Hospice du Grand-Saint-Bernard
Origin of the name Hospice du Grand-Saint-Bernard
Livy calls the pass « Summus Poeninus », after Poeninus, a native god worshipped at the summit and identified with Jupiter towards the end of the 1st century. In the Middle Ages it was called « Mont-Joux » (« Mons Iovis », the mountain of Jupiter), then « Mont-Saint-Bernard » from the 13th century. The name comes from Saint Bernard of Menthon, patron of the hospice since 1149, to whom tradition attributes its foundation.[2]
Founding of Hospice du Grand-Saint-Bernard
The hospice stands on the Great St Bernard Pass, at 2'469 metres, on the territory of the municipality of Bourg-Saint-Pierre and in the diocese of Sion. From the 10th century, traffic over the pass was disrupted by the Saracens and local potentates. Saint Bernard of Menthon is said to have founded the hospice around 1050 with Queen Ermengarde, and a foundation dedicated to Saint Nicholas of Myra is attested on the pass from 1125. At first it must have been run by a lay confraternity led by a cleric, the « hospitalarius ». In the 12th century clergy headed by a prior or provost appear, and the Rule of Saint Augustine is first attested in 1225. The hospice remains the home of a religious community: in 2004 the congregation had 51 members and nine priories.[1][2]
History of Hospice du Grand-Saint-Bernard
Roman period. A small temple and two lodging buildings stand on the pass, which is dedicated to Jupiter. About fifty votive tablets dedicated to Poeninus have been found there.[2][3]
801. Charlemagne uses the pass.[2]
10th century. Traffic over the pass is disrupted by the Saracens and local potentates.[1]
1011. Queen Ermengarde receives the monastery-hospice of Saint-Pierre at Bourg-Saint-Pierre as her dower.[1]
around 1050. Probable foundation of the hospice by Saint Bernard of Menthon with Queen Ermengarde.[1]
1125. A foundation dedicated to Saint Nicholas of Myra is attested on the pass.[1]
1149. Saint Bernard of Menthon becomes patron of the hospice.[1]
1150/1151. The community joins the reformed Alsatian monastery of Marbach.[1]
1177. The hospice owns 78 hospices, houses, priories and churches, from England to Sicily. By 1286 there are 86.[1]
1451. Pope Nicholas V grants Savoy the right to appoint to the major benefices of the duchy. This leads to a three-century conflict between Valais and Savoy over the appointment of the provost.[1]
1466. The hospice of the Little St Bernard is incorporated into that of the Great St Bernard.[1]
1475-1476. During the Burgundian Wars, the Valais tithings annex Lower Valais and the hospice.[1]
1686. The present church is built on the site of a medieval sanctuary. It is consecrated in 1689.[1][3]
1752. Pope Benedict XIV settles the separation requested by the Valais canons. The Savoyard and Piedmontese possessions pass to the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus. François-Joseph Bodmer is the first Valais provost.[1]
1786. Completion of the Saint-Louis hospital.[1][3]
1800. In May, Bonaparte's reserve army, over 30'000 men strong, crosses the pass (40'000 according to another source).[2][3]
1801. Bonaparte entrusts the hospice with running the new Simplon hospice.[1]
1821-1827. The monastery building is raised (as early as 1820 according to another source).[1][3]
1848. The radical Valais government places the hospice under sequestration.[1]
1898. The hotel is built opposite the hospice, linked to it by a covered footbridge.[3]
1933. Canons go to work in Yunnan with the Missions étrangères de Paris. In 1952 they withdraw to Taiwan.[1]
1964. On 19 March, the 5.85 km Great St Bernard road tunnel is inaugurated (1963 according to another source).[2][3]
2005. Breeding of the St Bernard dogs is taken over by the Fondation Barry du Grand-Saint-Bernard in Martigny.[1]
Historic sites in Hospice du Grand-Saint-Bernard
Hospice church. Built in 1686 on the site of a medieval sanctuary and consecrated in 1689. It houses a black marble mausoleum of General Desaix.[1][3]
Hospice hotel. Built in 1898 opposite the hospice, to which it is linked on the upper floor by a covered footbridge.[3]
Saint-Louis hospital. Building completed in 1786, now occupied by kennels.[1][3]
Remains in Hospice du Grand-Saint-Bernard
Roman temple on the pass. Small temple measuring 11.30 m by 7.40 m and two Roman lodging buildings, uncovered on the pass. The first research was carried out in 1760 by Canon Laurent Murith, followed by four excavation campaigns by the engineer Ermanno Ferrero from 1890 to 1893.[3]
Morgue. Built in 1476 behind and above the hospice. It is now walled up.[3]
Legends of Hospice du Grand-Saint-Bernard
The flight of Bernard of Menthon. According to tradition, the son of the lord of Menthon, drawn to the ascetic life, is forced by his parents to marry. During the nuptial blessing he escapes through a window, falls into a precipice and lands unharmed, held up by his guardian angel. Withdrawing into the snows of Mont Joux, he founds two houses for pilgrims there, which still bear his name.[4]
Sources
- Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Grand-Saint-Bernard, hospice du » (Gregor Zenhäusern, version du 20.02.2007)
- Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Grand-Saint-Bernard, col du » (Nathalie Pichard Sardet, version du 23.02.2009)
- Office fédéral de la culture, ISOS (Inventaire fédéral des sites construits à protéger en Suisse), « Grand-Saint-Bernard », n° 4961
- La Suisse raconte, « La légende de saint Bernard de Menthon »
- geo.admin.ch, recherche de lieux (coordonnées)
Other villages near Hospice du Grand-Saint-Bernard
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