|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
Introduction Serre Chevalier is a ski resort area situated in the Guisanne Valley. Its nearest major settlement is Briançon which is located at the bottom of the valley at its confluence with the Durance and several other rivers. The term ‘Le Grand Serre Chevalier’ refers to the whole ski resort and its piste which ranges from 1200m below Briançon to 2800m just below the summit of Pic de l’Yret (2830m). The resort is named after the mountain Serre Chevalier, one of the major peaks in the area (2491m). The built-up parts of the resort lies in the valley bottom and the resort comprises ‘Serre Chevalier 1350’ which starts at the village of Chantemerle, ‘Serre Chevalier 1400’ which includes the villages of Le Bez, Villeneuve and La Salle, and ‘Serre Chevalier 1500’ which is made up principally of Le Monêtier le Bains. Here we concentrate mainly on the area of Serre Chevalier 1400. This major resort area includes three villages which pre-date modern ski development. La Salle is a small settlement centred around a market square and is located on the northern side of the valley bottom raised slightly from the flood plain. Villeneuve is an elongated linear settlement located along the original main road up the valley and therefore immediately adjacent to the river itself. Le Bez is very similar in character to La Salle but is located above the food plain on the southern side of the valley bottom.
The historical geography of the resort area leads us to study the valley settlements traditional dependence on farming and particularly on the raising of cattle, goats and sheep with transhumance involving the summer use of settlements above the main settlement (eg Fréjus). Farming would also have involved the growing of winter feed crops in the valley bottom. Historically there would have been other primary industry, particularly spinning and weaving in river-side water mills and the extraction of building materials and some minerals and coal. The major valley slopes in the area have also been forested for fuel wood and building materials. As in many traditional mountain settlements there is evidence of religious buildings, and indeed there is a church in each of the older settlements. There is also evidence in the village centres of water troughs, bread ovens and, in Villeneuve, the Mairie (‘town hall’).
Evidence for the above activities include: the removal of stones from pasture and the resulting stone lines and piles; old workings up on the valley side and some evidence of spoil; traditional farm buildings either in their original use or converted to other uses; mill streams; original road and path patterns, particularly in the settlements themselves. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
