The spirit of the peddlers is still very much alive in the small village of Nancy-sur-Cluses, whose heritage is no less important.
Peddlers were migrant merchants who set off to trade abroad in the "Allemagnes" (German-speaking countries: German-speaking Switzerland, Austria, Germany and Alsace).
Peasants in their villages, they left to trade in the off-season to improve their daily lives.
These itinerant merchants left Nancy-sur-Cluses without merchandise. They bought their supplies along the way, particularly at the big Swiss fairs.
Some made their fortunes abroad. Deeply attached to their origins, they used part of their wealth to found the church and chapels of their native village. They also embellished their homes.
Peddlers' houses are distinguished from traditional Savoyard rural architecture by their carved stone frames, the earliest of which (16th and 17th centuries) feature an arch. Above all, they feature lintels emblazoned with the "4 de chiffre".
In the hamlet of La Frasse, rue des colporteurs, the stone cellar-attic built in 1671 is the most extraordinary trace to be found in Savoie of the vast migration of merchants of yesteryear. Its terrace houses the oldest "4 de chiffre" mark (1679) and historiated jambs.
The houses, granaries and twin ovens of Nancy-sur-Cluses are typically Savoyard. They also bear witness to the Nancherots' rich peddling past from the 17th to 18th centuries.
Peasants in their villages, they left to trade in the off-season to improve their daily lives.
These itinerant merchants left Nancy-sur-Cluses without merchandise. They bought their supplies along the way, particularly at the big Swiss fairs.
Some made their fortunes abroad. Deeply attached to their origins, they used part of their wealth to found the church and chapels of their native village. They also embellished their homes.
Peddlers' houses are distinguished from traditional Savoyard rural architecture by their carved stone frames, the earliest of which (16th and 17th centuries) feature an arch. Above all, they feature lintels emblazoned with the "4 de chiffre".
In the hamlet of La Frasse, rue des colporteurs, the stone cellar-attic built in 1671 is the most extraordinary trace to be found in Savoie of the vast migration of merchants of yesteryear. Its terrace houses the oldest "4 de chiffre" mark (1679) and historiated jambs.
The houses, granaries and twin ovens of Nancy-sur-Cluses are typically Savoyard. They also bear witness to the Nancherots' rich peddling past from the 17th to 18th centuries.
