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Cimalpes

Inspirations

16 February 2022

Saint-Martin-de-Belleville and its authentic chalets

A exclusive address in the 3 Valleys, Saint-Martin-de-Belleville offers a timeless setting. Discover its traditional Savoyard architecture and its preserved way of life.

Saint-Martin-de-Belleville: a mountain village with well-preserved architecture

A small corner of paradise at an altitude of 1450 m, Saint-Martin-de-Belleville is an exclusive address. Surrounded by Les Ménuires, Courchevel and Val Thorens, this authentic mountain town is the only resort in the 3 Valleys to have existed before skiing holidays.

Cimalpes Saint-Martin-de-Belleville will share the story of this ancient village, its mountain chalets and its inhabitants who, over the centuries, have passed on the art of living in the mountains and their love of the mountain pastures as we continue to do today.

A paragon of traditional Savoyard architecture

  • A multimillennial heritage

Human presence in the Belleville valley dates back to the Copper Age, something that is attested to by the Pierra Chevetta, a prehistoric engraved stone that you will find in a small square west of the hamlet of Villarenger.

Over the centuries, the Bella Villa valley gave rise to numerous hamlets. The first known building in Saint-Martin-de-Belleville is the parish church of Saint-Martin, built in the Middle Ages and renovated in the Baroque period. Lovers of religious art will appreciate its altarpieces and its gilded and polychromatic decorations, typical of Tarentaise art. 

Around this parish, chalets are built very close to each other. As for the way of life of the inhabitants, those who did not leave the mountain pastures for the big cities cultivated the land and raised herds. For a long time, the village lived in isolation, content to respond to the rhythm of the seasons. 

  • From mountain village to ski area: a highly controlled transition

The way of life of Saint-Martin de Belleville remained pastoral until the 1960s. Then, as the construction sites of Les Ménuires and Val Thorens started from nothing, the mayor and stockbreeder Nicolas Jay refused to let his village be modified. 

He proudly announced that he wanted to preserve the authentic architecture and the old charm of the village. He, therefore, imposed the use of the Savoyard building style on all new constructions. In the heart of the 3 Valleys region, Saint-Martin de Belleville, therefore, took on a new challenge: that of preserving its traditional Savoyard architecture while opening up to tourism.

The heritage was subjected to an exhaustive inventory, which listed all the distinctive characteristics of the authentic chalets in order to impose the same codes on all new construction and renovation projects.  

Distinctive charactistics of Bellevilloise architecture

The rules set out in the PLU and outlined in the Cahier de prescriptions architecturales paysagères

provides us with precious clues to the knowledge of the builders of yesteryear:

  • Construction of chalets and montagnettes (small mountain pasture houses) in tight groups
  • Roofs made of lauze or, at least, grey slate. There are very few roofers who are able to cut and lay this stone. The restoration work carried out in the Belleville valley was an opportunity to rediscover and pass on these ancient skills.
  • Walls coated with grilla or gria, the typical pink plaster colour of the valley, obtained by cooking gypsum from the surrounding quarries and fragments of charcoal for 8 to 10 days. The grilla was a very good thermal insulator which also had very practical fireproof properties to preserve the wood of the cottages and avoid fires.
  • Local stonework
  • Respect for the natural slope of the land, minimising the amount of fill and excavation.
  • Staining of joinery and shutters in medium to dark oak

In the village, the absence of wooden facades is notable. Wood is reserved for lintels, joinery, railings and gable frames. Then as now, builders and renovators prefer local wood species such as the common spruce, Scots pine, beech and larch that is found in our forests.

Among the finest examples of Alpine chalet construction, the Chalet La Grange (renovated in the truest Savoyard heritage manner) shows the timeless charm of the combination of raw wood and stone in an elegant and warm setting.

Heritage tour: discover the historical heritage of Saint-Martin in 2 hours

Found next to the small museum of Saint-Martin-de-Belleville, the tourist office provides a map of the village with a heritage tour.

This offers the opportunity, in a 2-hour walk, to discover 12 examples of historic buildings such as the wash house, the alpine cheese factory, the communal oven, the Ligeon grocery shop and the Notre Dame de la Vie sanctuary, a former place of pilgrimage that has been designed and renovated with an abundance of frescoes, statues and gold at the same level as the village of Saint-Marcel.

Be amazed by the richness of Alpine heritage and discover the charm of this carefully preserved village!

Would you like to discover the best addresses in Saint-Martin-de-Belleville?

THE MUST-SEE PLACES IN SAINT MARTIN

 

To prepare your stay in Saint-Martin de Belleville, CONSULT OUR GUIDE 

 

 

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