Mont Saint-Michel de Curienne et sa chapelle

Curienne

From the summit, a boundary stone, an iron cross and the white chapel overlook a close-cropped meadow where one sees, to the north, the levelled walls of the former chapel. The view extends over Chambéry, the Combe de Savoie, the Chartreuse and the Granier. The place has long been inhabited: Wikipedia, alone, reports traces of occupation since the 3rd millennium BCE; the Bauges park describes a feudal motte, the Motte de la Bognette, which it dates to the 9th–10th centuries as the first permanent settlement of Curienne. The first chapel, attested in the Middle Ages, is said to have been preceded by a Roman temple dedicated to Mars; Wikipedia reports the hypothesis without sourcing it. The present chapel was built on the initiative of Abbé Bassat, parish priest of Curienne, with the help of many subscribers and of the Carthusian fathers; the Chambéry Montagnes tourist office and the Bauges park say it was inaugurated in 1879, as does the Wikipedia article on Curienne; the one on the hill says 1871. It is dedicated to the archangel Michael, protector of high places, and its silhouette, lit since 1992, serves as a night-time landmark for the whole basin. The summit also bears a 'fairies' cave' of which only the name remains, and dry grasslands with orchids of Mediterranean affinity, rare at this altitude, which have earned the site its Natura 2000 designation.

Wikipédia — Mont Saint-Michel (massif des Bauges) ↗

Getting there : From Curienne (D 21 from Saint-Jeoire-Prieuré, D 11 from Barby), leave the car at the church car park or at the place called Les Vachers (710 m) and follow the waymarked dry-grassland path: about 50 minutes of ascent, 5 to 6 km there and back, 200 m of climbing (to be checked), without difficulty. The site is freely accessible all year round; it is protected under Natura 2000, keep to the paths. The Bauges massif regional nature park offers a 5.1 km loop in three hours from the church.

Opening times and access details are given as a guide only: check before you set out.

Ambient sound