Les Paccots
Origin of the name Les Paccots
A locality of Châtel-Saint-Denis, Les Paccots bears a name whose origin has not been established.
Founding of Les Paccots
Les Paccots is the skiing and hiking resort of Châtel-Saint-Denis, adding to the tourist offer of the Lake Geneva region. The Corbetta ski-lift company was founded in 1937 and the first lift opened the following winter. The resort grew in the 1960s and 1970s. The Lac des Joncs, a protected nature reserve, lies at Les Paccots.[1][2][4][5]
History of Les Paccots
1935. The chapel of Notre-Dame-des-Neiges rises to plans by the architect Fernand Dumas, at the initiative of the parish priest Kolly. It is said to have been built in 28 days by the young people of the Avenir, led by Abbé Fischer.[1][3]
1936. The painter Gaston Thévoz creates the chapel's two large frescoes.[3]
1937. The Corbetta ski-lift company is founded.[4]
1938. On 8 January the first ski lift, a belt lift built by Oehler, is opened. It is the third ski lift in French-speaking Switzerland.[1][2][4]
1943. A ski lift climbs to the Pralet from the hamlet of Les Rosalys, with a restaurant.[4]
1958. The Borbuintze ski lift begins a long partnership with the manufacturer Poma.[4]
1960s. The resort grows. New lifts replace the old ones at Corbetta in 1962 and at the Pralet in 1969, and the Cierne lift opens in 1966.[1][2][4]
1972. The Cagne lift improves access to Borbuintze. A private owner builds the short Joncs lift, for a long time the resort's only easy run.[4]
Early 1970s. The chapel is enlarged.[3]
1978. The road from Châtel-Saint-Denis to Les Paccots becomes a cantonal road, so it can be cleared of snow regularly.[4]
1982. The Vérollys-junior lift for beginners is the last of nine lifts built since 1958, six of them by Poma.[4]
1985. The organ builder Jean-Daniel Ayer builds the chapel organ.[3]
2011-2012. The organ, fully overhauled and given an oak case, is inaugurated with a concert on 12 November 2011 and blessed on 1 April 2012.[3]
Historic sites in Les Paccots
Chapel of Notre-Dame-des-Neiges. The work of Fernand Dumas (1935), it keeps Gaston Thévoz's two large frescoes, stained glass by Yoki and furnishings, altar, ambo and tabernacle, by the Châtel-Saint-Denis craftsman Cyprien Genoud.[1][3]
Lac des Joncs. The Lac des Joncs is a protected nature reserve.[1][5]
Ski area. From 1958 to 1982 nine ski lifts were built on the resort's slopes, at Corbetta, the Pralet, Borbuintze, the Cierne, the Cagne, the Saira and the Vérollys. A rope tow was added in 2001 near the Vérollys car parks.[4]
Sources
- Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Châtel-Saint-Denis (commune) » (Jean-Claude Vial, version du 23.08.2005)
- Commune de Châtel-Saint-Denis, « Du XIXe siècle à nos jours »
- Unité pastorale St-Denis, « Chapelle de Notre Dame des Neiges, Les Paccots »
- Remontées-mécaniques.net, « Station Les Paccots »
- Commune de Châtel-Saint-Denis, « La force de la nature et du patrimoine »
Other villages near Les Paccots
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