Collar of the Large-Saint-Bernard

History

Prehistory

For the Neolithic , the collar would have been used, of passage for the first inhabitants of the Valais who would have supplied themselves out of stones in the Val of Aoste; the shifts in population had to continue until the age of iron and certainly during the period of Tène.

Antiquity

The first historical mention of the inhabitants of the Valley of Aoste, the Salted, goes back to their defeat vis-a-vis the Romans in 133 av. J. - C. The latter had certainly built a shelter on the collar, as well as a temple with the Celtic god PEN. Perhaps according to Tite-Live, ( Roman History V-35), the Celtic Boïens and Lingons crossed the collar before settling in Italy North to the IV E Certaines historical interpretations without base, and already rejected by Tite-Live, even made there pass the punic army of Hannibal Barca and its elephants in October -218. The Romans identified the god PEN with Jupiter with whom they set up a statue. The collar then took the name of collar of the Mount-Joux, and PEN gave its name to the solid mass, the the Alps pennines. The antique sees Roman always exists, it skirts in against-low the current access road to the coll. The collar is the culminating point and one of the most difficult passages of the Via Francigena, way of driving pilgrimage to Rome, of which the oldest route is given by Sigéric, in 990; this last did not sleep on the collar, but with Bourg-Saint-Pierre, then with Saint-Rhémy-in-Bumps.

the Middle Ages

The collar of the Mount-Joux, privileged crossing point of the tradesmen and the pilgrims, was the place of many armed robberies, in particular of Buckwheats which had occupied the area for one half-century. Saint-Bernard from Menthon, which had pity of the unhappy one which died there regularly, obtained from the bishop of Aoste that a forwarding delivers the place of the brigands and that the destroyed old people's home either rebuilt (in year 968) to lodge and help the travellers. Thus in recognition the collar took thereafter the name of its benefactor. The Old people's home was then placed under the jurisdiction of the bishop of Sion, prefect and count of the Valais. This characteristic explains the fact that the entirety of the collar is today in Swiss territory. This collar was one of the principal passages of the the Alps until the 14th century and the installation of the collar of the Saint Gothard. The Col of the Large-Saint-Bernard is now known for its old people's home and its homonymous dogs.

18th century and 19th century

Bonaparte spent there in May 1800. The painter David immortalisa this moment in a major artistic work: the First Consul crossing the Alps with the collar of the Large-Saint-Bernard where it represents a Bonaparte assembled on an impetuous horse, whereas actually it assembled a mule, animal considered to be surer for the paths of high-mountain.

contemporary Time

The motor-road, traced in 1905 and having a declivity of 9%, is practicable only when snow sufficiently melted, at the beautiful season. It is doubled by a road tunnel paying of 5.850 meters dug in 1964, which shelters the European Route E27. The access road to the tunnel is covered, the northern entry, side Valais is located at 1.918 meters of altitude and the southern entry, side Val of Aoste to 1.875 meters, the transalpine connection is thus practicable all the year.

See too

Random links: