Saint-Gingolph (Haute-Savoie)
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| region | Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes | |
| Department | Haute-Savoie | |
| Arrondissement | Thonon-les-Bains | |
| Canton | Evian-les-Bains | |
| Community association | Pays d'Evian Vallée d'Abondance | |
| Coordinates | 46 ° 24 ' N , 6 ° 48' E | |
| height | 372-1,528 m | |
| surface | 7.33 km 2 | |
| Residents | 840 (January 1, 2017) | |
| Population density | 115 inhabitants / km 2 | |
| Post Code | 74500 | |
| INSEE code | 74237 | |
| Website | www.st-gingolph.fr | |
Saint-Gingolph is a French commune in the department of Haute-Savoie in the region of Auvergne Rhône-Alpes .
geography
Saint-Gingolph is located at 386 m , 24 kilometers east of the city of Thonon-les-Bains (as the crow flies). The village extends in the Chablais, on the south bank of Lake Geneva on the border with Switzerland , on the debris cone of the Morge at the north foot of the Grammont, which belongs to the Chablais Alps.
The area of the 7.33 square kilometer municipal area includes a section on the south bank of Lake Geneva; the lakeshore is about four kilometers. The lakeshore in this area is very steep in most places. The slopes, which are partially traversed by ledges, are densely forested and divided by several erosion channels. In the west the border runs along the Ruisseau de Locum , in the east along the Morge , which also forms the border with Switzerland. Thus, Saint-Gingolph is divided into two parts on the debris cone of the Morge on the shore of Lake Geneva into a French and a Swiss municipality. At 1520 m , the Pic de Blanchard, a foothill of the Chablais Alps, is the highest point in Saint-Gingolph.
The hamlet of Bret ( 410 m ) on a somewhat flatter point west of the village belongs to Saint-Gingolph . Neighboring communities of Saint-Gingolph are Meillerie in the west, Thollon-les-Mémises and Novel in the south and the Swiss Saint-Gingolph in the east ( canton of Valais ).
history
The area of Saint-Gingolph was already inhabited in Roman times. The place name goes back to St. Gangolf , who was an officer under Pippin the Younger and who settled here in 755. Saint-Gingolph was first mentioned in a document in 1153 under the name Sanctus Gengulfus . Later, the names Sancti Gingulphi (1200), Sanctus Gingulfus (1230) and Sanctus Gingulphus (1436) appeared.
Since the 12th century, the place was under the Abondance Abbey . The area was conquered by the Valais together with the Bernese in 1536. With the treaty of 1569 the border was moved back from the Dranse to the Morge, which led to the final division of the village of Saint-Gingolph between Savoy (later France) on the one hand and Valais (Switzerland) on the other.
On July 23, 1944, during the Second World War , six residents, including the pastor, in the French part of the village of Saint-Gingolph were shot by the German SS and the place was partially set on fire, in retaliation for an attack by the FTP Resistance , in which several people had previously been attacked had been killed. The president of the Swiss village, André Chaperon, tried to avert the catastrophe and negotiated with the SS commandant in the French part, meanwhile over 300 villagers have been able to flee to the Swiss side.
The ETH historian Klaus Urner saw Saint-Gingolph in his book Switzerland must be swallowed as a plea for Swiss defense in the Second World War as the only remaining corridor which, after being encircled by the Axis powers, still had trade relations with the Western Allies made possible. The above-mentioned incident proves, however, that this corridor could also be controlled by Hitler at will; no arms exports were possible here.
From 1973 to 1983 Novel , which is now an independent municipality again, belonged to Saint-Gingolph.
Attractions
The village church stands on the ground in the French parish of Saint-Gingolph.
population
| year | Residents |
|---|---|
| 1962 | 642 |
| 1968 | 627 |
| 1975 | 679 |
| 1982 | 665 |
| 1990 | 677 |
| 1999 | 565 |
With 840 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2017), Saint-Gingolph is one of the small communities in the Haute-Savoie department. While the population from 1960 to 1990 always fluctuated between 620 and 670 people, it has decreased significantly since then.
Economy and Infrastructure
Saint-Gingolph used to live mainly from fishing. Today there are various local small businesses. Tourism also has a certain importance in the border town. Many of the employed people are commuters who work in Évian-les-Bains and Thonon-les-Bains, but also in Switzerland.
The village is on the main road N5 that runs from Thonon-les-Bains along the lake to Le Bouveret . Another road connection is with Novel.
Between 1886 and 1938 St-Gingolph also owned a passenger station on the Léaz – Saint-Gingolph railway . The reconstruction of the railway is planned for 2022.
Web links
- Saint-Gingolph (Haute-Savoie) on the ETHorama platform