Cilaos

Cilaos is a common French, located in the department and the area of the Réunion.
Its inhabitants is called Cilaosiens.

The blazon of Cilaos represents, on white zone, the forest of cryptomeria S: omnipresent, always renewed, never the same one. The central escutcheon symbolizes the sources, this beneficial water popularized by Mac-Auliffe: torrents, arm and cascades which make circus a blued lace ornament.

Geography

Cilaos is located at the center of the island, in the natural Cirque of the same name, in the southern part of the Massif of the Piton of Snows. The whole of its communal territory is in the Tops.

The communes bordering are the Oars, the Interval, Saint-Benoît, Saint-Leu, Saint-Louis, Saint-Paul, Salazie and Three-Basins.

One reaches the circus by the road since Saint-Louis. With foot, the access modes are more numerous. One will quote the Col of Taïbit, in the North-West, from which the walkers come from return of Mafate. To the North-East, another path leads to the Piton of Snows while passing by the Forêt of Large Matarum.

See also:

History

First inhabitants

The word Cilaos would come from the word Malgache Tsilaosa , which means “the place that one does not leave”. In reference to this supposed origin, the currency of the commune is “ Cilaos, one returns there always ”.

Nevertheless, according to certain historians, the word Cilaos would rather find its origins in the name of a Malagasy slave named " Tsilaos" , which would have taken refuge in this circus. It is besides by these “maroon” Esclaves (or “black chestnuts”) in escape that Cilaos was initially populated. Escaped from in their Masters, the chestnuts benefitted from the difficulty of access of the site to live there with complete freedom and in full nature.

Some of these slaves had settled with the Ilet with Cords, which would owe its name with the fact that the runaway slaves who hid there could reach this plate only by cords thrown since the top of the ramparts. Believing itself in safety, they were very quickly taken drives out some by " hunters of marrons" armed and organized. In their escape, much out of chestnuts were killed. Among these hunters Mussard appeared (one of most known with the Réunion), which made in October 1851 an incursion with Ilet with Cords, where he discovered two camps of slaves in escape. Traces of the marronage remain in particular in the forest of Tapcal, where recent forwardings updated bones.

After the tragic history of these first maroon inhabitants, who were certainly also the first to trace these " paths of chèvres" who climb the majority of the abrupt mountains of the circus, Cilaos remained one uninhabited moment. It is with 1850 that officially its first settlement goes up. But as of 1835 the " arrived; small blancs" the poor and without grounds. These colonists developed a food agriculture of self-subsistence (lenses, corn, wine, garden peas, beans, citrus fruits, breeding,…). The first families are installed then with the Arm of Saint-Paul and others on Ilet with Cords. Certain installations go back to the 4th generation, but it seems that the first owners, made at the beginning of the 20th century, were Gonthier and the Picardy one.

In 1866, the population reaches 960 inhabitants. At the beginning of the 20th century, Cilaos counts 2500 inhabitants. It reaches with the census of 1982 the number of 5629 inhabitants.

Cilaos before the construction of the road in 1932

Before 1932, the voyage to go from Saint-Louis to the village of Cilaos was done, for richest, in or chair sedan-chair with trifles. The travellers and the carriers in general spent the night to the islet of the House, which counted at the beginning of the exploitation thermal baths forty inhabitants. It was the first halt of the travellers and the carriers before facing the steep slopes of the path of Cape Noir.

The continuation of the voyage was then vertiginous: there was a way of the House until Peterboth, which was traced on the edge of the mountain between the Bras of Cilaos and the Small Arm. At certain places, the way if was tightened that the crossing of people could frighten. The villagers who took along their harvests towards the coast with their oxen charged with bags of grains and roots, of fruit and vegetables, passed in the calm one by leaving the priority to the people of opposite.

House fell into a kind of " lethargy économique" , the houses were emptied gradually, and its role of islet of reception disappeared.

The construction of road (RN 5)

After long hesitations as for the feasibility and a few years of negotiation, the construction of the road of Cilaos (the RN 5) began in 1927. In spite of its relatively long way (35 km since Saint-Louis), work advanced rather quickly thanks to the very friable rock characterizing the geology of the circus.

In 1930, 30 km of road were bored in the rock, but this year, a completely particular problem arises to the engineers. Indeed, when the two teams meet to a few hundred meters of House, the two sections are not opposite. Engineer Telmar then proposes to prolong the two sections of two turns each one, to make a loop, so that the road is rolled up on itself.

The road was finished in 1931 and was opened with circulation in 1932.

Cilaos after 1932

The March 15th 1965, Cilaos is set up in commune and administratively becomes independent of the commune of Saint-Louis of which it was an old section. It is the most recent commune of the Réunion.

Administration

The commune of Cilaos exists since the decree of the February 4th 1965. It depended before on the administration of Saint-Louis.

Infrastructures

One finds on the communal territory a public college, the college Alsace Corre, which counted 525 pupils with the re-entry 2005. There is no college.

Economy

Its main activities are tourism, the vine growing and the culture of the lens. Its embroidery, more known under the name of " days of Cilaos" , is in addition considered, the museum located at the center town in direction of the " pond with joncs" is to be visited.

Water is considered beneficial, and of the thermal baths were arranged at this place, with the greatest joy of the Creoles. A gas mineral water also exists and constitutes the first of the island.

The lenses of Cilaos are cultivated mainly in Îlet with Cords and were introduced into the years 1850. The circus produces of them already 25 tons in 1881. In 2004, the production is of 50 tons. It is the climate and the geological formation of the Circus which give a taste particular to the lenses of Cilaos, whose the gastronomes are very fond of delicacies. The commune the festival each year in October.

The Vin of Cilaos (red, rosy and white) appeared at the beginning of colonization. In 1975, a decree of law prohibits the production of Vin starting from the Isabelle type of vine, which was only cultivated. The State then entrusts to the CIRAD the noble type of vine selection to give to the wine growers an alternative to Isabelle. Three type of vines were selected: Malbec, Chenin and black Pinot. It is only into 1998 that 8 hectares of type of vines are set up and make it possible to carry out wine makings of good quality. Today, a score of hectares are cultivated and make the pride of these villagers.

Famous characters

Tourist monuments and places

The Carrier of Life

This monument in homage to the " Carriers of chaise" , located on the place of the town hall, was carved by Élodie Kornheiser and set up in November 1999. It represents a man with his " chair with porteur" on the back, its finger pointing towards the Piton of Snows, more the high summit of the island.

The church of Cilaos

The Notre-Dame church of Snows, with her chime and its cross phosphorescent blue which illuminates the night of the circus, was built in 1858. It becomes parish on February 25th 1858. Notre-Dame of snows, who is celebrated on August 5th, was remade on several occasions between 1937 and 1938.

Twinning

Text of the charter of twinning with Chamonix:

“ Us, mayors of Cilaos and Chamonix-Mount-White, some to answer the aspirations of our fellow-citizens, wished, facing seas and oceans, to bring closer and confront our mutual experiments. We promise, animated of a real will that point to reach, seek with us to better know by the universality of our exchanges to share our joys and our sorrows.
We take the solemn undertaking to maintain bonds permanent between our two municipalities and the populations of our communes, to combine our efforts in order to help with the success of this company of friendship, bases of a fraternity which should become universal ”.

See too

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