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Villages / Valais / Monthey district / Porte du Scex

Porte du Scex

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

Origin of the name Porte du Scex

In French-speaking Swiss place names, « sex » means a rock, as in the Sex Riond, « round rock ». The form « Scex » of this passage has no explanation of its own.[6]

Founding of Porte du Scex

The Porte du Scex lies in the Rhône plain, on the territory of the municipality of Vouvry, on the bank of the river. North of Vouvry, the site forms a narrow passage between the foot of a ridge and the Rhône. The castle is built there at the end of the 16th century, then rebuilt in the following century. It serves as a toll house and seat of the castellan of Le Bouveret, before housing a gendarmerie post.[1][5][8]

History of Porte du Scex

1597. Construction of the castle of the Porte du Scex.[1]

1672-1678. The castle is rebuilt.[1]

1957. Linus Birchler (1893-1967) corresponds about restoration measures and excavations on the castle site.[4]

1976. The castle becomes the Musée du Vieux-Vouvry.[1]

2008. The museum takes the name Musée historique du Chablais. It presents the heritage of the Valais and Vaud Chablais.[1][5]

Historic sites in Porte du Scex

Castle of the Porte du Scex. Cultural property listed in category B of the inventory for the protection of cultural property, home of the Musée historique du Chablais.[2][5]

Remains in Porte du Scex

Coins bearing Saint Helena. Coins bearing the effigy of Saint Helena (270-327) found at the Porte du Scex are the earliest evidence of Christianity in Vouvry.[3]

Sources

  1. Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Vouvry » (David Rey, version du 05.01.2015)
  2. Office fédéral de la protection de la population (OFPP), Inventaire PBC, liste cantonale du Valais (objets A et B, état au 1.1.2026)
  3. Paroisses catholiques du Haut-Lac, « Vouvry »
  4. HelveticArchives, dossier EAD-EKD-1702 « Vouvry, Château de la porte du Scex » (1957)
  5. Swiss Spectator, notice du Musée historique du Chablais (Vouvry)
  6. Henry Suter, « Noms de lieux de Suisse romande, Savoie et environs », glossaire, lettre S
  7. geo.admin.ch, recherche de lieux (coordonnées du site)
  8. Valais/Wallis Promotion, valais.ch, « Vouvry »

Other villages near Porte du Scex

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