Les Sciernes-d'Albeuve
Origin of the name Les Sciernes-d'Albeuve
Also known simply as Les Sciernes, the hamlet has a name that remains unexplained.
Founding of Les Sciernes-d'Albeuve
Les Sciernes is a hamlet of the former municipality of Albeuve, on the left bank of the Sarine, in a fold of land at the foot of the Dent de Lys. The Holy Spirit chapel was consecrated here in 1635, then altered and enlarged to meet the community's needs. In 1930 the Société des Sanatoria fribourgeois had the Rosaire built here, a preventorium for women, girls and children with their mothers, ill or not. In the early 20th century tuberculosis claimed more than one victim a day in the canton. The hamlet has belonged to the municipality of Haut-Intyamon since 2002.[1][2][4][5]
History of Les Sciernes-d'Albeuve
1635. The Holy Spirit chapel is built and consecrated.[2][3]
1930. The architect Guido Meyer builds the Rosaire for the Société des Sanatoria fribourgeois: about a hundred beds, in the care of Dominican sisters (sisters of the Order of the Rosary according to another source).[4][5][6]
1950s-1980s. With antibiotics, in the early 1950s, sanatoriums become unnecessary. The Rosaire remains a holiday residence until it closes at the end of the 1980s.[5][6]
1990s. A Fribourg family buys the Rosaire, where five nuns still live.[6]
1993. The Institut du Haut-Lac starts running summer and winter camps here, combining language courses and leisure.[5]
2002. With Albeuve, Les Sciernes becomes part of the new municipality of Haut-Intyamon on 1 January.[1][8]
2014. The camps end and the centre closes, as it does not meet safety standards.[5]
2015-2016. Swiss French television RTS shoots the series « Anomalia », by Pierre Monnard, at the Rosaire, then Michael Schaerer shoots « Frieden » there, from a script by Petra Volpe.[6]
2021. A special zone entered in the local land-use plan allows, under conditions, the building to be refurbished or extended.[5]
Historic sites in Les Sciernes-d'Albeuve
Holy Spirit chapel. Consecrated in 1635, later altered and enlarged, it seats about a hundred people. A painting serves as the high altarpiece, and the windows have stained glass by Yoki. It is listed as a cultural property (category B).[2][3][7]
Le Rosaire. The 1930 preventorium forms a seven-level pyramid, with private terraces, set-back galleries and a rooftop solarium to catch the sun. It keeps an Art Deco chapel and a Neoclassical flight of steps of Doric inspiration. The preventorium and its Rosary chapel are listed as cultural property (category B).[5][7]
Wood and metal trades. The hamlet is now home to building and carpentry firms and a tinsmith's workshop.[8]
Sources
- Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Albeuve » (Marianne Rolle), version du 26.09.2016
- Unité pastorale Notre-Dame de l'Evi, « Chapelle des Sciernes d'Albeuve »
- notreHistoire.ch, « Chapelle des Sciernes d'Albeuve » (25.10.2021)
- notreHistoire.ch, « Les Sciernes d'Albeuve, Le Rosaire » (10.12.2015)
- EPFL, Living Archives, « L'architecture est un écosystème 1. Matière à ressources » (studio sur le Rosaire)
- Blick (Myrte Müller, Daniella Gorbunova), « Découverte du Rosaire, ancien sanatorium en Gruyère qui respire l'histoire » (11.08.2021)
- Office fédéral de la protection de la population, « Révision Inventaire PBC 2021 : Liste cantonale Canton de FR » (état au 1.1.2026)
- Commune de Haut-Intyamon, « Histoire de la commune »
Other villages near Les Sciernes-d'Albeuve
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