Derborence
Origin of the name Derborence
The name Derborence, borne by the cirque at the foot of the Diablerets, has no known explanation.[3]
Founding of Derborence
Derborence is an uninhabited site in the municipality of Conthey, whose territory reaches the Diablerets massif. The floor of the cirque was an alpine pasture, buried under a huge mass of boulders by two rockfalls in the 18th century. The second dammed the Derbonne and formed the lake. South of the lake lies a forest counted among the last primary mountain forests in Switzerland.[1][3][8]
History of Derborence
1714. On 23 September, part of the limestone face of the Tête de Barme collapses. The boulders destroy the alpine huts and bury shepherds and herds: some fifteen people die. Some blocks travel more than 5 km down the Lizerne valley.[3][4]
1749. On 23 June, a second rockfall claims no victims, as the shepherds had been warned by falling stones in the preceding days. The debris dams the Derbonne and forms the Lac de Derborence. Together, the rockfalls deposited about 50 million m³ of rock.[3][5]
1911. The Haut de Cry/Derborence area becomes a federal game reserve of 58.2 km², where hunting is banned.[1]
1934. Charles-Ferdinand Ramuz publishes the novel « Derborence », inspired by the 1714 rockfall.[4]
around 1954. The road to Derborence is built.[7]
1957. The chapel of Saint-Nicolas de Flüe is built at Godet, in the forest that has grown on the debris of 1714.[6]
1959. On 10 December, an agreement is signed between the Swiss League for the Protection of Nature and the bourgeoisie of Conthey. The League (now Pro Natura) acquires a section of primary forest, two alpine pastures (Vérouet and Fenadze) and an easement on the lake and its surroundings.[1][2]
1961. On 30 March, the Council of State declares the virgin forest, the lake and the area to the north-east a « site protégé » and a « réserve absolue de faune et de flore » (strict wildlife and plant reserve).[1][2]
1977. The site is added to the Federal Inventory of Landscapes and Natural Monuments of National Importance.[1]
1985. Francis Reusser makes a film of Ramuz's novel.[4]
1992. Derborence is listed as an alluvial zone of national importance.[1]
Historic sites in Derborence
Lac de Derborence. Lake formed in 1749, when the debris dammed the Derbonne.[3]
Derborence virgin forest. Forest south of the lake, one of the last primary mountain forests in Switzerland. The Pro Natura reserve covers 260 hectares.[1]
Godet chapel. Chapel of Saint-Nicolas de Flüe, built in 1957 at about 1'450 m. Mass is said there on Sundays in summer.[6]
Quille du Diable. Also called Tour Saint-Martin, it rises about 1'500 m above the floor of the cirque. Freezing and thawing still bring scree down at the foot of the cliff.[3]
Sources
- État du Valais, Sites naturels protégés, « Derborence »
- Conseil d'État du Valais, « Décision concernant la protection de la forêt et du site de Derborence », 30.03.1961
- Institut de géographie de l'Université de Lausanne (IGUL), panneau d'information sur l'éboulement de Derborence
- Ghania Adama, « « Derborence », son drame et ses croyances locales », swissinfo.ch, 2.9.2014
- swisstopo et SCNAT, Lexique stratigraphique suisse, « Dépôt d'écroulement de Derborence »
- Office du tourisme Conthey-Région, « Les églises & chapelles »
- Commune de Conthey, « Images à Conthey, vingtième siècle », liste des légendes de photographies, 1999
- Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Conthey (commune) » (François Wiblé, Maurice Terrettaz), version du 11.08.2005
- geo.admin.ch, recherche de lieux de swisstopo (Derborence)
Other villages near Derborence
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