There are many mountain chapels in France, scattered throughout the Alps, Pyrenees, Vosges, Jura, and Corsica. In the Alps alone, there are more than 300, and some communes have dozens of chapels, one in every hamlet.
The commune of Névache in the Clarée valley (Hautes-Alpes), which has 350 inhabitants, boasts 28 chapels. Each hamlet has its own chapel, and some isolated farms have private chapels next to their farm buildings.
Scattered settlements and the demands of animal husbandry have led residents to surround themselves with the essentials at every season. These chapels bear witness to the faith of the shepherds, but also to the literal pastoral care of their flocks. It's not uncommon to find a sheepfold on the same site, sometimes right next to the place of worship. Last but not least, they serve as refuges, for both people and animals, in times of mountain storms.
Votive chapels
Elsewhere, at higher altitudes, completely isolated pilgrimage chapels have a votive function. They’re the destination of annual processions, which are enjoying a real revival. They’re often linked to miracles, such as Notre-Dame d'Héas, at the foot of the Cirque de Troumouse, in the Gavarnie valley (Pyrenees) at an altitude of 5,052 feet. Or they may have originally sheltered a hermit, like the chapel of Saint-Antoine-l'Hermite in Breil-sur-Roya (Alpes-de-Haute-Provence). The Saint-Bernard-des-Alpes chapel in Courchevel (Savoie) celebrates St. Bernard, patron of mountaineers and alpinists. Elsewhere, people pray to St. Roch or the Virgin Mary.
Mountain chapels are firmly anchored to the rock, in communion with creation. Inside, wood dominates, in the framework and furniture. They stun us with their simplicity, or with the richness of their Baroque decoration, particularly in Savoy. Colorful statuary illustrates the popular devotions and traditions of the mountain people who live so close to heaven.
Of rock, wood, and faith
Mountain chapels suffer more than those anywhere else. They are at the mercy of avalanches, torrential rains, wind, and landslides. Today, the chapel of Notre-Dame du Mont-Thabor in Névache (Hautes-Alpes), the highest in France at 10,426 ft, is in danger of collapsing due to global warming. If geography has left its mark on these mountains, history has not spared them either. A refuge for maquisards (World War II French resistance fighters) on the Glières plateau, the Notre-Dame des Neiges chapel was bombed by the Germans in 1944. Then rebuilt…
Indeed, mountain chapels all owe their existence to the faith of the local people, who built them there, who often rebuilt them (the chapel of l'Izard, in Antras, in the Pyrenees, has been rebuilt seven times), and who continue—summer and winter alike—to give them a soul.
