A LITTLE HISTORY…

The Christianisation of this territory, in the 4th century, led to a grouping of the population around the churches and the creation of parishes which constitute the main part of our present day network of communes. In 1355 the Arve Valley and all the district of Faucigny , made up essentially of the Arve and Giffre mountains and valleys, became the property of the Counts of Savoy. During the Middle Ages and up to the French Revolution it suffered wars ,epidemics and other disasters which slowed down its growth. Emigration ,whether seasonal or definitive, was a recurring  feature.

At the beginning of the 18th century

the widespread introduction of clock-making gave the inhabitants a new source of income and a way of avoiding emigration. In the mountain areas and on the plains workshops developed: this was the birth of the region’s industrial activity which was to ensure its prosperity. 



Throughout the 19th century  extensive dyke-building was undertaken , which  considerably reduced the ravages caused by the Arve ,( loss of crops, holding up of traffic ) , while not preventing them definitively. The region benefited fully from the Industrial Revolution in the second half of the 19th century, notably thanks to the Arve and its hydraulic force : it was the golden age of clock-making , before it was supplanted by screw-cutting after the First World War.