The hamlet of Chantemerle

Chantemerle is one of the highest hamlets in Samoëns village. A postcard of the past with its fruit trees and panoramic views.

As early as the 14th century, there is a written record of the existence of Chantemerle, a hamlet in Samoëns. At that time it was called Chantamellaz. It is hard to imagine today that, in the 1950s, around ten families lived there all year round. Most of these families lived from cattle breeding and were gathered in large farms. Buildings that are still perfectly preserved. They used to share hay, wood, and road chores, as well as water.

In 1920, the school received up to thirty-five children in all sections. It closed its doors in 1960. Lately, most of the houses in the hamlet of Chantemerle have been waiting for the holidays and their new owners to reopen their doors. Either in summer or winter. And then, at the top of the hamlet, there is also the chapel founded in 1684 under the name of Saint-François-de-Sales. The chapel, which reflects the art of the stonemasons and is topped by a bulbous bell, was a place of pilgrimage. The pilgrimages of the inhabitants of the hamlet were rhythmed by songs and prayers for good weather and abundant harvests.

Over the centuries, the chapel has protected its inhabitants, known as the "Bochars de la Lanche", and was magnificently restored in 2007 with the help of the association "Les Amis des Chapelles". Chantemerle is a postcard of the past with its fruit trees, its panoramic view, and some farming machinery. Machinery that could be considered ready to be used again. Nothing is abandoned. There has always been life and there is still life over there, it is only a little asleep.