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Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Maison du Patrimoine Bornandin, located in Le Grand-Bornand in Haute-Savoie, is a traditional farmhouse dating from the first half of the 19th century, more precisely from 1830. This building, characteristic of local architecture, is built in spruce with a square frame and a two-paned roof covered with ancelles (wood tiles). The sloped land influences its orientation, and its structure includes a stone base housing cellars and stables, topped by a stable-extended habitat, with a barn occupying the entire top floor. Nearby, a small attic was used to preserve crops and precious objects. The house illustrates the agro-silvo-pastoral way of life of the farmers of the region, who lived mainly in winter, climbing in pasture summer with their herds.

The farm was rebuilt in 1830, but incorporates much older elements, such as a 1597 beam, attesting to continued occupation of the site for at least the seventeenth century. According to the Sardinian map of 1728, a house already existed at this site, and the names of some owners have been known since 1730. This is a testament to the rural mountain economy, which focuses on breeding, re-blocking and logging. Since 2007, the farm has been classified as a historic monument, becoming one of the only two protected monuments of the municipality, alongside the cross of the fence of the Pin. Today it is a museum open to the public, managed by the municipality, which allows you to discover the architecture, furniture and local traditions.

The interior architecture reflects a pragmatic organization: the kitchen, or cozna, serves the whole of the house and gives access to a living room (drink) dedicated to the making of cheese. A small adjacent room served as a pantry or a dwelling for a single parent. The stables, able to accommodate up to 12 cows, and a sheepfold complete the ground floor, while an outdoor gallery allowed drying of the linen. The barn, on the top floor, was divided into three spaces: the oetre (beating area), the soli (fenil), and the solarets (drying hay). The wooden tiles cover and the donkey tip (central pillar) are typical elements of the Bornes Valley farms, adapted to the climatic and topographical constraints of the region.

The house, owned by the commune, is a preserved example of Savoyard peasant habitat, where each space was optimized for agricultural and family needs. Its inscription as a historic monument in 2007 allowed to preserve this architectural and ethnographic heritage, now enhanced for the public. The site also includes the adjacent attic and access road, which are fully protected. The farm is located on the reverse side of Villeneuve, a place called Grand-Bornand, between the Bornes massif and the Aravis chain, an emblematic setting of the French Alps.

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