Chapelle de Mauvoisin

Kapelle von Mauvoisin

Historic site and monument, Religious heritage, Chapel in Mauvoisin
  • Chapel dedicated to Our Lady of the Snows.

  • This little chapel is geographically remote and the complete history of its reconstruction is a mystery.

    According to Louis Blondel, a historian, the current chapel the result of the transformation of a watch tower belonging to the “Lords of Quart”, who lived in the Aosta Valley up until the 14th century. This conclusion is based on the fact that the wall is circular, and that the roof has somehow been reattached.

    The interior architecture appears to date from the 18th century; a...
    This little chapel is geographically remote and the complete history of its reconstruction is a mystery.

    According to Louis Blondel, a historian, the current chapel the result of the transformation of a watch tower belonging to the “Lords of Quart”, who lived in the Aosta Valley up until the 14th century. This conclusion is based on the fact that the wall is circular, and that the roof has somehow been reattached.

    The interior architecture appears to date from the 18th century; a religious painting dating back to 1730 was found inside. Following the Giétroz Glacier disaster on 16 June 1818, donations allowed for the construction of the bell tower next to the building.

    Even without a chapel, Mauvoisin was already a place of pilgrimage. After a service held in Lourtier, the procession made its way up in penitents garb and often with bare feet, imploring God to preserve the valley from drought. An alcove, bearing the dates 1730/1745 and 1953, dedicated to the Virgin Mary located some 500 metres upstream from the chapel on a rock overlooking the dam road, bears witness to the fervour of the time.

    From 1862 (the year of the last pilgrimage according to C. Rust) to 1929, the chapel was practically abandoned and became a depot for the Mauvoisin hotel.

    In 1929, Dr François Carron, hotelier, and his wife Elise, paid for the restoration and built an altar. M. Meylan from Lausanne donated the bell on which is written “Christ has conquered, he reigns supreme, and may he defend us against all evil, Amen”.

    The rendering was carried out in 1967. Inaugurated in August 1930, it is dedicated to Our Lady of the Snows (celebrated on 5 August).
  • Spoken languages
    • French
Close