Mon site sur le net !

News/Village

Village

Traditional houses in an intimate atmosphere. A village made for lovers of authenticity. You will discover typical and surprising shops as well as sites full of history. The inhabitants are the Septimontains (of seven small hills) because the valley is nestled between 7 mounts. Continue reading and you will discover the history of some places in our beautiful village. 

The Chapel Bérouze

Dedicated to the Apostles, Peter and Paul, this chapel was built using stone from the ruins of a chapel erected at Col de Couz in 1468 and demolished in 1476 when Swiss troops invaded the Faucigny area.
Built in the square at Le Bérouze in 1481, it underwent restoration in 1660, a fact recorded in the Latin inscription on its West Front, "Nobleman Bernard Ducis fortunately renovated me at his expense in the year of Our Lord 1660".
The chapel lost its bell during the French Revolution but a new one was hung in 1824.







The large lime tree and its place

In the heart of historical Samoens, the old market and the "Large Lime Tree" evoke days gone by, while still remaining a lively meeting place at the very centre of local life.
The "Gros Tilleul" (large lime tree), which symbolises the town of Samoens, was planted in 1438 to celebrate a ruling handed down by Duke Amadeus VIII of Savoy, stating that the inhabitants of Samoens owned the Frétérolle, Chardonnière, Vigny and Cuidex alpine meadows in the neighbouring Manche valley. The "Gros Tilleul" is quite remarkable for its age and size. This famous landmark has been immortalised by numerous local authors, poets and musicians through the ages.













The Botanic Garden of Jaysinia

This alpine botanic garden was created in 1906 by Marie-Louise Cognacq-Jaÿ who founded La Samaritaine department store in Paris. It is an exceptional garden classified as a "Jardin Remarquable".

On 1st July 1838, a little girl called Marie-Louise Jaÿ was born in Samoens. She was destined to leave her mark on the village- and on Paris! At the age of 15, she set off to try her luck in the capital, where she met and married Ernest Cognacq. Together, they founded La Samaritaine, one of the city's largest department stores. It was an immediate success.
Marie-Louise and Ernest, who were childless, found themselves with a huge fortune and they spent the rest of their lives giving to worthy causes.

However, they never forgot the village where Marie-Louise was born. In 1906, they created the Jaÿsinia botanic garden as a mark of her love for the village.
It is an exceptional garden which is now classified as a "Jardin Remarquable" and is scientifically managed by the National History Museum.

Carved out of the south-facing side of the mountain, overlooking the village, La Jaÿsinia covers an area of 3,7 hectares on steeply-sloping terrain (there is a difference of 80 metres between the top and the bottom of the garden).
It is the only botanic garden of its kind in the Alps, containing no less than 5000 varieties of mountain flowers from all 5 continents, as well as a laboratory where wide-ranging research is carried out.

As such, it is a place of study and a haven of tranquillity where people can come to escape from their stressful everyday lives. It is also a "must" for anyone spending time in Samoens. A walk in this south-facing garden is a pastoral delight. The narrow path winding its way up the mountainside passes waterfalls and fountains before reaching the ruins of the 12th century Tornalta castle and a 13th century chapel. The higher one goes, the more panoramic the view of the small town below. This is indeed a walk worthy of the finest paintings by romantic landscape artists.