- published: 24 Jul 2015
- views: 1154
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.
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.
Haute-Savoie ([ot savwa] ( listen); Arpitan : Savouè d’Amont / Hiôta-Savouè; English: Upper Savoy) is a department in the Rhône-Alpes region of eastern France, bordering both Switzerland and Italy. Its capital is Annecy. To the north is Lake Geneva and Switzerland; to the south and southeast are the Mont Blanc and Aravis mountain ranges. The French entrance to the Mont Blanc Tunnel to Italy is in Haute-Savoie. It is noted for winter sports; the first Winter Olympic Games were held at Chamonix in 1924.
Before 1860, the territory occupied by modern Haute-Savoie and the adjoining department of Savoie was part of the Kingdom of Sardinia since the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713. Annexation of the region by France was formalized in the Treaty of Turin on March 24, 1860.
From November 1942 to September 1943, Haute-Savoie was subjected to military occupation by Italy. The Maquis des Glières (a band of Free French Resistance fighters who opposed the Nazi, Vichy and Milice regimes during World War II) operated from Haute-Savoie.