Mayres-Savel () is a commune in the

Isère Isère ( , ; ; , ) is a landlocked Departments of France, department in the southeastern French Regions of France, region of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. Named after the river Isère (river), Isère, it had a population of 1,271,166 in 2019.

department in southeastern

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. It borders the communes of Marcieu to the west, Saint-Arey to the east and Prunières to the north. The largest

alpine pasture Alpine transhumance is transhumance as practiced in the Alps, that is, a seasonal droving of grazing livestock between the valleys in winter and the high mountain pastures in summer (German language, German ' from the term for "seasonal mount ...

in France, which is called Senépy and is at an altitude of 1769m, is within the boundaries of the commune. It hosts a herd of around 1000 cattle. Mayres-Savel is separated from Saint-Arey by a large ravine. At the border with Saint-Arey, but within the borders of the commune of Mayres-Savel is an unusual rock formation called '''La Demoiselle' (''which is French for '''The Maiden'''). '''Demoiselle coiffée is a French word for the rock formation called a hoodoo in English.

History

The Chateau de Savel, at the centre of the eponymous

seigneurie In English law, seignory or seigniory, spelled ''signiory'' in Early Modern English (; ; ), is the lordship (authority) remaining to a grantor after the grant of an estate in fee simple. '' Nulle terre sans seigneur'' ("No land without a lord") ...

( or fiefdom), was described as a

fortified house A fortified house or fortified mansion is a type of building which developed in Europe during the Middle Ages, generally with significant fortifications added. During the earlier Roman Empire, Roman period it was common for wealthy landowner ...

by Raymond del Sers in a census from 1399 who said "quod dictum castrum non nomiauitur castrum I sed domum fortem" which approximately translates to "as for the castle, it is not called a castle but a fortified house." The Lord of the castle at the time was Lantelme Eynard. The ruins of the Chateau are still within the bounds of Mayre-Savel. The old bridge across the Drac, the mountain tributary which marked out the limit of the fiefdom, was knocked down in 1720 to isolate the village and protect its inhabitants from the plague. The commune of Savel was submerged when the Monteynard Dam was built in 1962. To preserve the memory of Savel, its name was incorporated in that of the neighbouring commune of Mayres along with the remaining land from former Savel which was still above water.

Population

Its inhabitants are called ''Mayrants'' or ''Mayrantes'' in French.

History

Population

See also