Chamonix is situated in the French Alps just north of Mont Blanc, the highest mountain in Western Europe. Between the peaks of the Aiguilles Rouges and the notable Aiguille du Midi, it borders both Switzerland and Italy. It is one of the oldest ski resorts in France, popular with alpinists and mountain enthusiasts. Via the cable car lift to the Aiguille du Midi it is possible to access the off-piste (backcountry) ski run of the Vallée Blanche (White Valley).
Name
The name Campum munitum, meaning fortified plain or field, had been used as early as 1091. By 1283 the name had been abbreviated to a similar form to the modern Chamonis. Other forms through the ages include Chamouny in 1581, Chamony in 1652, Chamouni in 1786, and the particular spelling Chamonix from 1793.
Status
Chamonix is the fourth-largest commune in metropolitan France, with an area of 245 km2 (95 sq mi). Its population of around 8,900 ranks 1,089th within the country of France.[6]
The valley was first mentioned in 1091, when it was granted by the Count of the Genevois to the great Benedictine house of St. Michel de la Cluse, near Turin, which by the early 13th century had established a priory there.[7] However, in 1786 the inhabitants bought their freedom from the canons of Sallanches, to whom the priory had been transferred in 1519.[citation needed]
In 1530, the inhabitants obtained from the Count of the Genevois the privilege of holding two fairs a year, while the valley was often visited by the civil officials and by the bishops of Geneva (first recorded visit in 1411, while St. Francis de Sales came there in 1606).[citation needed] But travellers for pleasure were very rare.
Chamonix was part of the historical land of Savoy emerged as the feudal territory of the House of Savoy during the 11th to 14th centuries. The historical territory is shared between the modern countries of France, Italy and Switzerland. The House of Savoy became the longest surviving royal house in Europe. It ruled the County of Savoy to 1416 and then the Duchy of Savoy from 1416 to 1860.[citation needed]
The growth of tourism in the early 19th century led to the formation of the Compagnie des Guides de Chamonix in 1821, to regulate access to the mountain slopes (which were communally or co-operatively owned), and this association held a monopoly of guiding from the town until it was broken by French government action in 1892; thereafter guides were required to hold a diploma issued by a commission dominated by civil servants and members of the French Alpine Club rather than local residents.[citation needed]
From the late 19th century on, tourist development was dominated by national and international initiatives rather than local entrepreneurs, though the local community was increasingly dependent upon and active in the tourist industry.[citation needed]
The commune successfully lobbied to change its name from Chamonix to Chamonix-Mont-Blanc in 1916.[citation needed] However, following the loss of its monopoly, the Compagnie reformed as an association of local guides, and retained an important role in local society; it provided the services of a friendly society to its members, and in the 20th century many of them were noted mountaineers and popularisers of mountain tourism, notably the novelist Roger Frison-Roche, the first member of the Compagnie not to be born in Chamonix.
Chamonix Valley: crossing the glacier on foot (between 1902 and 1904)
Serving as the host city for the first Winter Olympic Games in 1924 further raised Chamonix's profile as an international tourist destination.
During the Second World War, a Children's Home operated in Chamonix, in which several dozens of Jewish children were hidden from the Nazis. Some of those who hid them were recognised as "Righteous Among the Nations".[8]
By the 1960s, agriculture had been reduced to a marginal activity, while the number of tourist beds available rose to around 60,000 by the end of the 20th century, with about 5 million visitors a year.[citation needed]
Geography
Settlements
The commune of Chamonix-Mont-Blanc includes 16 villages and hamlets. From north to south: Le Tour 1,462 m (4,797 ft),[9] Montroc, Le Planet, Argentière 1,252 m (4,108 ft),[9] Les Chosalets, Le Lavancher, Les Tines, Les Bois, Les-Praz-de-Chamonix 1,060 m (3,478 ft),[9] Chamonix-Mont-Blanc, Les Pècles, Les Mouilles, Les Barrats, Les Pélerins, Les Gaillands, and Les Bossons 1,012 m (3,320 ft).[9]
Chamonix is a winter sports resort town that still attracts skiers ready to test themselves both on the pistes in the official area and against the challenges of the backcountry skiing.[13] As the highest European mountain west of Russia,[14] Mont Blanc attracts mountain climbers. The Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc has been held every August since 2003.
There is a cable car up to the 3,842 m (12,605 ft) Aiguille du Midi. Constructed in 1955, it was then the highest cable car in the world[15] and remains the highest vertical ascent cable car in the world.[16]
The town of Chamonix is served by French Route Nationale 205 (RN 205), nicknamed the Route blanche,[18] or "white route", due to its snowiness. This is an extension of French autoroute 40 (A40), similarly nicknamed the autoroute blanche, which ends at Le Fayet, a village in the commune of Saint-Gervais-les-Bains.[19] The 11.6-km Mont Blanc Tunnel, which opened in 1965, links Chamonix to Courmayeur in Italy.[20] Chamonix is linked to Switzerland by what used to be RN 506a. In 2006, it was converted to a Route Départementale 1506, with a part of it integrated into RN 205.
The nearest airport to Chamonix is Geneva Cointrin International and it is 88 kilometres (55 miles) away.[citation needed]
Rail
Front and façade of the Chamonix - Mont-Blanc railway station.
From Vallorcine, the rail route continues over the border into Switzerland, meeting the SBB network at Martigny. This latter section, a metre-gauge cog railway, is operated by Transports de Martigny et Régions SA. The train service from Vallorcine to Martigny is known as the Mont Blanc Express. Timetables on the St Gervais-Vallorcine and Vallorcine-Martigny sections are synchronized.[21]
The 5.1-km Montenvers Railway is a cog railway that provides access to the tourist site of Montenvers. Opened in 1909, its rail station was built next to SNCF's Chamonix station on the St Gervais-Vallorcine Line. In fact the two stations are directly linked.[22] Montenvers provides further tourist access to middle and high mountain areas.[23]
Cable cars
Chamonix has one of the highest cable cars in the world, which links the town to the summit of the Aiguille du Midi at 3842 m.[24] It is based on an older system built in 1920, rebuilt in the first half of the 1950s over five summer seasons,[25] fully modernized in 1979, and upgraded again in 2008. On the other side of the valley, another cable car links Chamonix to the viewpoint of Planpraz. A second line links Planpraz to the summit of Le Brévent at 2525 meters.[26][27] Many other cable cars exist in the valley, and are heavily used by skiers and residents. The Plan Joran chairlift at the base of Les Grands Montets is due to be replaced by a 10-person gondola for the Winter 2014/15 season.[28]
Venance Payot (1826–1902) a naturalist, glaciologist, mountain-guide, scholar, author and twice mayor of Chamonix
Edward Whymper (1840-1911), the English mountaineer, explorer, illustrator, and author best known for the first ascent of the Matterhorn, died here in 1911
Joseph Vallot (1854–1925) a scientist, astronomer, botanist, geographer, cartographer and alpinist
^ abThe Development of the Appreciation of Mountain Scenery in Modern Times, Walter Woodburn Hyde, Geographical Review, Vol. 3, No. 2 (February 1917), pp. 107–118
^"International Exchange". List of Affiliation Partners within Prefectures. Council of Local Authorities for International Relations (CLAIR). Archived from the original on 5 February 2016. Retrieved 21 November 2015.
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