Sciez (; frp, Siéz) 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 ...

department Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

in the

Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes (ARA; ; frp, Ôvèrgne-Rôno-Ârpes; oc, Auvèrnhe Ròse Aups; it, Alvernia-Rodano-Alpi) is a region in southeast-central France created by the 2014 territorial reform of French regions; it resulted from the merger of Au ...

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 and t ...

in south-eastern

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. Sciez forms part of a transborder agglomeration known as

Grand Genève Grand Genève ("Greater Geneva" in English) is a Local Grouping of Transnational Cooperation (in French: ''groupement local de coopération transfrontalière'', or GLCT), a public entity under Swiss law, in charge of organizing cooperation within ...

(Greater Geneva).

Geography

Situation

Localization

The commune is located on the border of the Apline chain and of the

Lac Léman , image = Lake Geneva by Sentinel-2.jpg , caption = Satellite image , image_bathymetry = , caption_bathymetry = , location = Switzerland, France , coords = , lake_type = Glacial la ...

. The

is in the

département In the administrative divisions of France, the department (french: département, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level ("territorial collectivity, territorial collectivities"), between the regions of France, admin ...

in the region called

. Sciez is in the

Chablais Chablais () was a province of the Duchy of Savoy. Its capital was Thonon-les-Bains. Chablais was elevated to a duchy in 1311 by Henry VII, Holy Roman Emperor. This region is currently divided into three territories, the ''Chablais savoyard'', the ...

, between

Evian Evian ( , ; , stylized as evian) is a French company that bottles and commercialises mineral water from several sources near Évian-les-Bains, on the south shore of Lake Geneva. It produces over 2 billion plastic bottles per year. Today, Evia ...

and

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...

, near

Douvaine Douvaine () is a commune in the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France. Location Located on the old Roman way, now the National Road 5, Douvaine is part of the Canton of Sciez that includes 25 comm ...

, the medieval town of

Yvoire Yvoire () is a small medieval town in the Departments of France, department of Haute-Savoie, in the southeastern French Regions of France, region of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. It is located 24 kilometers (14.9 miles) northeast of Geneva. Geography Lo ...

and

Thonon-les-bains Thonon-les-Bains (; frp, Tonon), often simply referred to as Thonon, is a subprefecture of the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in Eastern France. In 2018, the commune had a population of 35,241. Thonon-les-Bains is ...

. Sciez is also not far from the ski slopes

Portes du Soleil Les Portes du Soleil (literally "The Doors of the Sun") is a major skisports destination in the Alps, encompassing thirteen resorts between Mont Blanc in France and Lake Geneva in Switzerland. With more than 650 km of marked pistes (claimed ...

(

Avoriaz Avoriaz (, ) is a French mountain resort in the heart of the Portes du Soleil. It is located in the territory of the commune of Morzine. It is easily accessible from either Thonon at Lake Geneva or Cluses station on the A40 motorway between Gen ...

Morzine Morzine (; frp, Morzena) is a commune in the Haute-Savoie department and Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of south-eastern France. A traditional market town in the heart of the Portes du Soleil, Morzine is dominated by chalets spread across a rive ...

, Chatel,

Les Gets Les Gets () is a commune in the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France. The village's first single-person chair lift was opened in 1938 with the first chair lift on Mont Chéry in 1954. Geography L ...

, Abondance) but also close from

Chamonix Chamonix-Mont-Blanc ( frp, Chamôni), more commonly known as Chamonix, is a commune in the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of southeastern France. It was the site of the first Winter Olympics in 1924. In 2019, it had ...

and

Mont Blanc Mont Blanc (french: Mont Blanc ; it, Monte Bianco , both meaning "white mountain") is the highest mountain in the Alps and Western Europe, rising above sea level. It is the second-most prominent mountain in Europe, after Mount Elbrus, and i ...

Climate

The climate is influenced by the nearby mountains, but the lake creates a micro-climate, which allows Sciez to enjoy relatively mild winters with temperatures averaging 0 (minimum) to 5 (maximum) Celsius, in December–January. It occasionally snows in the winter, but not always by the lake. Snow is easily accessible in the nearby mountains. Summers are temperate with an average of 13 (minimum) to 25 (maximum) Celsius, in July–August, and certain inhabitants manage to grow palm trees in their gardens.

