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Savoie
—  Department  —
Official logo of Savoie Logo
Location of Savoie in France
Coordinates: 45°35′N 6°20′E / 45.583°N 6.333°E / 45.583; 6.333Coordinates: 45°35′N 6°20′E / 45.583°N 6.333°E / 45.583; 6.333
Country	France
Region	Rhône-Alpes
Prefecture	Chambéry
Subprefectures	Albertville Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne
Government
• President of the General Council	Hervé Gaymard (UMP)
Area1
• Total	6,028 km2 (2,327 sq mi)
Population (2007)
• Total	405,535
• Rank	61st
• Density	67/km2 (170/sq mi)
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Department number	73
Arrondissements	3
Cantons	37
Communes	305
^1 French Land Register data, which exclude estuaries, and lakes, ponds, and glaciers larger than 1 km2

Savoie (pronounced: [sa.vwa]; Arpitan: Savouè d’Avâl, Italian: Savoia, pronounced [saˈvɔja], English: Savoy,  /səˈvɔɪ/) is a French department located in the Rhône-Alpes region in the French Alps.

Together with the Haute-Savoie, Savoie is one of the two departments of the historic region of Savoy that was annexed by France on June 14, 1860, following the signature of the Treaty of Turin on March 24, 1860. For history before 1860, details of the annexation, and modern regionalism, see Savoy.

History[link]

It is widely accepted that Savoie takes its name from the Latin Sapaudia or Sabaudia, meaning land covered in fir trees.

Savoie was long part of the states of Savoy, though it was occupied many times by France starting in the 16th century. It was integrated into the Mont-Blanc department from 1792 to 1815 (and partially into the Léman department from 1798 to 1814). The province was annexed by France in 1860. The former Duchy of Savoy became the two departments of Savoie and Haute-Savoie.

Moûtiers, capital of the former province of Tarentaise Valley (French: Vallée de la Tarentaise) ceased to be the county seat after a law passed on September 10, 1926.

Savoie, along with Albertville, hosted the 1992 Winter Olympics, with ski events at Tarentaise and Beaufortain.

Geography[link]

Relief map of Savoy.

Savoie is part of the Rhône-Alpes région. It borders the departments of Haute-Savoie, Ain, Isère and Hautes-Alpes in addition to Italy.

Much of Savoie is covered by mountains:

• Bauges Massif
• Chartreuse Massif
• Vanoise Massif
• Beaufortain Massif

The department is crossed by the Isère river, which has its source in the Iseran pass. Its two main lakes are Lac du Bourget (the largest and deepest lake entirely in France) and Lac d'Aiguebelette, one of the least polluted in France due to a 1976 law forbidding any use of motorboats on the lake.

Economy[link]

According to the Chambéry chamber of commerce, close to 50% of the department's wealth comes from tourism. Each year, Savoie hosts over 30 million visitor-nights of tourists. Savoie also profits from its natural resources with particular strengths in ore processing and hydroelectric power.

Savoie had an exceptionally high export/import ratio of 214% in 2005. Its exports rose to €1.768 billion €825 million in imports. Its leading exports were steel, aluminum, and electric and electronic components.

Agriculture[link]

Savoie is famous for its cows, which produce numerous cheeses, some of them are:

• Beaufort
• Savoie Gruyère
• Reblochon
• Tamié
• Tome des Bauges
• Tomme de Savoie
• Brie

Numerous wines are also grown in Savoie. The most famous are made of Gamay, Pinot Noir and Mondeuse grapes. Fruit production is the third largest component of agriculture in Savoie.

Demographics[link]

Residents of Savoie are known as Savoyards though they can also be called Savoisiens (the historical name) or Savoyens.

Main cities:

• Chambéry: pop. 56 835 (209 535 agglomeration, of which 12 254 are in La Motte-Servolex)
• Aix-les-Bains: pop. 27 095 (44 490 agglomeration)
• Albertville: pop. 18 906 (43 225 agglomeration)
• Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne: pop. 8 507 (11 889 agglomeration)

The average population density is not a good indication of actual population density, as valleys tend to be quite densely populated, whereas the mountains tend to be near-completely uninhabited.

Religion[link]

The Catholic Church in Savoie is divided into three dioceses: Chambéry, Maurienne and Tarentaise. Together, they form an archdiocese, in which the bishop of Chambéry is the archbishop.

