncle Count Ulrich to the cathedral chapter . From the 12th century it became dependent on the Counts of Savoy . Since the 13th century the community has regulated its own affairs at a court assembly. From 1352 onwards, a mayor under the rule of a mistral ran the community's affairs. The place received its first letter of freedom in 1376 from Amadeus VI. of Savoy . It was probably divided into the districts of Tiers de Ville, Tiers d'Issert and Tiers des Côtes as early as the Middle Ages.

From the Middle Ages until 1798, Orsières belonged to the Kastlanei Sembrancher, which became part of the Saint-Maurice bailiff after the victory of the Upper Valais over Savoy in 1475. During the Italian campaign , Napoleon marched through Orsières from May 17 to 20, 1800, to reach Italy via the Great Saint Bernard. Under the French rule (1810-1813), the municipality belonged within the Simplon department to the canton of Entremont in the Saint-Maurice district .

During the Second World War , the Great Saint Bernard area was fortified by the Swiss Army. At that time, the Champex and Commeire artillery works were established .

population

Population development
year	1339	1356	1402	1798	1850	1900	1950	2000	2010	2012	2014	2016
Residents	402	269	122	1784	2305	2215	2286	2630	3077	3078	3178	3220

The population developed slowly with several setbacks in the Middle Ages: 1313 (304 taxpayers), 1339 (402), 1356 (259), 1402 (122). A steady growth did not begin until the 18th century: 1798 (1784 inhabitants), 1850 (2305), 1900 (2215), 1950 (2286) and 2000 (2630).

Economy and tourism

The inhabitants traditionally worked in agriculture and grew grain (rye), as the many granaries and mills attest. In addition, there was cattle breeding (1850: 7189 head of large cattle) and own vineyards in Fully and Martigny .

In 1853 a cooperative was established to transport goods and tourists across the Great St. Bernard. In 1893 the pass road was expanded; In 1910, the Chemins de fer Martigny – Orsières line began operating from Martigny. Champex was the first tourist resort in the valley around 1850. In the 21st century, the three tourist zones Orsières, Champex-Lac and Val Ferret with the ski resorts of Champex and La Fouly developed in the large Alpine community . There are hiking trails and mountain bike trails in the municipality. The Tour du Mont-Blanc circular alpine trail leads through the hamlet of La Fouly .

Personalities

• Maurice Tornay (1910–1949), Augustinian canon in Tibet , born in La Rosière, Orsières parish, and beatified as a martyr
• Jean Troillet (* 1948 in Orsières), mountaineer
• Jean-Marie Lovey CRB (* 1950 in Orsières), Bishop of Sion
• Maurice Tornay (* 1953), politician, State Councilor of the Canton of Valais since 2009, lives in Orsières

Attractions

See also : List of cultural assets in Orsières

• 

  View of Orsières

• 

  Saint Nicolas

• 

  Place Centrale

• 

  Chapelle de Saint Eusèbe

• 

  Lac de Champex (Commune d'Orsières)

• 

  Orsières station by train ( Chemins de fer Martigny – Orsières )

literature

• Gaetan Cassina: Témoignages sur la construction de la cure d'Orsières (1779-1787) . 1979
• René Berthod: Orsières, ma commune . 1983
• Pierre Dubuis: Une économie alpine à la fin du Moyen Age: Orsières, l'Entremont et les régions voisines, 1250-1500 . 2 volumes, 1990
• Stéphane Michellod: Sur les trace de ...: La Société des guides et porteurs d'Orsières. 150 ans d'histoire. 1853-2003 . Editions à la Carte, 1999, ISBN 978-2-88464-105-0 .
• Albano Hugon: Orsières. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland . 2010 .

Web links

Commons : Orsières  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Orsières on the ETHorama platform
• Official website of the municipality of Orsières
• Le Catogne on ETHorama
• Montagne alternative: hamlet of Commeire

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Permanent and non-permanent resident population by year, canton, district, municipality, population type and gender (permanent resident population). In: bfs. admin.ch . Federal Statistical Office (FSO), August 31, 2019, accessed on December 22, 2019 . 

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