La Bauche: Landscape and Heritage
Accommodation in La Bauche
La Bauche brings together religious and thermal history with a landscape of wooded slopes and streams. The D 921 crosses the town from north to south, connecting Les Echelles with the shores of lac d’Aiguebelette. The town’s history and its landscape provide distinct perspectives on the destination.
Landscape and Waterways
The wooded slopes of Mont-Beauvoir rise above La Bauche. Montagne de LĂ©pine is classified as a ZNIEFF because of its botanical and geological significance. These are two distinct landscape features: the wooded slopes above the town and the particular botanical and geological importance of Montagne de LĂ©pine.
At the western edge of La Bauche, the Morge stream winds through the plain. Several small streams rise on the western slope of Montagne de Lépine, flow into the Morge and cross La Bauche from east to west. There are more than ten small streams in total. Together, the slopes, the main stream and its tributaries paint a varied picture of the town’s landscape.
Church and Religious Heritage
A religious document from 1142 refers to La Bauche as “Eclésia di boschia,” meaning “Church of La Bauche.” The church was rebuilt in the 19th century and remains at its historic site, which was already recorded on the 1729 Sardinian cadastral map.
The church’s furnishings include a painting of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary. Xavier de Maistre painted it in Pisa in 1828; it was classified as an artwork in 1982. Four crosses stand in the territory of La Bauche, usually at crossroads. The former establishment of the Sisters of Saint-Joseph in La Curriaz is also part of the town’s religious heritage.
Château and Thermal History
The Château de La Bauche was built in several phases during the 18th century by the Perrin family. It began with a tower built in 1733. The château’s history can therefore be placed in context: the tower marks the start of a gradual construction process, rather than a single construction date.
The thermal spring at La Bauche was rediscovered in 1862 by the Sardinian Count Crotti de Castiglione. Édouard Crotti then developed the spa business in La Bauche and began marketing bottled water and lozenges. The historic thermal bath at Château de La Bauche was built in 1877. The sequence runs from the spring’s rediscovery, through its commercial development, to the construction of the thermal bath in the 19th century.
A Gallo-Roman complex consisting of two springs is also documented in La Bauche in 1862. This shows that the history of the town’s springs predates the later development of the spa business.
Other Traces and a Local Offering
The ruins of former mills are located at Le Moulin in La Bauche. Together with the crosses and the former establishment in La Curriaz, they are among the varied traces that reveal religious and economic aspects of the town’s history.
A present-day culinary highlight is Fournil Les mains dans la pâte. This local organic bakery with a wood-fired oven offers sourdough bread, brioche, biscuits, and sweet and savoury specialities. Its offering is quite different from the historic traces of the former thermal industry and adds a contemporary food offering to the town’s history.
Discover more destinations: Salins-Les-Thermes, Gilly-sur-Isère, Villard-Sur-Doron, Voglans, Villarembert, Courchevel 1550, Challes-Les-Eaux, Albens.
For the overview of the wider region: Savoie.
