Hamlet trail loop

Lachenal has got nearly 20 resident. It has, like the other villages, its chapel and its “bachals”, basin built with rocks, which deserve to make a break to be contemplated.The hamlet of Lachenal (1300 m height) has got a real history well settle down with its beauty and its heritage. Its chapel Saint Jean in front of the “Porte latine” has been built in 1703. Saint Jean, from Galilee, who was fisherman, was responsible for the protection of the Virgin by the Christ who was dying. Its symbol was an eagle. Patron Saint of the Turkey, he was implored often against poisoning. Lachenal has got also a “bachal” that we can see in the village. A “bachal” is a big basin built with rocks which was used like a watering place for the quarter. They are still numerous in the hamlet of Bozel; you can find a “bachal” in each village.

Located at 6 km from Bozel, Tincave (1300 m height) has got nearly 50 resident. This hamlet has got its Chapel Saint Bernard of Menthon and also some relics of mines from the last century.The hamlet of Tincave has got a real history well settle down with its beauty and its heritage, like the other villages of Bozel. It has its own Chapel Saint Bernard of Menthon (celebrated the 25th of June) built in 1600 and rebuilt in 1776 after a fire break out in the village. Saint Bernard travelled in the Alps for 40 years, and took care of many travellers and pilgrims. He creates hospices at the two passes that they now have his name. He is the Patron Saint of the highlander and the mountain climber. An oratorical dedicated to Saint Michel is located at the entrance of the hamlet. Tincave is also a hamlet well-known for its coal mines (They don’t exist anymore nowadays). Indeed, open at the beginning of 20th century they closed in 1961. They were carried on by the “Compagnie Générale d’Electrochimie” of Bozel (It becomes Nobel-Bozel in 1957). These mines were really important; they made as much productivity as the one in la Mure in Isère. The footpath of the miner went between Tincave and Lachenal. Tincave has got also a “bachal” that we can see in the village. A “bachal” is a big basin built with rocks which was used like a watering place for the quarter. They are still numerous in the hamlet of Bozel; you can find a “bachal” in each village.

The hamlet of Villemartin (1100 m height) has got a real history well settle down with its beauty and its heritage, like the other villages of Bozel.Located at 3 km from Bozel, Villemartin is the hamlet where you have got many residents (the most important: 350 residents). It is the reason why this hamlet is lively and active. Until the 18th century, Villemartin was an independent quarter. Villemartin was merged with Tincave and Bozel the 6th of May 1761. Like the other hamlet of Bozel, Villemartin has its own Chapel built in 1430, dedicated to Saint Jacques le Majeur (Celebrated the 25th of July). He is represented like a bearded old man with a hat with a shell, dressed like a pilgrim with a bag and a stick. Then, since 1935, every last Saturday of July, Saint Jacques is celebrated during the “Vogue de la Saint Jacques”. It is celebrated during two days since 1972. This party is nowadays made by the “Foyer Rural de Villemartin”. This celebration is well known for the “soupe des pauvres” (Soup for poor) cooked traditionally by the local resident. Within the hamlet you can also find a traditional oven still used for party and a “bachal” which is a big basin built with rocks which was used like a watering place for the quarter. They are still numerous in the hamlet of Bozel; you can find a “bachal” in each village.

The Tour Sarrazine has been built between the 12th and the 13th century. name is coming from the way of how it has been built and not from the Saracen invasion. Open july and august only.It has 3 levels at the beginning but the Bonrieu’s flood fill in one of the down level. Its high is 19 m and the wall are really thick (2,5m). The Tour Sarrazine is nowadays a museum which has a permanent exhibition dedicated to the human presence in the village from the Neolithic time to today. Every summer a new temporary exhibition is taking place. The Tour Sarrazine is open in July and August from Sunday to Friday from 3 to 7 pm.

Its frontage ornament with painted scenes prefigures the Baroque design inside.ND-de Tout-Pouvoir, like other neighbouring pilgrimage chapels, features a plan in the form of a Greek cross, surmounted by an octagonal dome topped by a lantern. The outside of this elegant building features surprising decorative details including painted scenes that provide a hint of décor inside the chapel. In 1780, two brothers, Pierre and Joseph Desdominique, decorated the eight-sided dome with episodes illustrating the life of the Virgin Mary. The pendentives are also adorned with images of the four evangelists. In 1850, paintings were added to the walls and pillars although only the Four Fathers of the Latin Church today remain. A holy statue of the Virgin Mary, to whom the sanctuary was originally dedicated, once occupied the niche of the 1754 Baroque altarpiece but it was destroyed during the French Revolution and replaced by a 19th century statue of the Madonna and Child. Between the twisted columns, beneath the altar curtain, are statues of Saint Joachim and Saint Joseph, the father and husband of Mary respectively.

Here, we take care of our onions: The bell tower, with its double bulbous spire, has one of the most recognisable silhouettes in Savoy! The interior decoration is a fine example of the persistence of baroque inspiration beyond the Revolution.This is a bell tower that can be seen and recognised from afar! Destroyed during the Revolution, it was not until 1824 that it was rebuilt with a double bulbous spire, identical to the old one. The second one, "onion-shaped", is surmounted by the globe dominated by the cross and the rooster. Inside the building, rebuilt from 1732, almost all the furniture was also damaged in 1794: the church was used as a warehouse until 1800! It was not until 1840 that the sculptor Pedrino created the new main altarpiece: on either side of the central painting, a copy of the Transfiguration of Christ (a painting by Raphael kept in the Vatican), stand the statues of Saint Agatha and Saint Francis de Sales. The pulpit (decorated with the four evangelists and the Good Shepherd) was created by the sculptor Duithe, from Beaufort, in 1856... and don't forget the altarpiece of the Rosary, characteristic of the baroque period. In 1876, the building was extended: a new gallery was created, larger than the old one. The baroque portal from 1735 was fortunately moved to the new façade, where the statues of Moses, Elijah and the Sacred Heart were placed...

Chapelle Saint-Jacques is the oldest and largest chapel in the parish and resembles a genuine church. Step inside and discover its three colourful altarpieces and learn about the expertise and knowhow of artists from the Baroque period.The chapel was founded following the act of 12 July 1430 and built in honour of James the Greater or Saint James the Assyrian, the first Bishop of Tarentaise during the 5th century. Although the chapel only has a "simple" altarpiece, the main décor at the end of the chancel, is indeed a remarkable piece of work, featuring, on either side of the central painting, volute wings and caryatids. But the building also features secondary altar pieces, facing each other, that demonstrate the development in artistic taste between the 18th and 19th centuries. In the past, every Sunday, a low mass (where prayers were recited rather than sung) was celebrated in the chapel before those parishioners who were able, walked to the main town of Bozel to attend high mass. By 1300, the Brotherhood of Saint-Esprit - the valley's oldest known charitable institution - from Villemartin, was already in existence. The role of the Brotherhood in Villemartin is now a thing of the past; previously, however, every year, at the end of July, they used to prepare a special soup (the soupe de la Saint-Jacques) in a cauldron; the day before the celebration, families were asked for food - butter, beans, potatoes etc - to make the soup which was then distributed to the poor the following day, immediately after mass, with bread also provided by each family. And it's a tradition that continues to this day.