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Villages / Valais / Conthey district / Saclentse

Saclentse

Canton of Valais · District: Conthey · No published figure for the locality; the municipality of Nendaz has 7'352 inhabitants (31.12.2025, provisional FSO figure)
Part of the municipality of Nendaz
Origin of the name Founding Historical timeline Must-see historical sites Sources and references Nearby villages

Origin of the name Saclentse

Still written « Saclens » in 1931, the village name, found in documents of the 12th and 13th centuries, has no known explanation.[1]

Founding of Saclentse

Saclentse is a village of the municipality of Nendaz, at 1'203 m, just above the Printse on its left bank, about thirty minutes' climb from Basse-Nendaz. It is one of the upper villages of the municipality, where owners of vineyards in the plain lived. These Nendaz people also had a house at Conthey, near their vines, and stayed there during the year's work. The village's meadows and fields are watered by the bisse d'en Bas, which draws its water from the Printse at 1'390 m, below Planchouet.[2][3][5][6]

History of Saclentse

12th-13th century. Like most villages of Nendaz, Saclentse appears in documents of this period.[1]

Before 1753. The bisse d'en Bas reportedly already exists.[5]

Before 1794. A bell is hung in the bell tower of Basse-Nendaz. It now adorns that of the Saclentse chapel.[3][4]

1922. The chapel, dedicated to Saint Joseph, is blessed. The parish priest Joseph Fournier started the project.[3][4]

Historic sites in Saclentse

Saint-Joseph chapel. Small village chapel whose bell tower holds the old bell from Basse-Nendaz.[4]

Bisse d'en Bas. Still in use, this irrigation channel supplies the meadows and fields of Basse-Nendaz and Saclentse before rejoining the Printse.[3]

Sources

  1. Lucien Lathion, « Nendaz au moyen âge », communication à l'assemblée de la Société d'histoire du Valais romand, Nendaz, 24 mai 1931, via RERO DOC
  2. Rose-Claire Schüle, « Nendards et Contheysans (Patois et tradition) », communication à l'assemblée de la Société d'histoire du Valais romand, Châteauneuf, 20 juin 1965, via RERO DOC
  3. Nendaz Tourisme, « Saclentse »
  4. Nendaz Tourisme, « The Saclentse Chapel »
  5. Nendaz Tourisme, « Bisse d'en Bas »
  6. Nendaz Tourisme, « Hike around the villages »
  7. Office fédéral de la statistique (OFS), STATPOP, chiffres provisoires au 31.12.2025, via citypopulation.de
  8. geo.admin.ch, recherche de lieux (Saclentse)

Other villages near Saclentse

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