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Villages / Valais / Leuk district / Tour de la Dala

Tour de la Dala

Site Canton of Valais · District: Leuk · Uninhabited site (on the boundary between the municipalities of Varen and Leuk)
Part of the municipality of Varen
Origin of the name Founding Historical timeline Must-see historical sites Sources and references Nearby villages

Origin of the name Tour de la Dala

The tower is named after the Dala, the mountain stream whose bridge it guarded. The bridge itself is mentioned in 1416 as « pontem Dale de Leuca ».[2]

Founding of Tour de la Dala

The Dala tower, with its drawbridge, dates from the 13th century. It controlled the bridge over the Dala, carrying the route from Brig to Sierre via Varen and Salgesch. It stands between Varen and Leuk and defended the crossing on the Leuk side.[1][2][3]

History of Tour de la Dala

13th century. Construction of the tower with a drawbridge.[1]

1387. During the war between Savoy and Upper Valais a wooden bridge was reportedly built over the Dala. Its existence is attested from that year.[2][3]

1416. The destruction of the bridge during the troubles of the late 14th century is confirmed.[2]

1547. Johannes Stumpf, who had seen the bridge on his journey through Valais in 1544, describes it with its tower: « darüber gadt auch ein prucke durch ein Thurn ».[2][3]

1550. The bridge appears for the first time in the records of the Valais Diet.[2]

1654. Matthäus Merian depicts it as a covered wooden bridge with a tower at the left edge of his view of Leuk.[2][3]

1791. For 100 crowns, Peter Holzer of Glurigen replaces the medieval drawbridge with a single-arch stone bridge.[2]

1927. The tower is restored to its present form.[2]

1929. The tower is placed under federal protection.[2]

1986-1990. Construction of a new bridge over the Dala and of the road from Varen to Leuk.[1]

Historic sites in Tour de la Dala

Tower. The tower has an irregular crown of battlements. Its 2 m wide passage could once be closed by a portcullis.[2]

Bridge. A simple concrete slab on metal girders has replaced the stone arch of 1791. The span is just under 7 m.[2]

Sources

  1. Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Varonne » (Alois Grichting, version du 21.02.2013)
  2. Inventaire des voies de communication historiques de la Suisse (IVS), objet VS 14.1.1 « Dalabrücke bei Leuk » (Office fédéral des routes)
  3. Inventaire des voies de communication historiques de la Suisse (IVS), objet VS 14.1 « Brig - Leuk/Susten - Siders, über Varen und Salgesch » (Office fédéral des routes, état 2002)
  4. geo.admin.ch, recherche de lieux, Dalabrücke (coordonnées)

Other villages near Tour de la Dala

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