Plagne is a winter sports resort located in Savoy, in the Vallée of Tarentaise.
Skiable field
In Savoy,
Plagne indicates a relatively flat place, a plate, sometimes low-size. It is the name of the locality where one decided to establish the first station, on this surprisingly flat place, enclosed in a mountainous circus, with sight on Mont Blanc.
Since 2003, Plagne forms, with the station close to the Arcs, the Field Paradiski. The field extends on 10.000 hectares, of 1250m with 3250m, the apple trees of the valley to the Glacier of Bellecôte and on four communes (Macôt it Plagne, Aime, Bellentre, and Champagny-in-Vanoise).
Plagne offers 225km marked tracks, 134 (15 black, 29 reds, 80 blue and 10 green) and also an immense field not marked out, and famous routes out-tracks (the such Northern Face of the Summit of Bellecôte or Friolin). Plagne is a modern field, equipped with 2 cable cars (of which Vanoise Express, most important of the world), 8 telpher carriers, 36 chair-lifts (1 of 8 places, 11 of 6 places, 19 of 4 places, 5 of 2 places) and of 38 skis-lift. Plagne has also the only track of Bobsleigh of France, built for the Olympic Games of Albertville in 1992.
History
Plagne is created in 1961, following other Savoyard stations, to save the communes of the valley of the turning into a desert. The traditional agricultural activity does not make it possible any more to the young people to live, the mining activity, which made the richness of Macôt a long time is in crisis. In 1960, the communes join within an intercommunity association, around the project carried by the mayor of Likes, Doctor Borrionne. Plagne (future Plagne Centers), its 2 skis-lift and 4 tracks, opens on December 24th, 1961. As of its first years of the experiment of the Ski champion
Emile Went like adviser technical. Success is immediate and in 1966
Guy Lux animates since Plagne its emission
Interneiges . The development of the station is fast. Plagne had four logos in 40 years of history:
A sun pointing Plagne of the finger on a chart of Savoy, here one of the first advertizing campaigns of the young station of Plagne.
At the time of the emission of Guy Lux
Interneiges , Plagne seeks an evocative, simple and outstanding symbol. Mathieu Sharp, Basque artist and graphic designer of the Havas agency, position the preceding logo in a pair of glasses of sun, and add a red bonnet thereafter. This new logo makes fury, and during the emission
Interneiges , whole France familiarizes itself with the Bonnet of Plagne.
The Bonnet is modernized: contours of the bonnet are smoothed, the sun is removed and replaced by simple white stars. One adds to the logo the new slogan of the station:
all the mountain in 10 stations .
New modernization with the appearance of a notch to the bottom of the bonnet and the replacement of stars with 8 branches, by others with the brighter multiple branches. The slogan (false since 1990, Plagne cash makes 11 stations of them) is replaced by a simple recall of altitudes minimal and maximum of the field. This modernization is carried out by the Agency Publicis-Cashmere of Lyon, under the impulse of the Director of the Tourist office of Large Plagne. Since 2003, a label " Paradiski" is sometimes added to the logo of Plagne.
Eleven stations
The first of the stations of Plagne, opens in
1961 . The name of
Plagne Centers date of 1982, the station before was simply called
Plagne . Of a urban architecture but functional, creation of Michel Bezançon, Plagne Center is regarded as the model of the integrated station, separating spaces from motor vehicle traffic and ski.
- Likes to it Plagne (2100m)
The station, from which construction begins in spring 1968, opens in December
1969 partly . Called the " Steamer of Neiges" , the principal building is a creation of the architect Michel Bezançon. In 1990 opens the Club the Mediterranean, the second building builds in Aime it Plagne, of a daring architecture inspired by that of the Temples Tibetans.
- Champagny-in-Vanoise (1250m)
At the end of the years 1960, this village located in the Valley of Bozel seeks to leave its insulation. If the National park of Vanoise made take off estival tourism, Champagny wants to also benefit from the white gold. The commune hesitates between Courchevel and Plagne. Finally, in
1969 , Champagny choose Plagne, and offer to the young station its immense field in
Adret, with a unspoilable view on the solid mass of Vanoise.
The old mountain village, deserted, is connected to with Plagne in
1972 , after were built the first 1500 beds of the station.
Born in
1972 , the station initiates a change of style: the station is burst, and marries the curves of the relief.
Created in
1974 , it was at the beginning to be called " Ours" , but takes finally the name of the top of
Bellecôte (3450m), culminating point of Plagne. Michel Bezançon is the author of the innovative architecture of Plagne Bellecôte, which, like a hydraulic stopping, bars the valley. In 1975, a telpher carrier connects the station to the Rock of Me (2700m), a second section makes it possible to join Bellecôte to the top éponyme in 1978 in 40 minutes. In December 2005, the first 8 place de la Plagne chair-lift is brought into service at Plagne Bellecôte. It is the chair-lift of Arpette. It replaces a chair-lift 4 places of the same name in order to reabsorb the additional surge of skiers generated by the junction with the field
Paradiski.
As of 1970 are built with 1600m altitude, three centers of vancances (those of the departments of the Val de Marne and the Moselle, and that of the town of Dunkirk), and the following year the
ski lift which make it possible to connect them to the field of Plagne. But
1980 should be awaited so that a true station is born and is connected to the field: it will be Montalbert (or Plagne Montalbert).
The free ground left by the Mines of Plagne since 1973, is considered to be favourable with the installation of a new station. If the first buildings are built since 1980 (in particular that of the UCPA), the station opens only in
1982 . The first residences are built by work's councils (Savings bank, Crédit Mutuel), then appear a great number of private country cottages which make of Plagne the 1800 most burst station of the field.
- the Stage coaches (1450m)
Born in
1980 , it is a creation of the architect Michel Bezançon. The station of the Stage coaches and the station of Montchavin have the same tourist bureau.
Born in
1981 , its architecture is marked by a return to the Savoyard tradition (one calls that the " fourth génération"). It is a creation of Michel Bezançon.
It is the last born of the stations of Plagne, in
1990 .
References
