La Haute Maurienne – Site 05

Lanslebourg (1356 m)

The ‘Marrons‘. The House of Savoy, at the head of states whose economy depended for a great part on elevation and climate, had always considered freedom of movement as essential to exchanges. As early as the thirteenth century, the House of Savoy bestowed knighthood (military service) on the ‘marrons’, to whom they also granted exemptions from the ‘taille’ tax. The marrons were mountain people who owed their name to their leather clothes and hats. They ensured that travelers and merchandise could go over passes in all weathers and seasons. The construction of great mountain passes under Napoleon I ruined their business.
To go down the Mont-Cenis pass, the ‘marrons’ of Lanslebourg would slide on ‘ramasses’ (a word meaning an object that picks something up, from the Italian term ‘ramazza’). A large broom, made from branches whose thick ends were tied together with a rope, carried the collector (‘ramasseur’) and his client on a compacted snow-covered path bearing the same name, the ‘ramasse’.
The importance of maintaining communications in extreme conditions is alluded to by the Memorial in Homage of Flambeau the Dog. Flambeau was an avalanche rescue and military mail delivery dog, who was awarded the rescue medal with a military distinction.
The church of Notre Dame de l’Assomption (Our Lady of the Assumption), which was built between 1828 and 1830 thanks to the generosity of King Charles-Félix of Savoy, is a listed monument due to its mural decorations. Pews were transferred there from the former church of the Assumption of the Virgin.