Anthy-sur-Léman, Haute-Savoie, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France

Anthy-sur-Léman is a French commune located in the department of Haute-Savoie, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. Anthy-sur-Léman is a member of the community of municipalities of Bas-Chablais and the agglomeration of Greater Geneva.

The town has an area of 459 hectares including 26 of wood. It is located in the north of the department, in the French Chablais region on the shore of Lake Geneva. Anthy-sur-Léman is experiencing significant development linked to its privileged geographical position and the proximity of Thonon-les-Bains.

History
Bas-Chablais has been inhabited since prehistoric times. A Neolithic necropolis discovered at Genevray (Thonon) in 2003 attests to this. Villages are being built on the shores of Lake Geneva. In Anthy, stakes driven into the earth and covered by the waters of the lake are still present. They may be the remains of pile-dwelling villages or pontoons. Some erratic boulders have wells that may have been dug at this time.

Around 500 BC JC, the Allobroges (Celtic people) invade the territory. They are defeated around 120 BC. JC by the Romans who colonized the periphery of Lake Geneva. In the middle of the 5th century, the Burgundians or Burgundians invaded the Roman Empire, it was the period of the Great Invasions.

In 443, Geneva became the capital of the Kingdom of the Burgundians (for 30 years only). In 515, King Sigismond created the abbey of Saint-Maurice d’Agaune in Valais. Its vast domain extends over a large part of the Lake Geneva coast with some land in Anthy. The first bishoprics appear. When the Kingdom of the Burgundians was destroyed around 530 by the Franks of Clovis, Anthy was part of the Kingdom of the Franks and the bishopric of Geneva for the spiritual.

From the 13th century, parishes were created in the bishopric of Geneva. It is perhaps the birth of the parish of Saint Barthélémy-d’Anthy. The western part of Chablais up to the Dranse gradually came under the yoke of the House of Savoy, which dominated the great seigneurial families such as the Cervens and the Allinges. She drives out the Counts of Geneva and the Lords of Faucigny. In 1271, Anthy was part of the chatellenie of Allinges-Thonon in the province of Chablais-Neuf and the Count of Savoy.

From this period dates the division of the village of Sechex. A simple path separates the seigneuries of Anthy and Margencel. Two hypotheses can explain this episode: The count of Faucigny (Château-Vieux) had rights to Séchex, and gives access to the lake. This privilege would have been maintained at the stronghold of Margencel following the capture and destruction of Château-Vieux d’Allinges by Count Pierre II of Savoy in 1203. It would be an agreement between the lords of Anthy and Margencel. Anthy would have asked Margencel for some of his wood (wood from the villa of Dursilly). In return, Anthy would have ceded part of Séchex to Margencel, land leading to the lake between the Redon river and the western part of Séchex.

In 1536, the Bernese invaded the Chablais as far as the Dranse. The Protestant religion is imposed on the inhabitants. He became Savoy again in 1564 following the Treaty of Lausanne between Count Emmanuel-Philibert and Bern, for the part of the Dranse to Hermance. The border with Valais was definitively established at Morge de Saint-Gingolph in 1569. Anthy was part of the new county of Allinges, separated from Thonon in 1570, and which had ten parishes. The Count of Savoy would have built in Anthy the port of the County of Allinges on the West Bank, at a place called La Tour.

On the documents of the Gabelle du sel from 1568, the villages of Anthy and Séchex are listed under the names of Anthiez and Chessel. Séchex is then already divided in two, the part of Margencel has 11 fires and that of Anthy, 8 fires. From 1594 to 1598, François de Sales and his cousin were responsible for converting the Chablais to Catholicism. In 1602, François de Sales, who became the new bishop of Geneva (in Annecy) reorganized his bishopric by applying the resolutions of the Council of Trent. Anthy and Margencel remained a united parish for six years, as under the Bernese occupation.

In the 17th century, Anthy was now part of the marquisate of Marclaz, because its income was transferred to Monseigneur Vidomne de Chamoisy, Marquis de Marclaz and Lord of Dursilly. In 1692, a slight earthquake shook the houses. It would have been a value of 4/9 on the Richter scale.

