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Thônes (Municipality, Haute-Savoie, France)

by Ivan Sache

Presentation of Thônes
- The reblochon cheese
Municipal flag of Thônes

See also:

Presentation of Thônes

Thônes is a city of 5,210 inhabitants (1999 census). The road linking the valley of Thônes to Geneva (now in Switzerland) through the defile of Dingy was built by the Roman lord Tincius. This is shown by the sentence Lucius Tincius Paculus per vium fecit, engraved in a rock.

In 1066, Thônes was mentioned for the first time. The village already had a church, fairs and craftsmen. In 1350, Count of Geneva Amédée III granted the citizens of Thônes a municipal chart. In 1453, the downtown of the city, then made of wood, was totally burnt and rebuilt with characteristic arcades.

In October 1792, the inhabitants of Thônes gathered in the church and massively approved the incorporation of Savoy and Thônes to France, provided their municipal rights would be respected. On 4-9 May 1793, an insurrection known as the Thônes war (la guerre de Thônes) broke out. The insurgents attempted to stop the Republican troops near Morette, to no avail. The repression was violent and Marguerite Frichelet, still considered as a local heroin, was executed on the Champs-de-Mars in Annecy.

In 1815, Thônes and Savoy were given back to the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia. In 1860, Thônes massively approved the reincorporation to France.<