Samoëns () is a

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

in the

Haute-Savoie Haute-Savoie (; Arpitan: ''Savouè d'Amont'' or ''Hiôta-Savouè''; en, Upper Savoy) or '; it, Alta Savoia. is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of Southeastern France, bordering both Switzerland and Italy. Its prefecture is Ann ...

department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics ( physical geography), human impact characteristics ( human geography), and the interaction of humanity an ...

in south-eastern

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

. It is the principal commune for the canton which bears its name. The town of Samoëns is located in the Vallée du Giffre (Giffre Valley) in the

French Alps The French Alps are the portions of the Alps mountain range that stand within France, located in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur regions. While some of the ranges of the French Alps are entirely in France, others, such as ...

Stonemasons

Stone has long been a traditional feature of the Upper Giffre Valley which is dotted with

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

quarries (hardness coefficient, 13). To supplement their income from farming, the men in the region used to work stone. In 1659, there were so many ''frahans'' (the local name for stonecutters and masons) in Samoëns and their expertise was so well known that they set up a very famous brotherhood. It engaged in charity work, taking care of the sick and training young apprentices in its own school of draughtsmen, which had an extensive library. The members of the brotherhood of masons and stonecutters in Samoëns were contacted for leading construction projects. They worked with Vauban on his fortifications, were commissioned by

Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader wh ...

to build canals in Saint-Quentin, and worked in

Givors Givors (; frp, Givôrs) is a commune in the Metropolis of Lyon in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in eastern France. Location It lies at the confluence of the Rhone and the Gier about south of Lyon and on the main road between that city and Sai ...

and even further afield, in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

and Australia. To ensure that they were not understood by outsiders when talking to each other, they used their own dialect, called ''mourmé''.J. Desormaux, "Mélanges savoisiens, VIII. L'argot des ramoneurs", (1912) 26 ''Revue de philologie française et de littérature'' p 77 ()
Gallica
Bibliothèque nationale de France, département Littérature et art, 8-X-4072, 2011 accessed 7 January 2013. "Le ''mourmé'', parlé à Samoëns, comme le ''mènedigne'' ou ''mannedigne'', en usage à Morzine et à Montriond, est l'argot propre aus ''frahans'', tailleurs de pierre et maçons de ces localités du Chablais." (''mourmé'', spoken at Samoëns, as with ''mènedigne'' or ''mannedigne'', in use at Morzine and at Montriond, is the argot of the ''frahans'', stonecutters and masons of these places in Chablais district.) Evidence of their work can be seen all over the village, in its architecture. Even now, there are a number of stonecutters upholding the tradition in Samoëns and the brotherhood has become a cultural association, the ''Société des Maçons''.

Tourist destination

The town carries the designation of a " ville fleurie" distinguishing it as one of the most beautiful towns in

. Approximately a 70 km drive from Geneva Airport, Samoens is a summer destination as well as the site of a

ski resort A ski resort is a resort developed for skiing, snowboarding, and other winter sports. In Europe, most ski resorts are towns or villages in or adjacent to a ski area – a mountainous area with pistes (ski trails) and a ski lift system. In Nort ...

that departs from a lift (Grand massif Express) at the edge of town linking up to Samoëns 1600. Also known as the Plateau des Saix, this resort is part of the larger five-town Grand Massif which includes

Flaine Flaine is a ski area in the Haute Savoie region of the French Alps, and is a part of the linked Grand Massif domain. It is in the territory of the communes of Magland and Arâches-la-Frasse. Flaine is linked to Samoëns, Morillon, Les Carroz ...

and Morillon. Samoëns has been awarded the 'Famille Plus Montagne' label. Samoëns is the only winter sports resort to be classified by the Caisse Nationale des Monuments Historiques. As well as skiing, Samoens offers a range of non-skiing activities including dog-sledding, indoor climbing, caving and diving under ice.

Jaysinia and the Cognac-Jaÿ Foundation

Jaÿsinia Jaÿsinia (3.7 hectares) is a botanical garden specializing in alpine flowers, located in Samoëns, Haute-Savoie, Rhône-Alpes, France. It is open daily except when there is snow on the ground; admission is free. The garden was established in 19 ...

(3.7 hectares) is a

botanical garden A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens, an ...

specializing in alpine flowers, established in 1906 by Marie-Louise Cognacq-Jaÿ, a native of Samoëns and founder of La Samaritaine department store in Paris. Since 1936 it has been directed by the Scientific Division of Botany from the

National Museum of Natural History The National Museum of Natural History is a natural history museum administered by the Smithsonian Institution, located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., United States. It has free admission and is open 364 days a year. In 2021, with 7 ...

. It is open all year and is free of charge.

Chapels

There are nine chapels in and around Samoëns, in addition to many shrines and other cultural buildings. Most were built in the 17th century, except for the chapel in Le Bérouze – dating from the 15th century – and the one in Les Allamands, dating from the 19th century. Two of these buildings were moved from the sites where they were originally constructed. The chapel in Le Bérouze was originally built at the mountain pass known as "Col de Couz", but it was badly damaged during an invasion by Swiss troops in 1476. Four years later, it was decided to rebuild it on the main square. In Mathonex, the chapel now overlooks the village, but the original building was much closer to the village centre; its relocation became a necessity after a landslide.

References

For Premier Accommodation in Samoens please visi
www.alpsaccommodation.com

External links