Randonnée été : Un petit coin de paradis contre un coin de parapluie
In all great journeys, to know where you are going, you must first know where you come from… (Olga Novel-Terrier)! Here, you will be told the story of the metamorphosis of a rural mountain society into a ski resort.
Vaujany takes its name from Val (valley) and Janus (god of transitions, passages). The village is located in a valley opening its door to Savoy, at Col du Sabot.
In this small mountain village, the resources were mainly cultivation and livestock breeding. R. Blanchard writes "the mountain dweller was above all an alpine peasant devoted to a culture of hard work".
A society based on work, mutual aid, and hardly knowing consumption. Rural life in hostile mountains, however, shapes free communities, whose inhabitants have never known serfdom. Our mountain dwellers call themselves frank and free! We did everything ourselves, and the little money was used to buy land.
To say, the capital represented the purchase of an animal, let's take a cow for example, and the interests were represented by the birth of calves.
Vaujany experienced two major periods of modernization: the arrival of the Grand Maison dam and then the exploitation of the mountain pastures as a ski area.
This rural life, difficult, experienced the rural exodus. The wars having taken the men, a form of matriarchy was born from the First World War.
The women, having understood that life here would be difficult, sent their daughters to be educated in order to try their luck elsewhere. Proverb: "The goat always goes up and the woman goes down!"
In the 72s, the first engineers arrived to explore the land and organize the future of VaujanyThe inhabitants are afraid of being expropriated, rumors are circulating and causing a lot of trouble.
In the 80s, a daunting project was launched: the construction of the Grand Maison dam, which was completed in 85. The town was preparing to turn a page in its rural history. From then on, the future rhymed with possibilities: Vaujany enters a modern era.
In the 90s, when the Alpe d'Huez resort was already welcoming skiing enthusiasts, Vaujany has long been eyeing its alpine heritage, ideal for skiing. This project is coming to fruition, and the first ski lifts are being installed. White gold is opening up new development possibilities. Yesterday's cursed snow has become today's treasure!
Tourist residences are emerging from the ground. The dwellings are developed in accordance with a mountain style: Concentration of dwellings, choice of materials. The number of floors of the buildings is limited. All these rules ensure a coherence and homogeneity of the village, leaving it its soul.
The built environment: the village develops from the top to the bottom of the mountain, clearly visible from the viewpoint of the waterfall. Three levels appear: at the bottom of the village the sports facilities (ice rinks, swimming pool, bowling, daycare) in the middle the cable car square and its shops, then at the top of the village the Place de la Fare.
An open mind represents the inhabitants of Vaujany who have adapted well to all these changes.
In this small mountain village, the resources were mainly cultivation and livestock breeding. R. Blanchard writes "the mountain dweller was above all an alpine peasant devoted to a culture of hard work".
A society based on work, mutual aid, and hardly knowing consumption. Rural life in hostile mountains, however, shapes free communities, whose inhabitants have never known serfdom. Our mountain dwellers call themselves frank and free! We did everything ourselves, and the little money was used to buy land.
To say, the capital represented the purchase of an animal, let's take a cow for example, and the interests were represented by the birth of calves.
Vaujany experienced two major periods of modernization: the arrival of the Grand Maison dam and then the exploitation of the mountain pastures as a ski area.
This rural life, difficult, experienced the rural exodus. The wars having taken the men, a form of matriarchy was born from the First World War.
The women, having understood that life here would be difficult, sent their daughters to be educated in order to try their luck elsewhere. Proverb: "The goat always goes up and the woman goes down!"
In the 72s, the first engineers arrived to explore the land and organize the future of VaujanyThe inhabitants are afraid of being expropriated, rumors are circulating and causing a lot of trouble.
In the 80s, a daunting project was launched: the construction of the Grand Maison dam, which was completed in 85. The town was preparing to turn a page in its rural history. From then on, the future rhymed with possibilities: Vaujany enters a modern era.
In the 90s, when the Alpe d'Huez resort was already welcoming skiing enthusiasts, Vaujany has long been eyeing its alpine heritage, ideal for skiing. This project is coming to fruition, and the first ski lifts are being installed. White gold is opening up new development possibilities. Yesterday's cursed snow has become today's treasure!
Tourist residences are emerging from the ground. The dwellings are developed in accordance with a mountain style: Concentration of dwellings, choice of materials. The number of floors of the buildings is limited. All these rules ensure a coherence and homogeneity of the village, leaving it its soul.
The built environment: the village develops from the top to the bottom of the mountain, clearly visible from the viewpoint of the waterfall. Three levels appear: at the bottom of the village the sports facilities (ice rinks, swimming pool, bowling, daycare) in the middle the cable car square and its shops, then at the top of the village the Place de la Fare.
An open mind represents the inhabitants of Vaujany who have adapted well to all these changes.
