Vallorcine
| Vallorcine | ||
|---|---|---|
|
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| region | Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes | |
| Department | Haute-Savoie | |
| Arrondissement | Bonneville | |
| Canton | Le Mont-Blanc | |
| Community association | Vallée de Chamonix-Mont-Blanc | |
| Coordinates | 46 ° 2 ′ N , 6 ° 56 ′ E | |
| height | 1,120-3,098 m | |
| surface | 44.57 km 2 | |
| Residents | 400 (January 1, 2017) | |
| Population density | 9 inhabitants / km 2 | |
| Post Code | 74660 | |
| INSEE code | 74290 | |
| Website | www.vallorcine.com | |
Vallorcine (German: Bärental ) is a French commune in the department of Haute-Savoie in the region of Auvergne Rhône-Alpes .
geography
Vallorcine, the second easternmost municipality in the Haute-Savoie after Chamonix, is located at 1260 m , about halfway between Chamonix-Mont-Blanc and Martigny , around 65 kilometers east-southeast of the city of Geneva (as the crow flies). The village extends in the valley of the Eau Noire north of the Mont Blanc massif , in the immediate vicinity of the state border with Switzerland .
The 47.47 km² municipal area covers a section in the eastern Savoy Alps. The area occupies the entire upper part of the heavily reliefed catchment area of the Eau Noire. Several source streams unite at the northern foot of the Col des Montets to form the Eau Noire, which initially flows in an open valley to the northeast to the Rhone . The valley is flanked by wooded slopes; the tree line is mostly around 2000 m . Above that there are larger alpine meadows or rocky slopes and scree slopes. The border with the surrounding communities runs almost continuously on the watershed between Eau Noire and Arve and is marked by high mountain peaks. In the west these are Cheval Blanc ( 2831 m ), Buet (at 3099 m the highest elevation in Vallorcine) and Aiguille de Bérard ( 2663 m ), in the south the Aiguilles du Belvédère ( 2965 m ) and the Aiguille de Mesure ( 2812 m ) belonging to the Aiguilles Rouges massif . Also in the south is the relatively low Col des Montets pass ( 1461 m ), which connects to Chamonix and the Arve Valley. In the northeast, the Barberine , the outflow of the Lac d'Emosson reservoir , partially forms the border.
In addition to the actual town center, Vallorcine also includes various hamlet and holiday settlements and farms, including:
- Barberine ( 1150 m ) in the Eau Noire valley
- Le Molard ( 1250 m ) in the Eau Noire valley
- La Villaz ( 1320 m ) on the left slope of the Eau Noire
- Le Siseray ( 1260 m ) in the Eau Noire valley
- Le Nant ( 1300 m ) in a valley widening of the Eau Noire
- Le Couteray ( 1350 m ) on the left slope of the Eau Noire valley
Vallorcine's neighboring communities are Chamonix-Mont-Blanc in the south, Passy and Sixt-Fer-à-Cheval in the west, and the Swiss communities of Finhaut in the north and Trento in the east.
history
Vallorcine is first mentioned in a document in 1264 under the name Vallis Ursine . The long-used spelling Vallorcines appeared later . The place name comes from the Latin word ursus (bear) and means valley of bears . The municipality moved from the canton of Saint-Gervais-les-Bains to the newly created canton of Chamonix-Mont-Blanc in 1864 and became part of the canton of Le Mont-Blanc in 2015 .
Attractions
The village church of Vallorcine originally dates back to the 13th century and was founded at the initiative of the Chamonix priory. It is protected from avalanches by a wall built in 1720. There is a chapel at the north foot of the Col des Montets. The Musée de Barberine, housed in a traditional 18th century house, shows local aspects of the Vallorcine area.
population
| Population development | |
|---|---|
| year | Residents |
| 1962 | 271 |
| 1968 | 314 |
| 1975 | 283 |
| 1982 | 303 |
| 1990 | 329 |
| 1999 | 390 |
With 400 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2017) Vallorcine is one of the small communities in the Haute-Savoie department. In the course of the 19th and 20th centuries, the population decreased continuously due to strong emigration (in 1861 Vallorcine still had 624 inhabitants). However, the population has increased again since the mid-1980s.
Economy and Infrastructure
Vallorcine was a predominantly agricultural village well into the 20th century . Today there are various small business enterprises. In the last few decades, Vallorcine has developed into a holiday resort thanks to its proximity to Chamonix. The municipality specializes in both summer and winter tourism.
The village is very well developed in terms of traffic. It is located on the main road N506, which leads from Chamonix over the Col des Montets and the Col de la Forclaz to Martigny. Vallorcine has a train station on the Saint-Gervais-Vallorcine railway line . From the border station Le Châtelard-Frontière , the Martigny-Châtelard-Bahn (MC) continues to Martigny.
