1.769 meters
Pracharbon Pratcharbón
Les Fusines Li Fejeune – 1.700 m
Blanchard Biantchart – 1.724 m
Rovinal Rovénal – 1.709 m
Praz-Sec Pra-Sec – 1.700 m
Les Péyoz Li Péyo – 1.725 m
Les Droles Li Drole – 1.757 m
Bernosin Bernozìn – 1.750 m
The name of this large clearing opening within the forest (“charcoal meadow,” Pratcharbón in patois) recalls the ancient activity of producing charcoal used for smelting copper ore, extracted from the Mont-Rôs mine above Antagnod at various times throughout the 18th century.
The place, therefore used as an actual charcoal production site, never developed into a village and, once the mining activities had ended, was chosen as early as the 1930s by the Salesian religious order to establish a summer camp for boys, the Alpeggio Missionario Don Bosco. Even today, the large building, bearing the name Soggiorno Don Bosco, in direct contact with nature, offers school-age children the opportunity for a holiday through moments of reflection and prayer, games, and walks through the woods.
Map of Pracharbon
Chapel of Saint Martin of Tours
Chapel of Saint Martin of Tours
The Tchapéla dè Pratcharbón, as it is known in the local dialect, suddenly appears in the middle of the woods, along the old mule track linking Ayas to Brusson. It was built in 1736 by the valley community and dedicated to Saint Martin of Tours, the patron saint of Ayas, whose feast day is celebrated on 11 November. One of the places of worship most favoured by popular devotion, throughout the 19th century it was the destination of a procession held to implore favourable conditions for the countryside and the mountain pastures. The route of this rogation procession covered the entire Ayas valley basin, passing by chapels and oratories, starting from Antagnod and following the Ru Cortot stream to Les Fiéry, then descending to Saint-Jacques-des-Allemands and Champoluc, before climbing back up to Antagnod via Périasc and Pracharbon, where Mass was celebrated.
The Legend of Pracharbon’s Chapel
Various legends surround the Chapel of Pracharbon. One of these tells of a man who, returning to Ayas after a long journey, crossed the Col de Joux and arrived at Pracharbon in the dead of night, where he saw the chapel lit up and a priest celebrating Mass there. The next day, he recounted the incident to Archpriest Dandrès (parish priest of Ayas between 1817 and 1866), who explained that it was the tormented soul of a priest who had left something unfinished in this world, probably some masses that had not been said. He then told him to return to Pracharbon at night and to serve Mass for the celebrant, but without looking him in the face. The man did so, and the soul of the deceased vanished.
