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Villages / Valais / Entremont district / Mauvoisin

Mauvoisin

Site Canton of Valais · District: Entremont · Uninhabited site (municipality of Val de Bagnes)
Part of the municipality of Bagnes
Origin of the name Founding Historical timeline Must-see historical sites Remains Sources and references Nearby villages

Origin of the name Mauvoisin

Mauvoisin, the name of a site without permanent inhabitants, has no known origin.

Founding of Mauvoisin

Mauvoisin is a site in the upper Val de Bagnes, in the former municipality of Bagnes, which has been part of the municipality of Val de Bagnes since 2021. It lies at the foot of the Giétro glacier, whose advances blocked the Dranse and caused deadly outburst floods, notably in 1595 and 1818. A chapel has stood here since at least the 18th century, and a hotel was built in 1863. In the 20th century the site received a major hydroelectric scheme: the Mauvoisin arch dam, built by more than 1'800 workers each day, belongs to Forces Motrices de Mauvoisin SA. It also protects the valley against the catastrophic floods once caused by the Giétro glacier.[1][2][3][5][6]

History of Mauvoisin

1595. An outburst flood of the Giétro glacier kills 140 people and destroys more than 500 buildings in the valley.[3]

1730. Date of a religious painting found in the chapel, whose interior architecture seems to date from the 18th century.[6]

around 1805. The Giétro glacier re-forms from ice blocks and avalanche snow, until it blocks the Dranse and holds back a glacial lake.[3]

1818. On 13 May, under the direction of the cantonal engineer Ignace Venetz, 32 workers begin digging a tunnel through the ice dam. The lake starts to drain on the evening of 13 June.[3]

1818. On 16 June at around 4.30 pm the ice dam gives way: about 20 million cubic metres of water rush down the valley and reach Martigny at around 6 pm. The death toll ranges from 36 to 44.[3][4]

1818. After the disaster, donations fund the construction of a bell tower beside the chapel.[6]

1862. Last known pilgrimage. Almost abandoned, the chapel then serves as a storeroom for the Mauvoisin hotel until 1929.[6]

1863. Construction of the Mauvoisin hotel, renovated in 2010.[5]

1929. Dr François Carron, a hotelier, and his wife Elise pay for the restoration of the chapel and an altar. Mr Meylan of Lausanne donates the bell.[6]

1930. In August, inauguration of the restored chapel, dedicated to Notre-Dame des Neiges, whose feast is on 5 August.[6]

1951. Work on the arch dam begins (1948 according to another source).[2][5]

1958. The dam begins to supply electricity.[1]

1989-1991. The dam is raised by 13.5 m to 250 m, to shift energy from summer to winter. The water intake and bottom outlet are raised by 38 and 36 m.[2]

2001-2006. Works related to the sediments of the reservoir.[2]

2012. Opening of a photographic trail devoted to the construction of the dam.[5]

2018. On 16 June, commemoration of the bicentenary of the Giétro outburst flood on the dam crest.[4]

Historic sites in Mauvoisin

Mauvoisin dam. Arch dam on the Dranse de Bagnes, 250 m high since it was raised and 520 m long at the crest, holding back a lake of 211.5 million cubic metres. Its water feeds the Fionnay and Riddes power stations.[2]

Chapel of Notre-Dame des Neiges. Chapel with a circular wall, whose interior seems to date from the 18th century. Given a bell tower after the 1818 outburst flood, it was restored in 1929 and inaugurated again in August 1930. Its rendering dates from 1967.[6]

Mauvoisin hotel. Hotel built in 1863 and renovated in 2010, at the start of the path that climbs to the chapel and the dam.[5]

Louvie alpine pasture. Group of alpine and residential buildings at Mauvoisin, a cultural property of national importance.[7]

Remains in Mauvoisin

Presumed watchtower. The chapel is said to be a converted former watchtower of the lords of Quart: its wall is circular and its roof appears to have been added later.[6]

Sources

  1. Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Bagnes, Val de » (Jean-Yves Gabbud, version du 31.03.2011, version allemande lue)
  2. Comité suisse des barrages, « Mauvoisin » (fiche du barrage)
  3. Le Temps, « Le glacier qui terrorisait le Valais »
  4. Musée de Bagnes, communiqué « Giétro 2018-1818 »
  5. Musée de Bagnes, dépliant « Sentier du barrage de Mauvoisin »
  6. Verbier Tourisme, « Mauvoisin Chapel »
  7. Inventaire fédéral des biens culturels (PBC), objet 6604 « Mauvoisin, Alpage de Louvie », catégorie A (geo.admin.ch)
  8. geo.admin.ch, recherche de lieux (coordonnées du barrage)

Other villages near Mauvoisin

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