One of the distinctive features of Nancy-sur-Cluses is the crocodile heads carved into the wooden beams painted on the facades of the houses. These are true relics of Nancy's peddling past.
In the 1930s, Mme Violland, in her book "La Terre des ancêtres" (The Land of Ancestors), evoked this particularity of Nancy-sur-Cluses: "each chalet has its balcony cut out and its ends of beams carved in the shape of a crocodile's head". Unfortunately, most of them have disappeared during roof and building renovations, but three remain as a fragile reminder of a time when all Nancherots practised merchant migration.
The oldest, visible to the attentive observer, is located on Place de Nancy, on the way in from Cluses, to the right of the former "La Renaissance" café.
The second is some fifty meters further down, at the end of Rue de la Loi.
Finally, the crocodile at La Frasse is probably even more evocative; it is located on the square, near the pond, in a former Violland house.
This purely decorative motif, on a truss with no structural role, is extraordinary and unique in Savoie, in both its most elaborate forms. Its origins can be traced back to the places frequented by Nancherot merchants in Switzerland, but only a few rare dragon heads are to be found in German-speaking Switzerland, but no crocodiles! For Nancy-sur-Cluses, it's a precious but precarious trace of its merchant past.
The oldest, visible to the attentive observer, is located on Place de Nancy, on the way in from Cluses, to the right of the former "La Renaissance" café.
The second is some fifty meters further down, at the end of Rue de la Loi.
Finally, the crocodile at La Frasse is probably even more evocative; it is located on the square, near the pond, in a former Violland house.
This purely decorative motif, on a truss with no structural role, is extraordinary and unique in Savoie, in both its most elaborate forms. Its origins can be traced back to the places frequented by Nancherot merchants in Switzerland, but only a few rare dragon heads are to be found in German-speaking Switzerland, but no crocodiles! For Nancy-sur-Cluses, it's a precious but precarious trace of its merchant past.