The Treaty of Utrecht of 1713 put an end to the war of Austrian succession. Duke Victor-Amédée II receives the royal crown of Sicily, which he then exchanges for that of Sardinia. In 1718, Bas-Chablais was under the authority of King Victor Emmanuel II of the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia. It promulgates, shortly after, the establishment of a cadastre or a map of all its statements. Anthy’s map will be completed in 1738. In 1771, the parish of Anthy bought back its feudal rights by selling its communes, which at the time represented a third of the cultivable areas. The peasants are opposed to these sales, especially since the family of General Dessaix closes access to its new acquisitions by closing them.

From 1792, France occupied Savoy and created the Department of Mont-Blanc with Chambéry as its capital. The annexation of Geneva in 1798 led to a new division, with the creation of the Department of Léman. Anthy becomes a municipality in the canton of Thonon and in the district of the same name. It can trade with Geneva.

Following the fall of Napoleon I in 1814, Savoy once again became the property of the Kingdom of Piedmont Sardinia. The 2nd Treaty of Vienna allows Geneva to expand. The city expands of Savoyard and French communes to form a canton. It adheres to the Helvetic Confederation. In 1815, the syndic of Anthy was appointed by the intendant general of Chablais.

On June 15, 1860, Savoy was officially attached to the Second French Empire. Anthy can again trade freely with Geneva and Switzerland. At the end of the 19th century, Anthy was a farming village. It is crossed by the departmental road 33. A CGN landing stage is built at Séchex as well as the railway line, in the Bois d’Anthy to the south, connecting Evian to Bellegarde.

In 1913, the inhabitants of Séchex asked for their independence, but the main defender Edouard Guyon having died in the war, the idea was abandoned. During the First World War, Anthy lost 36 men in the war (out of 428 inhabitants). During World War II, the Italians, then from 1942 the Germans, occupied Bas-Chablais. They hold garrison in Margencel. The lakeside border with Switzerland is particularly monitored.

From the 1960s, Anthy’s agricultural activity declined. The municipality is trying to develop tourism with Lake Geneva as its main asset. Thus on November 4, 1971, for tourist and economic reasons, Anthy became Anthy-sur-Léman by prefectural decree. In application of the Marcellin decentralization laws of 1971, on October 9, 1974, the town was attached to the association of Thonon and Marin, without consulting the population and became a simple hamlet. Following a municipal referendum, it regained its autonomy in 1983.

At the end of the 20th century, Anthy’s physiognomy changes. Urbanization increases along with its population. The commercial area is built as an extension of that of Marclaz and occupies a large part of the territory, to the south, along the RD 1005. In July 2008, the Thonon bypass, on the southern part of Anthy, was opened.

Historical heritage

The old town
The concentric streets and the houses are grouped around the church. This is the old heart of the village. The village is divided into four main districts: Menoge to the east, Molard to the west, la Croix to the north, le Haut or “la Luche” to the south.

Hamlet of Sechex
The Hameau de Séchex stands out more, it is shared between Anthy and Margencel and is cut in two by the RD 33.

The imperial route
An old Roman road passed south of Anthy. The Napoleon route, known as the “imperial route”, partly took it back. It would have been the place of passage of Bonaparte on his return from Italy. Napoleon Ill and Empress Eugenie would have borrowed it to celebrate, in Thonon, the annexation of Savoy in 1860. It linked Geneva to Martigny, passing to the south of Lake Geneva by Veigy, Douvaine, Massongy (SousEtraz), Sciez (Jussy). This road is roughly parallel to the current RD 1005, called RN 5 until 2006 and which crosses the town to the south for 2.9 km. Since the Thonon bypass in 2008, part of this axis has become the RD 2005. A cycle path was created in 2005 on part of this former imperial road.

