Fayet

Nested almost all at the bottom of the average Valley of Arve in Haute-Savoie, with 580 meters of altitude, Fayet is a large borough primarily located on the commune of Saint-Gervais-the-Baths to which it is attached administratively. However, with the economic development and the increase in the population, the agglomeration extended considerably and the continuity of the frame is also propagated towards Passy. Having its particular characteristics, Fayet has aspired for several years to becoming a commune with whole share.

The inhabitants of Fayet are called Fayerands, Fayerandes. The etymology of the toponym is to be sought as regards Latin fagus : the beech, called the beech in certain areas.

The usual statistics and information concerning the communes (surface, demographic trends etc) are not available insofar as they are not differentiated between Fayet itself and the unit from the commune of Saint-Gervais.

The zip code is: 74.190 THE FAYET

History

In the beginning, Fayet is a hamlet located at 200 meters below the village of Saint-Gervais, with some dwellings (primarily of the farms and one or two sawmills) dispersed with mountainside in the intermediate zone, with the localities Fayet-of-medium and Fayet-of in-high.

Two factors contributed to the development of Fayet as of: they are the hydrotherapy and the railroad.

Hydrotherapy

It is indeed on the territory of Fayet that the thermal baths are established which authorize the extension " Bains" in the name of the commune of Saint-Gervais.

Water strongly mineralized and rich in trace elements, ferruginous, sulphurized, sodic and naturally radioactive, leaves hot to 32° in any season; they are famous for care ORL (nose-throat-ears: treatment of the sinusitises, anginas, otitises with repetition) and also, because of their healing and regenerating virtues, in dermatology, in particular for the badly burned persons and the treatment of affections such as eczema, the psoriasis, the rose acne. The source was discovered in 1806. The thermal baths quickly developed and Fayet thus took part in the great vogue of the baths in. One counted 600 visitors in 1824. Large luxurious hotels were built to accommodate the fortunate customers which the curists constituted at the time.

the catastrophe of 1892 stops this prosperity brutally.

In the night of July 12th, 1892, a pocket of water accumulated under the glacier of Russet-red Head breaks of only one blow, of the thousands of cubic meters of water is engulfed in the combe of Bionnassay, partly destroys the village of Bionnay, before being inserted in the throat of the Good-Nant (or Bonnant). The hydropathic establishment which is with the outlet of the throat is carried by the force of the torrent which carts with him mud and rocks. The building is completely destroyed and one counts nearly 200 victims in the valley.

The thermal baths were quickly rebuilt but less and less, the fact in particular of the vulgarizing of road transport, the curists felt held to be placed on the spot.

It is certain that Fayet, located at the bottom of the valley, constitutes a vacation resort less prestigious than Saint-Gervais. The large hotels périclitent the ones after the others; some are transformed into houses of children in the years 1930-1970, others in apartments. The last of them to undergo this transformation in the years 1960 is " Savoy" who draws up himself at the entry of the thermal park.

Railroads

After the installation of the railway main roads through France, the end of the century saw developing a vast program of ramifications of the secondary lines (Freycinet plan) into the most moved back campaigns: within this framework, Fayet became in 1898 the terminus of the line coming from the Roche-sur-Foron and Annecy, managed by the Compagnie of the railroad the Paris-Lyon-Mediterranean (PLM).

We are not any more at the time where the English Wyndham spent three days to rejoin Geneva with Chamonix. This way is achieved now in three hours. The P.L.M. - to which graces are returned for so many facilities granted to the travellers - organized the summer a fast and comfortable service for Chamonix. One leaves the evening Paris in excellent through carriages and to corridor which transport you, like in a dream, through an amazing variety of landscapes. When you awake the morning, you will not have enough eyes to admire the harmonious curves of the mounts, the splendor and the luxuriance of the average valley of Arve. The white cascades tumbling down of the rocks will rock your alarm clock, and you will arrive thus at Fayet-Saint-Gervais, where you will get out of coach to get into the electric train bound for Chamonix.
in H. BOLAND, Excursions in France , Bookstore Hatchet and Co, 1908

Starting from Fayet, two other lines made it possible to be inserted more deeply in the mountainous solid mass: on the one hand, a line with metric gauge track, also belonging to company PLM, opened with the public in 1901, served the valley of Chamonix until Vallorcine, at the border of Switzerland; in addition, the Tram of Mont Blanc (TMB), cog railway on most of its course, managed by an independent privately held company, led towards Saint-Gervais, the hamlets of Montivon and Bionnay, the collar of Voza (to pronounce " Voze"), the glacier of Bionnassay and the Eyrie. The first section to the collar of Voza and summer inaugurated in 1909.

From the start the station of Fayet, with its " dépôt" and its sidings, has an strategic importance, since it is in its perimeter that the workshops of heavy engineering are established for the repair of rolling stock.

