Saint-Gingolph is a small town situated on the south bank of

Lake Geneva Lake Geneva is a deep lake on the north side of the Alps, shared between Switzerland and France. It is one of the List of largest lakes of Europe, largest lakes in Western Europe and the largest on the course of the Rhône. Sixty percent () ...

(Lac Léman). It sits at the

France–Switzerland border The France–Switzerland border is long. Its current path is mostly the product of the Congress of Vienna of 1815, with the accession of Geneva, Neuchâtel and Valais to the Swiss Confederation, but it has since been modified in detail, the la ...

and is administratively divided into Saint-Gingolph, Valais (Switzerland) and

Saint-Gingolph, Haute-Savoie Saint-Gingolph () is a commune in the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France. It lies at the outflow of the river Morge into Lake Geneva. With the adjacent Swiss municipality Saint-Gingolph, it forms ...

(France). Its name is derived from the eighth-century saint

Gangulphus Gangulphus of Burgundy (died 11 May 760 AD) is venerated as a martyr by the Catholic Church. Gangulphus was a Burgundian courtier whose historical existence can be attested by only a single document: a deed from the court of Pepin the Short, date ...

, who is said to have lived as a hermit in this region. Its division at the Morge dates from 1569: as the municipal Web site explains, it is one town consisting of a single parish (the church and cemetery are on the French side) with two municipal administrations and two distinct legal systems.

History

The town played an important role during the

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

when Haute Savoie was occupied first by the

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

and then by the Nazi German Armed Forces. The fact of large-scale intermarriage and business and family connections across the frontier made it possible for the Resistance to smuggle goods, arms and refugees (including many French Jews) across the border, often using a secret tunnel (no longer in existence; it was actually a drainage pipe) located near the lake. These stories are documented in a book privately published in 1994 by the late André Zénoni, "Saint-Gingolph et sa région frontière dans la Résistance 1940-1945". (Intermarriage across the frontier is less frequent in the modern age because there are separate primary schools ("L'École André Zénoni" on the French side) and French lycéens are bussed to Evian, while Swiss students take the train to Monthey. Thereafter, each tend to seek employment in their own country. In any case, the town is so small that there are only two or three weddings recorded in a year.)

Transport

The Swiss railway line from St Maurice and Martigny terminates at Saint-Gingolph (Switzerland), the French line from Evian to Saint-Gingolph having been abandoned in the late 1980s. There is now discussion of resuscitating the line by 2012; this has been mentioned in the Swiss and French press but the outlook, according to Swiss railway workers, is dubious. The old, unelectrified, French tracks remain in place.

Notable people

Pierre de Rivaz Pierre de Rivaz (17111772) was a French clockmaker of the 18th century, from Saint-Gingolph. He built a clock in 1740 that was powered by variations in air temperature and pressure, a type of Atmos clock. See also *Marine chronometer A marine ...

, clockmaker

References

{{authority control Divided cities Geography of Haute-Savoie Villages in Valais France–Switzerland border crossings Populated places on Lake Geneva