Praz-de-Fort
Origin of the name Praz-de-Fort
Written « Praz de Fort » in 1901, the village name has never been explained.[2]
Founding of Praz-de-Fort
Praz-de-Fort is a village of the municipality of Orsières in the Val Ferret, at about 1'150 m. It stretches along both banks of the Dranse de Ferret, linked by a bridge, where the Saleina stream joins it. With the hamlets of Le Chanton and Le Revers, it was long the main inhabited place of the valley. The village received a chapel dedicated to Saint John the Baptist, probably at the end of the 17th century, and a school operated there in the 18th century. It is also the starting point for the Saleinaz hut.[1][2][3][4][6]
History of Praz-de-Fort
end of the 17th century. The Saint-Jean-Baptiste chapel is built, perhaps in 1688. Its Baroque altar may date from the beginning.[3][4]
18th century. A school operates at Praz-de-Fort, as in the main village of Orsières and at Commeire.[1]
1753. Date of the chapel's canvas antependium, which depicts Saint Lawrence.[3]
1842. E. Chapelet paints the altarpiece of the beheading of Saint John the Baptist.[3]
1893. On 16 July a refuge hut sponsored by the Neuchâtel section of the Swiss Alpine Club, the Saleinaz hut, is inaugurated above Praz-de-Fort.[2]
around 1899. The village's very rustic inn is replaced by a small hotel.[2]
1901. The village has fewer than 250 inhabitants and houses a border guard post all year.[2]
1949. The architect Pierre Faval renovates the chapel: enlargement, gallery and new stained glass. The wrought-iron grille between choir and nave goes to the abbey of Saint-Maurice.[3]
1970s. Detached houses begin to go up at Saleinaz, south of the village, at first mainly second homes.[6]
2005. Major restoration of the 1753 antependium by Gisèle Carron-Favre-Bulle.[3]
2022. Praz-de-Fort is one of the four villages of the municipality whose built heritage is inventoried for the revision of the zoning plan.[5]
Historic sites in Praz-de-Fort
Saint-Jean-Baptiste chapel. Chapel probably built at the end of the 17th century and enlarged in 1949. It holds a Baroque altar, an 1842 altarpiece by E. Chapelet, a 1753 antependium and statues of Saints Nicholas, Theodule, Lawrence and Bernard of Menthon.[3][4]
The old village, Le Chanton and Le Revers. The village core keeps a few characteristic alpine houses and a group of old barns. The neighbouring hamlets of Le Chanton and Le Revers keep several old buildings.[6]
Saleinaz hut. Hut of the Neuchâtel section of the Swiss Alpine Club, whose first building, above Praz-de-Fort, is inaugurated in 1893.[2]
Sources
- Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Orsières » (Albano Hugon, version du 03.11.2009)
- H. Correvon, « Le val Ferrex suisse », Die Alpen (annuaire du Club alpin suisse), 1901
- Paroisses de l'Entremont, « Chapelle de Praz-de-Fort »
- Pays du Saint-Bernard (office du tourisme), « Chapels of Val Ferret »
- Commune d'Orsières, « Inventaire du patrimoine bâti »
- Herman Kok, ferret-c.com, « Praz-de-Fort » (site privé)
- Office fédéral de la statistique (OFS), STATPOP, chiffres provisoires au 31.12.2025, via citypopulation.de
- geo.admin.ch, recherche de lieux (coordonnées)
Other villages near Praz-de-Fort
Missing information, or do you have a source? Suggest a correction or addition. Every submission is checked before it's published.
Suggest a change