Al seÃ±orÃo llevado

Geography

Mountainous area, the commune of Saint-Eustace is located in a small valley at the south-west of the Lac of Annecy, between the peaks of the Rock of Oxen (1 774 m plumb with the collar of Leschaux) and of the Semnoz (1 699 m with the crêt of Châtillon on Viuz-la-Chiésaz). The lowest altitude is of 600 m on Laudon close to the hamlet of Entredozon (Saint-Jorioz) and average altitude is approximately 728 Mr.

It is crossed by one of the three principal torrents flowing in the Lac of Annecy.

Its surface is of 1054 hectares (10,54 km ²), including 586 ha of forests (mainly fir trees in altitude and leafy trees in " basse" altitude), therefore 55,6% of the total surface area of the commune. The presence of forests is especially included/understood on the east coast of the Semnoz, the slope less exposed to the sunning, more sloping and forsaken by the human occupation.

Hamlets : the common one counts several hamlets (arranged here by size): the chief town, Cruet, Magne, Patérier, Pierre, Puget, Bauche, Drand, Combarut.

Common bordering : Saint-Jorioz, Entrevernes, the Vault-Saint-Maurice, Leschaux

Access : Starting from Annecy, RN 508 along western bank of the lake to the exchanger located in front of the Foundry Paccard at the exit of Sévrier, then to take the RD 1O to Saint-Eustace.

History

The history of saint-Eustace is unknown with regard to antiquity, whereas with Saint-Jorioz were found installations Roman.

With the Middle Ages, the village keeps the road which leads to the Col of Leschaux which was kept by a tower seigneuriale built at the 12th century, with an aim of perceiving a toll near those which want to cross the coll the road alignment is now modified.

At the 15th century, Saint-Eustace belongs to the seigniory of Duin (currently Duingt) and in 1443, Robert de Duin sign his will in the tower seigneuriale of Castle-Old man controlling the access to the collar of Leschaux. In 1561, the village counts approximately 284 inhabitants, called the " Sanblessons".

In the middle of the 19th century, the commune knows a demographic peak, with nearly 600 inhabitants.

A dozen Eustachois find death during the First World War.

The village of Saint-Eustace is recognized like a “village martyr” of the second world war. December 22nd 1943, after the death of three German soldiers killed with the hamlet of (Lavray), the German authorities react while sending, on December 31st, of the men of the Wehrmacht, the Gestapo and the Schutzstaffel on the commune. 28 inhabitants will be stopped (either 10% of the population), and 24 of them will be off-set. Only 4 will return.

This tragedy is described in an opuscule entitled the Tragedy of Saint-Eustace (Town hall of Saint-Eustace and the Association of the families of the deportees of Saint-Eustace, 2003, ISBN 2-915516-00-6):

" on Wednesday, December 22, 1943, three German soldiers, whose officer, are killed with the Hamlet of Lavray. The mill of Jean Armataffet, mayor of Saint-Eustace, has just been the theater of a bloody confrontation between the irregular force Simon and the German soldiers in food search. Revenge is not made wait and on December 31st, 1943, Wehrmacht, the S and Gestapo encircle at dawn several hamlets of the commune, plunder the farms and stop 28 inhabitants (more than 10% of the population) who are led to the school " prison" Saint-François in Annecy. After interrogation, 4 will be slackened, 24 will know the concentration camps and 4 only will return in 1945 to Saint-Eustace, where 9 widows and 33 orphans hope… " Guy Pégatoquet, Michel Folliet and Joseph Tilliet, the tragedy of Saint-Eustace, Memory of the last day, 2003

Places and monuments

the tower of Castle-old man is located towards the hamlet of Lavray. One can still see the foundations of a cylindrical tower of the 12th century. It was built by the lords of Duin (currently Duingt, to which Saint-Eustace belonged). It was intended at the beginning to supervise the road which led to the collar of Leschaux and which passed formerly here. Robert de Duin signs its will in there 1443. The castle will keep importance, until the Revolution, time when it will be given up, and its materials re-used for the construction of other buildings.

