Presentation

 

With the installation of a half a dozen historical markers along the harbor, the Société de Développement du Pont (SDP) (The Developement Society of Le Pont) now offers tourists a plunge into the « Belle Époque » of the Le Pont village. In the future, the path will even extend into the village. It’s a wonderful way to discover the past while strolling around.

 

The idea of bringing back to life the old footpaths had been around for years. But up until then, it remained only that: just an idea...

 

In November 2013, the project resurfaced with Rémy Rochat, a local historian, when he proposed a plan to the village development society for an educational trail called the « Belle Epoque ». 

 

The proposed itinerary would revolve around fifteen historical markers that use the paths that had been created in the past for the guests of the historic « Grand Hôtel » overlooking the village. They would show what village life was like at the beginning of the 20th century. Leaving from the train station, the walk would follow the harbor, pass by the church and the Grand Hôtel and finish up at the old « Hautes Roches » manor house up on the hill.

 

The idea was met with a good deal of enthusiasm. A steering committee set to work and in February of 2014 the project was officially launched.

 

Full steam ahead, the committee planned the pathway, prepared the budget, created a presentation of the project and even installed the first two historical markers across from the village auditorium.

There, tourists and Combiers (the name of the inhabitants of the Vallée de Joux) can discover the importance of the church then located in the middle of the village, as well as a tribute to the famous painter Tell Rochat.

 

At the start of summer 2015, the SDP shifted into high gear and installed four additional panels on the platforms: (1) the Place de la Truite, (2) the dairy industry, which was quite important at the time, (3) the major shift in architecture taking place during that period and (4) a brief history of the Lake of Joux.

 

All that was ample enough to satisfy the various actors and partners of the initiative; especially, Rémy Rochat who had done the bulk of the research and wrote the historical texts. The skillful artist Pierre-Abraham Rochat would do the graphics and the production of the supports, in metal or wood depending on their location, was entrusted to Vallée de Joux craftsmen.

 

Estimated at nearly 60,000 francs, the entire project was financed both by the public authorities (the Municipality of L'Abbaye, the SDP, the inhabitants of the region and the Municipality of Le Pont) as well as by various private or institutional sponsors (like the Paul-Edouard Piguet Foundation and the State Lottery among others).

 

The walkway « Belle Epoque » was then enriched by three additional historical markers, the first of which is located at Le Pont train station and is the beginning of the path. This panel presents the map and details of the route as well as some interesting information concerning the Vallée de Joux.

 

The other two historical markers, located at point 13 and 14 of the walkway, refer to the journey of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, the famous German poet who passed through the region in 1779 and to the alpine pastures path which winds its way through the Sagne-Vuagnard valley to the top of the Dent de Vaulion.

 

The walkway « Belle Epoque » was finally inaugurated on the 30th of June 2018.