Le Grand-Bornand

Le Grand-Bornand is a commune in the eastern French department of Haute-Savoie. The commune is a ski resort and takes its name from the river that runs through it. The inhabitants of Le Grand-Bornand are called Bornandins.

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Geography

Located on the western slope of the Aravis mountain range not far from Mont Blanc, Annecy Lake and Switzerland, Le Grand-Bornand is a summer and winter resort which developed around an old village. Le Grand-Bornand is in a wide part of the valley which has allowed it to develop – the village of Petit-Bornand, located downstream, is in a narrower part of the valley. The commune of Le Grand-Bornand is made-up of three areas: the Bouchet valley, the Chinaillon valley and the village of Le Grand-Bornand located at the junction of the two valleys. The hamlet of Chinaillon to the north east of Le Grand-Bornand is the main ski centre. The valley of Bouchet is located upstream of the village along the course of the river Borne.

Nearby

Nearby villages include Manigod, Thônes, La Clusaz, Saint-Jean-de-Sixt and the larger Chamonix and Annecy.

History

1569: Church fire
1715: Opening of a school
1755: End of the dispute with neighbouring village La Clusaz on the delimitation between the territories of the two villages
11 March 1817: Violent earthquake causes property damage
28 October 1923: Creation of a ski club, the "société des skieurs bornandins".
24 August 1944: 76 troops from the Vichy government's militia, condemned to death on 23 August by a court martial of the French Forces of the Interior and after a parody of a trial, are publicly shot close to the Peseretaz wood. 44 were buried in a cemetery created on the spot in the Bouchet valley.
14 July 1987: A brutal and unforeseeable flood of the Borne river, following a violent storm over the mountain, submerges the valley and devastates in particular the campsite of Le Grand-Bornand. There are 21 fatalities and two missing persons. The commune and the State were forced to compensate the families of the victims as the campsite had been located on the river floodplain.
11 April 2003: property developer, Xavier Flactif, and his family are killed in their country cottage in Chinaillon by a neighbour, David Hotyat.
22 July 2004: The village is the finish for a stage of the 2004 Tour de France. Lance Armstrong wins after a stage of from Le Bourg-d'Oisans. He was later stripped of this and many other wins for doping.
22 February 2006: Roddy Darragon wins a silver medal in a ski sprint at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin and the following day, Sylvie Becaert takes the bronze medal in the biathlon.

Twinning

Since 1997, Le Grand Bornand is twinned with Quiberon.

Place names

Researcher toponymist and Ph.D. graduate of the Sorbonne, Jérémie Delorme, has listed, photographed and described, about 3,000 place names in the commune. 90% come from Latin, 8% come from Gaulish, 1% from Germanic and 1% from pre-Latin languages. A third of the names refer to former occupants. Names ending in "ière" are pre 16th-century and names ending in "lhon" are pre 5th-century.

Places and monuments

Church of the Virgin Mary of the Assumption: it has been confirmed this church dates from 1346. It was partially destroyed by a fire in 1569 and the bell-tower completely rebuilt in 1661. It was completely rebuilt in 1877. The bell-tower, finished in 1845, is remarkable for its Baroque outer shell.
Chinaillon chapel
Bouchet chapel
Nant-Robert chapel
Gramusset refuge
Maroly virtual lake
Militiamen cemetery

People

Roddy Darragon: silver medalist in cross-country skiing individual sprint event in the 2006 Winter Olympics
Sylvie Becaert: bronze medalist in the biathlon at the 2006 Winter Olympics and 2005 world champion
Christophe Perrillat: French cross-country skiing team member at the 2006 Winter Olympics
Steve Missillier: member of the 2007 French Alpine skiing team
Sebastien Baker-Bidoz: former member of the French Alpine skiing team
Tessa Worley: member of the French Alpine skiing team. 2013 and 2017 world champion in the alpine skiing giant slalom event.

Economy

Tourism: ski resort. Le Grand-Bornand holds the award "Station verte de vacances".
Winter sports: The station is highly rated for beginner skiers and family holidays. However, although there are a few good restaurants, there is minimal nightlife.
Agriculture: Le Grand-Bornand is one of the birthplaces of reblochon, a cheese produced from abondancière, tarine and montbéliarde cows raised on Crau hay.
Companies:
* Aravis Boissons has manufactured Forclaz lemonade since 1870 according to the same, original recipe

Facilities

Outdoor activities

Events

"To happiness of the kids", children's festival
"To each their turn" Publicity in schools by the organisers of the Tour de France, to develop the image of "the outer loop" for future generations of consumers.
July 15–16, 2007: Arrival of 7th stage of the Tour de France 2007 and departure of 8th stage of the Tour de France 2007, 165 kilometres between Le Grand-Bornand and Tignes.
Alps Mountain festival
Ball of the conscripts, organized in May each year
Week of the mountain, discovering local fauna and flora. One evening is organized by the mountain security and the Office of mountain Guides. In 2007 it is from 21 to 27 July.

Tour de France

Le Grand-Bornand has been the start town for three stages of the Tour de France, in 1995, 1999 and 2007. It was the finish of a stage in 2004, 2007, 2009 and 2013. Stage 8 of the 2021 Tour de France finished here.