Bridges
Four bridges span the Pamphiot from upstream to downstream: The two bridges of the RD 2005 in Marclaz, one dating from the Sardinian period, the second built before the Second World War, only the latter is used. The rue de Corzent bridge was built at the same time as the Chantrell housing estate in 1972. It leads to Corzent (Thonon). The bridge on rue de la Plage, at the Champ de l’Eau. The construction of the Thonon bypass required the construction of two new bridges over Anthy. The first serves the access road to the Margencel shopping center, the second allows the passage of the RD133. A small bridge spans the Fosseaux stream, route de la Croisée d’Anthy

Harbors
Anthy has four landing stages and a historic port that are still visible. They are from east to west: Port Chantrell, built at the same time as the castle, in 1926. It became public around 1975 and has 30 mooring loops. The old Port of the County of Allinges: only the remains of the old tower remain, at a place called La Tour. Port de la Barque à Frossard (private), built around 1949 by the Compagnie de coaches Frossard to accommodate a Meillerie boat, “L’Algérie”. Port des Pêcheurs (public), used by professional fishermen. It was built in 1990, from the fishermen’s dike Dubouloz. Port Monod (private) built before 1879 and consolidated before 1914. Its particularity is, in addition to its dike, to allow access to a covered boat garage. Compagnie Générale de Navigation landing stage: a port was necessary in the town to house the boats of boatmen. The maintenance of this CGN landing stage is now the responsibility of the municipality of Margencel.

Civil heritage
The Château de Chantrell was built in 1926 by the Parisian family of the same name. The municipality sells some of its lots of municipal lakeside gardens to the Chantrell family. The main building followed the lines of the Petit-Trianon de Versailles, with an English park at the rear. In front of the castle, a French-style park extended to Lake Geneva through a port with a quay and two boat garages. The estate was dismembered in 1975, for the construction of a housing estate. We can observe the remains of a tower on a house in rue des Fontaines, which suggests that it was a strong house.

Many farms have been preserved and restored. The buildings are remarkable for their typical Chablais architecture. These are village farms which were made up of three parts: a courtyard, a building (the barn with a stable and the house on the cellar), a garden. These are buildings all in length (traditional farm of the peasant winemaker).pressoi

Some houses are said to be “remarkable”. They date from the end of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century. We can cite: the villas of Doctors Plontz and Alain, the Villa Bourgeois and the Chalet de la Croisée d’Anthy. At that time, these houses were considered as “bourgeois houses” by the Anthychois because they differed from the traditional Chablaisian habitat characterized by adjoining houses, in which were grouped the barn (and other agricultural spaces) and the dwelling. Les Chalets Monod: the chalets bear the name of the family who settled there in 1903. This domain, located on the shores of Lake Geneva, was built by Mr. Roget in 1867 near the property of Coudrée (Sciez) of his friend MP Bartholoni. The estate is sold to the Comte de la Bédoyère.

The whole was bought, before the 1st World War, by the Banker Genevois Naville who enlarged the Port. The inhabitants of Séchex remember that he had the Swiss colors hoisted above and French below, on the mast of the Port, when he arrived by lake cruiser. Company administrator of the Imperial Ottoman Bank, he gives the property to his daughter Cécile who marries Julien Monod. This large family spent all their summer vacations at the Port of Séchex. Part of the land is currently in the process of being acquired by the Conservatoire du Littoral.

Religious monuments
In 1962-1963, work was carried out to enhance the church. The interior is restored with new stained glass windows. The parish priest at the time, Father Lucien Blanc, at the idea of having the stations of a Stations of the Cross built in Morzine slate. It is the Chablaisian artist René Michaud, who has already designed the stained glass windows, who paints the 14 slates representing the 14 stations of the Stations of the Cross. Abbé Blanc also commissioned Auguste Blanc de Meillerie to make a wrought iron anchor inspired by the anchors of the boats in Lake Geneva. This lacustrine anchor adorned with chains serves as a lectern.

Saint-Barthélemy Church
A first chapel would have been built around the 8th century, on the site of the temple of an old Roman villa. This chapel would later become a church. The revenues of the parish are originally received by the Dean of Allinges who then pays the vicar of the parish of Anthy. The old church was destroyed in 1880. The current church was built in 1882. The Anthychoise part of Séchex has a single parish for the spiritual, the Saint-Barthélémy d’Anthy parish and the same cemetery. The Margencelloise part of Séchex has the choice between the two parishes. The majority go to the church of Anthy.