Communication channels and transports

Sciez is located on the old Route Nationale 5 (RN5), now Départementale 1005 (D1005). This road while crossing the commune changes name and is called: Avenue de Genève, Avenue de Sciez et Avenue de Bonnatrait. Sciez is near the small train station of

Perrignier Perrignier () is a commune in the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France. See also *Communes of the Haute-Savoie department The following is a list of the 279 communes of the French department of H ...

. Regular buses serve Sciez on the Genève-Douvaine-Thonon-Evian axis. Regular buses serve

Genève , neighboring_municipalities= Carouge, Chêne-Bougeries, Cologny, Lancy, Grand-Saconnex, Pregny-Chambésy, Vernier, Veyrier , website = https://www.geneve.ch/ Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; ...

Thonon Thonon-les-Bains (; frp, Tonon), often simply referred to as Thonon, is a subprefecture of the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in Eastern France. In 2018, the commune had a population of 35,241. Thonon-les-Bains is ...

and

. Sciez harbour connects with a few other harbours around the

Lac Léman , image = Lake Geneva by Sentinel-2.jpg , caption = Satellite image , image_bathymetry = , caption_bathymetry = , location = Switzerland, France , coords = , lake_type = Glacial la ...

with boats from the

Compagnie Générale de Navigation sur le lac Léman The ' or Lake Geneva General Navigation Company (commonly abbreviated to CGN) is a public Swiss company operating ships on Lake Geneva connecting towns in both France and Switzerland including Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; g ...

Urbanism

Urban Morphology

The commune is composed of a main town and of several hamlets and localities which are : * Bonnatrait * Chavannex * Filly * La Fattaz ( Arpitan language toponym meaning ''the pocket') * Coudrée (Domaine de) * Excuvilly * Choisy * Port de Sciez * Songy * La Renouillère * Chef-Lieu * Sur les Crêts * Marignan (''Morgnan'', the Arpitan version can still be heard nowadays) * Prailles * Jussy * Le Content * Les Cinq-Chemins.

Housing

Toponymy

Heraldic

* :fr:Sciez#H.C3.A9raldique

Administration

History

Prehistory: Late Neolithic : Around -2400, a branch of the Saône-Rhône civilization, from Western Switzerland (Cordée Civilization) slowly locates on the banks of the Léman lake (Excenevex, Chens, Sciez). They exported their productions (copper beads, axes-hammers) all the way to the South of Dauphine via Annecy, Fillinges, Haute-Savoie… Bronze Age (1000 before J.C.) : Searches in the cemeteries of Douvaine and Sciez in 1977 demonstrated a strong implantation in the region.''Histoire de la Savoie.'' 1988, 3eme impression, Editions Privat. p.50 In the first century the Allobroges (Gaulois) occupied the Chablais as has been shown by discoveries of silver coins in Sciez as well as other nearby communes. A more in depth and modern history of Sciez and of the Chablais is available in the book: Hier, Aujourd'hui, Demain. SCIEZ : histoire, nature et traditions.

Population

Economy

Sciez is a tourist town. The town hold the label holiday "Station verte" since 2005 and "Pavillon Bleu" since 2009. It also holds the Famille Plus and Geopark labels of the Chablais since 2012. Sciez hosts numerous craftsmen, several shops and numerous associations.

viticulture Viticulture (from the Latin word for ''vine'') or winegrowing (wine growing) is the cultivation and harvesting of grapes. It is a branch of the science of horticulture. While the native territory of ''Vitis vinifera'', the common grape vine, ran ...

is present since already several centuries in the commune. The vineyards of Marignan are cultivated by three winegrowers, and several amateurs produce white wine mainly. The typical cépage of the region is the

Chasselas Chasselas or Chasselas blanc is a wine grape variety grown mainly in Switzerland, France, Germany, Portugal, Hungary, Romania, New Zealand, Croatia and Chile. Chasselas is mostly vinified to be a full, dry and fruity white wine. It is als ...

Places and monuments

* Église Saint-Maurice * Château de Coudrée ou Château de Forons. * Château de la Tour de Marignan. * Château de Sciez. * Musée des Sapeurs-pompiers (firefighters' museum) * Port de plaisance de Sciez (Sciez Marina) * Plage de Sciez (Sciez beach) * Domaine et Théâtre du Guidou * Musée de la Préhistoire et Géologie (Prehistory and Geology museum) * Notre Dame de Chavannex

References

External links

Site officiel de Sciez

Site de l'office de tourisme de Sciez

Fiche Station Verte de Sciez
{{Authority control Communes of Haute-Savoie