Industrial Heritage
A Tour in the City
Bellegarde-sur-Valserine's unique character is due less to the way it appears today and more to the history of its development. As an industrial city, Bellegarde was born in the 19th century from:
- the financial opportunism of Swiss and “foreign” investors
- their economic interests in making a profit from a raw material, hydroelectric power used to run machines and turbines
- and their wish to rationally organize a growing city.
A myriad of small plants from various industrial specialties was attracted to Bellegarde because of its proximity to Switzerland, the tax breaks due to the tax free zone, and the new techniques for using the hydraulic motor and the subsequent hydroelectric motor at the turn of the 20th century.
In the economic order of post-war France, population migratory movements went the opposite direction. The endless rush-hour traffic shows some affinities, even dependencies, with surrounding areas such as Haute-Savoie; the south of the Ain Department; and, particularly, the Pays de Gex and Switzerland. The number of French living next to the border and working in Switzerland has been on the rise since the 1960s.
The architectural diversity of public and private buildings in Bellegarde-sur-Valserine reflects these social and economic changes, which have influenced the specific appearance of this vibrant city.
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Génissiat Dam
When the Génissiat Dam was completed and operational in 1948 (12 years after construction started in 1936), it was the largest hydroelectric dam in Europe.
Creating a 23 kilometer wide (14.3 mile) balancing reservoir, it caused the most beautiful site of Bellegarde, the Pertes du Rhône, to disappear.
Made entirely of concrete, the massive dam's stability is produced by its own weight. The hydroelectric plant is located at the foot of the dam. The dam is managed by the firm Compagnie Nationale du Rhône.
A must see is the overflow reservoir located on the right shore, a long canal ending with a spectacular “ski jump.”
| During vigi-pirate (the use of military force to police French cities), guided tours are suspended. |
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Sidéfage
The household waste recycling facility is managed by Sidéfage (Syndicat Intercommunal des DEchets du FAucigny GEnevois), an intermunicipal union of the Faucigny and Genevois created in 1990 by other intermunicipal unions of the Annemasse, Saint-Julien en Genevois, La Roche sur Foron, Reignier, Boëge area as well as some independent municipalities of Haute-Savoie. Today the union encompasses 150 municipalities, from the Ain and Haute-Savoie Départments, who joined through a federation of municipalities or in rare cases as an independent municipality.
The Sidéfage's only purpose is to manage and process household waste or similar products in its members' areas; it organizes and is responsible for recycling, composting, and incinerating wastes. The main office is in Bellegarde-sur-Valserine.
Activities:
- For schools: numerous activities take place on a regular basis.
- For the general public: public meetings, exhibitions, and tours of waste collection sites, sorting centers, and the incineration plant of Bellegarde-sur-Valserine. Tour the entire plant from the pit and the control room to the turbine generator and the area of maturation of cinders.
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The poles of the “télémécanique”
The Rhône waters, harnessed on the right shore (by the largest dam upstream of the “Pertes du Rhône“), were diverted through a tunnel and fed into turbines attached to large wheels in a plant called “Usine de la Jonction” at the Rhône-Valserine confluence (1871). The turbines were operational in November 1873. The large wheels attached to the turbines activated a second set of large wheels on a pole using a cable (just as a bicycle chain transmits energy from the pedals to the gears on the rear wheel). The second set of large wheels then activated another set on another pole and so on until finally reaching the town of Arlod via the District of the Papeterie. This system of perfectly aligned poles, wheels and cables created by LHOMER and ELLERSHAUSEN is called “télémécanique”. Louis DUMONT did not play a part in this system. You can see pole vestiges decorated to recall the centennial of the inauguration of street lighting on September 1, 1884. Louis DUMONT quickly understood the limits of this method of conveying mechanical power and focused his intellect on improving the conveyance of electrical power, which was accomplished at the plant of Chanteau (1884).
The District of the Papeterie
The city of Bellegarde bears witness to a long tradition of papermaking. As early as the 16th century we find the presence of a paper mill in Coupy. The availability of hydraulic power from the Rhône and the Valserine (the "télémécanique" since 1871, then the first electrical dam) encouraged the Papeterie Darblay (a paper-making company) to buy a small paper-making mill already operating on this site in 1876. They ran a wood pulp and newspaper factory that steadily and greatly expanded until 1971.
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