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Epinassey

Canton of Valais · District: Saint-Maurice · No published figure for the locality; the municipality of Saint-Maurice has 4'652 inhabitants (31.12.2025, provisional FSO figure)
Part of the municipality of Saint-Maurice
Origin of the name Founding Historical timeline Must-see historical sites Legends Sources and references Nearby villages

Origin of the name Epinassey

The name Epinassey remains unexplained, and its first mention is undated. A 17th-century tradition saw in it « l'ancien Epaône », an identification that is only a hypothesis.[2]

Founding of Epinassey

Epinassey lies in the Rhône plain, south of the town of Saint-Maurice and below Mex. In the 17th century it was placed « à un fort quart de lieue de St-Maurice dans la plaine » (a good quarter of a league from St-Maurice in the plain), between the Rhône to the east and the rocks to the west, on the road to Italy and Germany. When and how the village formed is unknown. Today it is one of the two hamlets of the municipality of Saint-Maurice, with Les Cases.[2][8][1]

History of Epinassey

17th century. Father Bérody, author of a history of Saint Sigismund, records the tradition that makes Epinassey the ancient Epaône.[2]

1835. On 26 August a debris flow of the Saint-Barthélemy torrent sweeps away the cross above the neighbouring village of La Rasse. A temporary road through La Rasse and Epinassey is then considered.[3]

1923. Epinassey receives a chapel, dedicated to Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus.[1][4]

1996. The Fraternité Eucharistein settles in the village.[1]

Historic sites in Epinassey

Chapel of Epinassey. Dedicated to Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus, it belongs to the territorial abbey of Saint-Maurice. It is the end point of the chapels trail of Saint-Maurice.[4][5]

Legends of Epinassey

Epinassey, the ancient Epaône. According to a tradition recorded in the 17th century, Epinassey is said to be the ancient Epaône, a city « détruite de fond en comble par un déluge d'eau » (destroyed from top to bottom by a flood of water) after the collapse of the Jorat, which reportedly pushed the Rhône back against the mountains on the Vaud side. This tradition links the disaster to the collapse of Mount Tauredunum in 563, which buried a fortified town and settlements in Valais. Most historians, however, place the Tauredunum at the Bois-Noir.[2]

Sources

  1. Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Saint-Maurice (commune) » (Gaëlle Bourguinet Eggs, version du 10.11.2021)
  2. Jean-Émile Tamini, « Le St-Barthélemy, le torrent de la Marre, le Tauredunum », Echos de Saint-Maurice, t. 25, 1926, p. 129-134
  3. François-Marie Boccard, « Les catastrophes du Bois-Noir », Echos de Saint-Maurice, t. 25, 1927, p. 173-175
  4. GCatholic, « Église de Sainte-Thérèse de l'Enfant-Jésus, Épinassey »
  5. Commune de Saint-Maurice, « Ballades agaunoises » (brochure de randonnées, 2022)
  6. Saint-Maurice Tourisme, « Quarry path »
  7. Office fédéral de la statistique (OFS), STATPOP, chiffres provisoires au 31.12.2025, via citypopulation.de
  8. geo.admin.ch, recherche de lieux (coordonnées du village)

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