the Parish church of Saint-Eustace current is a not very old construction, because it was set up in 1866. It is a simple building of style neogothic, sober, which tries to imitate the style of the churches of the 13th century. The frontage, framed by the war memorials of the two wars, presents an ogival bay in its center. Along the exterior facade, engraved tomb stones, simple plates, are embedded in the wall. They are some of the tombs of the former priests of saint-Eustace. The bell-tower draws up its cross with nearly thirty meters of the ground. The interior of the church is deprived of decorations. The intersecting ribs fall down in bottom of lamp, one has three spans in the length with the low transept. The stained glasses are modern, except for two bays in the transept, which are older. The chorus is composed of three sides. In the center, a cross symbolizes Christendom. In the left transept, there is a furnace bridge with an immense statue of the Virgin to the Child. In the nave, one meets a polychrome way of cross and six white false-marble statues with, with the top of the entry, a statue of the Sacred Heart.

the crosses . As on much communes, Holy Eustace, has a great number of religious crosses, which formerly were used as benchmark. One finds them with the crossroads of the roads or on the tops of the surrounding mountains. It is necessary all the same to announce some crosses more important than the others:

the " cross-blanche" , located at the crossroads éponyme, to the junction enters D10 and D10b. It is a cross of white stone crossroads (calcareous), carved by Tavernier, sculptor in Annecy, the end of the 19th century.
the imposing cross of Cochette, located at 1.336m of altitude, on the summit rock of the mountain of Entrevernes. The current cross is rather recent, but replaces older.

the Town hall-school built towards 1880 is the emblematic building of the commune. It is characterized by its pink color and its inscription " SAINT-EUSTACHE 728m". The school was always present at the town hall and always accommodates the nursery school. The primary classes are located at the Vault-Saint-Maurice and Leschaux.

the room of the gentians is the communal village hall, built in 1945, it was used at the beginning as theater. The basements and the roofs, formerly livable, today are enough dilapidated and await a rehabilitation. Recently, the room does not belong any more to the ecclesiastical field.

the old bridge of the Cure , old bridge in half-circle builds at the 19th century, another bridge similar was constuit in the sector with Entredozon. It is embanked today.

the basins , formerly essential components of the social life of the rural communes, each hamlet of Saint-Eustace has one of them even two. The women found themselves there to wash clothing there and to discuss there.

typical dwellings . It is difficult to attach the style of the farms eustachoises to the style of the Savoyard farms. Let us say that they strongly resemble the farms baujues, but those of the Albanian and the country of Faverges are rather near also. In fact, it is a little a mixture of all these associated types. On the other hand, which gives him this character bauju, it is the fact that the hamlets are grouped in large body of farms very close from/to each other, and grouped between them with short distances between each hamlet. Obviously, modern construction deteriorated this character because now, almost all the hamlets are touched between them.

Demography

Some family names eustachoises - Ducret (Puget, Cruet, Drand, chief town) - Barat (Cruet, Drand, chief town, Magne) - Barithel (Cruet, Chief town) - Chappet (Pierre) - Cottard (Combarut, Cruet) - Girollet (Puget) - Nicollin (Patérier) - Nicollet (Magne) - Masset (Bauche) - Exertier (Place Chief) - Bertocchi (more recent) - Pévérill (emigrated recent of America),

Administration

Economy

Tourism

Saint-Eustace currently forms part of the 52 communes of the Regional natural park of the Solid mass of the Wallows.

Saint-Eustace is a rural district which knew to limit constructions in all kinds and thus to preserve its environment. It offers an interesting biodiversity, in particular by its forests rich in gasolines of local trees (fir trees, hazel trees, chestnuts, chestnut trees, beeches, birches, spruces…) or its flora (lichens and various types of typically regional flowers), but also a varied and little driven out wildlife.

Personalities related to the commune

See too

Common of Haute-Savoie

External bonds

nonofficial site

Random links:

Al seÃ±orÃ­o llevado