Two bells are hidden behind the abat-son of the steeple-spire. The smaller one was cast in 1790 by Jean-Daniel Dreffet in Geneva. Listed in 1943, this bell with filed inscriptions is at the center of several legends. Some say that she was recovered during the revolutionary period, while others believe that her older sister was brought to Morges. Since 1865, a large melted bell in Annecy le Vieux has kept this small bell company. Mr. Antoine CORDOBA, specialist in the heritage of bells, recently produced an interesting report on the church bells.

Presbytery
The old cure was on the site of the current town hall. His garden occupied the playground at the back. The current cure was built in 1882. It consists of the apartment of the Curé and his maid, a dining room, a reception office, the bishop’s room, the catechism room. serving as library and rehearsal room for the parish choir. Built as a parish in the Maison-Rurale sector until Pentecost 2005, the new “Anthy Parish Community” is now part of the parish of ND des Hermones. This is served by a priest residing in Allinges and three priests who, together, manage the 13 communities, from Lake Geneva to Bellevaux.

Natural heritage

Beaches
When the weather is fine, come and enjoy our 3 kilometers of coastline with our 5 beaches, from natural beaches, a little wild, to family beaches for unforgettable swimming parties. In Anthy, you can discover these idyllic places on foot by walking along the “customs path” accessible from one end of the town to the other. Along this coast, you will find fun facilities for the whole family and several leisure and catering professionals to welcome you.

After decades of various discharges, the public authorities have mobilized to give new life to Lake Geneva. From now on, the level of quality reached easily allows swimming and, above all, fishing. The level of bathing water quality has improved markedly in recent years, since all the beaches are now suitable for swimming. Regular measurements are taken.

Champs de l’Eau Beach or Corzent Beach
Pebble beach with large lawn areas to relax, you will find a volleyball court and sanitary facilities, 200 parking spaces nearby, pedal boat rental, the de la Plage refreshment bar and the “Les Pieds dans l’Eau” restaurant.

Rives Beach
Small pebble access with a large lawn area, children’s games available and 30 parking spaces at the entrance to the beach.

Recorts Beach
In the center of the village, long pebble beach with a large lawn area, children’s games available, pétanque court, traditional fishing port and 2 toilet blocks available. Easy access with 200 parking spaces nearby.

Balises Beach
Small intimate and wild beach, access by the Balises road, privilege access on foot or by bike, there are few parking possibilities at the beach.

Sechex Beach
Nature beach, access by road from the port of Sechex, nearby you will find the restaurants and bars of the Port of Sechex for you to eat.

La Savoie the boat
The boats with lateen sail are the emblem of the Lake Geneva shores. A faithful copy of its ancestor from 1896, the boat “La Savoie” has been the living representation of these old traditional boats since 2000. Savoy is part of the French naval heritage: in 2011 it obtained the label of “Boat of patrimonial interest” by the Fondation du Patrimoine Fluvial et Maritime directed by Gérard d’Aboville. Until the recent launch of the Hermione at Rochefort, she was the largest replica of an old boat rebuilt and sailing in France. With its 35 m long, and 30 m high, and a sail area of 350 m2, it is one of the largest French sailing ships and the largest Latin sailboat in the world. It bears witness to our history and Lake Geneva’s heritage. These old boats transported in the last century up to 180 tons of stones from the quarries of Meillerie, a small French village, for the construction of Swiss cities, in particular Geneva and Lausanne.

Sailing from May to October, the Savoie carries nearly 3,000 passengers per year, can be hired and takes part in the major events of the season. It has been managed by the “Mémoire du Léman” association since 2000. The Savoie is the only French boat of this size to operate exclusively thanks to volunteers (6 licensed captains and around 40 crew). Renovation work is now imperative to safeguard the boat and the tourist navigation activity after 2015. Indeed, despite regular maintenance work every two years, the boat accuses accelerated aging, in particular due to a fungus attacking the wood. The new safety standards have also created unforeseeable additional costs.