Giez (Haute-Savoie)
Giez | ||
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region | Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes | |
Department | Haute-Savoie | |
Arrondissement | Annecy | |
Canton | Faverges | |
Community association | Sources du Lac d'Annecy | |
Coordinates | 45 ° 45 ′ N , 6 ° 15 ′ E | |
height | 472-1,782 m | |
surface | 12.65 km 2 | |
Residents | 541 (January 1, 2017) | |
Population density | 43 inhabitants / km 2 | |
Post Code | 74210 | |
INSEE code | 74135 | |
Website | Giez | |
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Giez is a French commune in the department of Haute-Savoie in the region of Auvergne Rhône-Alpes .
geography
Giez is located at 510 m , west of Faverges , about 19 kilometers southeast of the city of Annecy (as the crow flies). The village extends on the southern edge of the wide Faverges valley furrow, which separates the Bornes Alps in the north from the Bauges massif in the south, at the northern foot of the Pointe de Vélan.
The area of the municipal area of 12.65 km² covers a section of the Savoy Alps. The northern part of the municipality is taken up by the roughly 2 km wide valley furrow, which stretches from Lac d'Annecy to Ugine and was created by the Ice Age glaciers. This partly muddy valley basin is drained from the Eau Morte to the northwest to Lac d'Annecy. To the south, the municipality extends over a densely wooded slope ( Bois de l'Adduit ) into the nature reserve of the massif of the Bauges and reaches the highest point of Giez at 1783 m on the Pointe de Vélan .
In addition to the actual town center, Giez also includes various hamlet settlements and farmsteads, including:
- Bourgeal ( 500 m ) on the edge of the Faverges valley furrow, east of Giez
- Rovagny ( 495 m ) on the southern edge of the Faverges valley furrow
Neighboring communities of Giez are
- Faverges-Seythenex with Faverges in the north and east and Seythenex in the south,
- Jarsy in the south,
- Doussard in the west.
history
Giez is first mentioned in the 13th century under the names Gy and Gyé . The place name goes back to the Gallo-Roman gender name Gaius and means something like Gaius' estate. Giez Castle has belonged to the noble Villette family since 1204. The iron ore deposits in the area have been exploited since the late Middle Ages, and the iron was processed in Giez. In the 18th and 19th centuries there was a taffeta factory in the village.
Attractions
The village church of Saint-Barthélemy was built in 1846 in the neoclassical style and has a baroque altar . Around 1430 the Château de Gye was built in its present form; major renovations and alterations took place in the 19th century.
population
Population development | |
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year | Residents |
1962 | 284 |
1968 | 290 |
1975 | 283 |
1982 | 344 |
1990 | 341 |
1999 | 446 |
2006 | 527 |
With 541 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2017) Giez is one of the small communities in the Haute-Savoie department. In the course of the 19th and 20th centuries, the number of inhabitants decreased continuously due to strong emigration (in 1861 there were still 474 inhabitants in Giez). Since the beginning of the 1980s, however, there has been a significant increase in population.
Economy and Infrastructure
Giez was a predominantly agricultural village well into the 20th century . Today there are various local small businesses, including a sawmill. Many workers are commuters who work in the larger towns in the area. Giez is the location of a golf course.
The village is off the main thoroughfares but is easily accessible from the main N508 road from Annecy to Albertville . Giez owned a train station on the Albertville-Doussard railway line, which is now closed.