Thus, located all at the bottom of the valley, the station of railroad in all logic should have been called " Fayet-the-Baths - Saint-Gervais" , since as well the station as the thermal baths are located on the territory of Fayet. It is unquestionably with its geographical location in the content of a bottom of bag that Fayet owes its early economic prosperity. It is, with Chedde right at side, the last easily accessible territory before the mountainous reliefs.

Current economic activity

Transport

Today still, Fayet is to some extent the main door in the country of Mont Blanc. For this reason, it always constitutes an important rail junction, terminus of three different lines:

the line the SNCF with normal way: the station officially called " Saint-Gervais-the-baths it Fayet" is served by FOR THE THIRD TIME (trains regional expresses) on the Rhone-Alps area and, in season, by TGV which make the way Fayet-Paris in five hours, and go beyond until Lille. In spite of the direct connection by the trains of broad outlines towards Dijon and Paris, one can fear that the daily circulation of the night train between Fayet and Paris-Austerlitz is threatened in low season.

line the SNCF with metric gauge track (one meter of spacing enters the rails), from now on baptized “Mont Blanc Express”: it serves the ski stations on the course (Houches, Chamonix, Argentière), then it continues, beyond the border, towards Martigny in Switzerland (Railroad Martigny-Châtelard).

the Tram of Mont Blanc (TMB): bound for the high mountain, its vocation is exclusively tourist. It is exploited today by the Compagnie of Mont Blanc which also manages many installations of ski lifts in the solid mass, of which in particular the cable car of the needle of the South and the Railroad of Montenvers.

There is in complement a coach station for the local service roads and the stations not served by the train, such as Contaminate-Montjoie Them or the plate of ESA and Plain-Joux.

At Fayet also the end of the highway A40 arrives, known as “white highway”, who leads until Chamonix and to the Tunnel of Mont Blanc. Indeed, after Fayet, the highway continues with an expressway which, above Chedde, borrows an imposing viaduct in the rising direction: the viaduct of Égratz (or of Égrats). The old road, from now on in one way going down, follows a cornice to mountainside. In the two directions, this way is borrowed by a continuous flow of heavy trucks which make the connection with Italy.

Industry

In connection with the transport sector, Fayet knows an important activity in the field of the building and public works.

On the Good-Nant (" nant" wants to say " torrent" into Savoyard) is a small old hydroelectric factory, supplied with pressure pipes, and which functions from now on with a modern turbine.

As in all the valley, in Fayet developed a diffuse activity of undercutting (shaping of small parts of mechanics), primarily in small companies of less than ten workmen.

Tourism

Fayet completely lost its rural character and its tourist aspect. It became a crossing point without interest by itself.

However, by the renewal of its applications, hydrotherapy knows today an renewed interest and the frequentation increases regularly.

To the traditional therapeutic regulations is added from now on the activity of a beauty parlor with cures of back in shape and the development of a product range cosmetics. The old hydropathic establishment was entirely demolished; new was rebuilt with modern equipment; it is open all the year. One counted 1853 curists in 1973, nearly 5000 currently.

According to on the matter the tradition of the towns of water, though very tardily, a casino was built on the territory of Fayet.

It is located at the exit of the agglomeration, enough far from the thermal baths in fact. It opened its doors in 2002. In addition to the usual gaming rooms in this type of establishment, it comprises a conference room having a capacity of reception of 200 people for seminars, conferences or commercial meetings…

Thus tries one to attract in Fayet external customers which however, generally, do not remain there.

Places and monuments

The thermal park

The thermal park which extends on ten hectares along the Good-Nant, remains about the only pleasant place of Fayet: it gathers all kinds of activities as well for the children as for the adults. One finds there a rock of climbing (natural wall), a course ventures, of the gymnasium, tennis courts, stage, swimming pool, play for the children, of the grounds of game of bowls, etc It is with the rock of climbing of Fayet that every summer the festival of the company of the guides of Saint-Gervais takes place.

At the entry of the park, highlighted on a monticule, an old engine with vapor of the tram of Mont Blanc is exposed.

At the bottom of the park the departure of a footpath is which skirts the Good-Nant then goes up in the throats. Equipped with footbridges, staircases and metal slopes, it makes it possible to pass over the cascade of Crepin and to go up until Saint-Gervais in three fifteen minutes.

It is specified, for the peace of the walker and of the tourists, that a catastrophe as that of 1892 could not reproduce today because the glaciers are regularly supervised and purged if necessary.

The church

Established in the district known as of the Abbey, the church of Fayet was built in 1938 in a resolutely modern style, but which is attached however to the tradition: outside, its massive aspect with a granite base evokes the Savoyard farms, while to the interior, the vault with gothic arches recalls the Gothic art. It is due to the architect Maurice Novarina who also drew the church of the plate of ESA.

References

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