Tourism[link]

Low elevation: The Savoie frontcountry.

Mid elevation: Mariet plateau in the Bauges Massif.

High elevation: the village of Sainte-Foy-Tarentaise.

Tourism, which is quite important to Savoie, began to develop towards the end of the 19th century, mostly summer oriented. The increase in the popularity of skiing in the 20th century made Savoie home to the largest number of ski hills in France, including many famous ones:

• Val-d'Isère
• Tignes
• Les Arcs
• La Plagne
• Courchevel
• Méribel
• Valmorel
• Les Menuires
• Val Thorens
• Les Saisies
• Savoie Grand Revard
• Bramans
• Bessans

Hydrotherapy, practised in the region since antiquity, is also quite developed. There are four locations that are still active:

• Aix-les-Bains
• Challes-les-Eaux
• Brides-les-Bains
• La Léchère

See also[link]

History[link]

• Savoy - Historical region
• House of Savoy - Ruling dynasty of Savoy from 1032 to 1860
• Duchy of Savoy - Rulers of Savoy region from 1416 to 1720
• Kingdom of Sardinia - 1720 to 1860.

Language[link]

• French language
• Franco-Provençal language

Places[link]

• Communes of the Savoie department
• Arrondissements of the Savoie department
• Cantons of the Savoie department
• Chambéry - Capital
• Aix-les-Bains
• Lac du Bourget The largest lake in France.

Sign welcoming visitors to the department of Savoie.

Wine[link]

• French wine - AOC wine of Savoie
• Savoy wine or Wine of Savoie Allobrogie

External links[link]

• (French) General Council website
• (French) Prefecture website
• (English) Savoy Tourism Guide
• Regional Tourism Agency
• Gallery Photos and pictures of Savoie
• Photos of Savoie mountains
• Tourist regional guide / Photos / Hotels / Sport Activities

Medal record
Competitor for  France
Olympic Games
Men’s Alpine Skiing
Bronze	1936 Garmisch-P.	Combined
World Championships
Gold	1937 Chamonix	Downhill
Gold	1937 Chamonix	Slalom
Gold	1937 Chamonix	Combined
Gold	1938 Engelberg	Combined
Silver	1935 Mürren	Downhill
Silver	1935 Mürren	Combined
Silver	1938 Engelberg	Downhill
Silver	1938 Engelberg	Slalom

Émile Allais (born February 25, 1912) is a former champion alpine ski racer from France; he won all three events at the 1937 world championships in Chamonix and the gold in the combined in 1938. Born in Megève, he was a dominant racer in the late 1930s and is considered the first great French alpine skier.

Allais won the bronze medal in the combined (downhill and slalom), the only alpine medal event at the 1936 Winter Olympics in Garmisch, Germany. These Olympics were the first to award medals in alpine skiing. The previous year, he had won the silver medal in the downhill and combined at the 1935 world championships.

In 1937 he was a triple world champion at Chamonix, France, winning all three events (downhill, slalom, and combined). The following year at Engelberg, Switzerland, he won the combined, and took silver in the downhill and slalom. He created the École Française de Ski which taught innovative French methods characterised by parallel turns, controlling the speed by sideslipping, and turning by ruade (French: kick, back kick), i.e. kicking the backs of the skis up and pivoting on the tips while rotating the body in the direction of the turn. It is now the biggest Ski school in the world in terms of numbers of ski teachers, and is present in every single French ski resort, and even abroad.

After a spell in North and South America (Squaw Valley, California and Portillo, Chile) Allais held the post of technical director at Courchevel from 1954 to 1964, where he introduced many ideas from the U.S. regarding slope preparation and piste security. He later worked as a technical consultant for other resorts, notably La Plagne and Flaine. One of the Saulire couloirs at Courchevel is named after Allais.

In December 2005, 93 year old Allais made the trip to the French Senate in Paris where he was honoured, along with a number of other ski instructors. His life has been all about skiing; he learned his skiing early, raced all over Europe, then coached the French Olympic ski team for seven years. Allais fought in World War II on skis, and even courted his wife at a ski meet.^[1][2] He turned 100 in February 2012.^[3]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Émile Allais at the International Ski Federation