Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Chartreuse du Reposoir, founded in 1151 by the Chartreux Jean of Spain under the impulse of Aymon I of Faucigny, settles in the Béol valley (renamed Reposoir after the famous exclamation of the founder: "Hic est repausatorium meum"). The monastery, endowed with lands, vineyards and pastures by the lords of Faucigny, became a place of continuous monastic life until the Revolution. Its spatial organization, typical of the Chartreuses, includes a large vaulted cloister in whistle beak, individual cells for monks, and an ogival church founded by Aymon I.

Over the centuries, the Chartreuse underwent restorations and historical hazards. Ravaged by floods in 1705, it was restored in 1671 and then in 1846 after the return of the Post-Revolution Chartreux. Expelled in 1901 by the Waldeck-Rousseau Law, the monks gave way to a luxury hotel (1907) before the site was bought in 1922 for the Carmelites, who settled there permanently in 1932. Ranked a historic monument in 1910 (portal) and in 1995 (together), the chartreuse preserves late Gothic elements, such as its small 16th-century cloister with polybee arches and arches on dogive cross.

Blessed John of Spain (1123–1160), the central figure of the place, was beatified in 1864 after the exhumation of his relics in 1649. His spiritual heritage and the donations of the Faucigny (land, rights of use) shaped the history of the monastery, marked by periods of prosperity and decline. Today, the Carmel du Reposoir perpetuates a closing life in this site where Cartusian memory, medieval architecture and alpine landscape blend together.

The possessions of the Chartreuse covered Savoyard communes (Scionzier, Magland) and Geneva (Grand-Bornand, Thônes), including pastures and vineyards. The buildings, organized in square around a large meadow, reflect the Cartusian ideal of isolation and prayer. The chapel Saint-Antoine and the chapel dedicated to John of Spain (now sacristy) bear witness to this dual religious and heritage vocation.

The contemporary history of the site is punctuated by changes of ownership: revolutionary nationalization (1793), acquisition by local farmers (1797), transformation into a hotel (1907), then return to monastic life. The 1995 classification now protects all buildings, gardens and floors, preserving a unique architectural and landscape set in Haute-Savoie.

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