Hiking ” Circuits des chapelles”

1st step : Saint-Ours church. It was built by François Giransli between 1848 and 1851 on the site of a smaller and much older church in order to rebuild a larger and more imposing one. Some Bernolanders call it the “Chateau Fort”, probably because of its massive appearance and its dungeon-like bell tower. The interior of the church has three altars, the one on the right is dedicated to Saint Anthony and the one on the left to Mary Mother of God. In the center, the main altar is dedicated to St. Bear, always patron and protector of the valley since the origin of the first Christian community.
2nd stage : oratory of Songeon. This oratory was built by the inhabitants of the village after enormous floods, in honor of the Virgin Mary, as a sign of gratitude for the protection of the houses of this hamlet. In 1870, the Buttay families built a small stone chapel in the center of the hamlet, with a small bell tower topped by a cross and a rooster, dedicated first to Saint Philomène and later to Saint Joseph. 4th step: chapel of the Visitation of Creusaz. This chapel located in the center of the hamlet of Creusaz at 1131 meters of altitude, carries the date of 1841 engraved on the external font. It is dedicated to the Virgin Mary and her cousin Elizabeth.
5th step: the cross of Charmet. It marks the place of the plague cemetery. It is a work of ironwork made with old-fashioned blacksmith’s tools. It represents the supplicated Christ.
6th step: the oratory chapel of the “Peillex Gainneraz” at Maupas. Located on the banks of the Ugine, this oratory chapel remains an interesting enigma as to its origin and history. Until the 1940s, it was the site of annual processions and prayers. It is currently the private property of a family whose direct descendants no longer live in Bernex. This chapel is perhaps the testimony of the former location of the first church which was abandoned after the passage of the plague and rebuilt further down the valley. This place was nicknamed Malpasset or Maupas, which means “bad passage” or “bad past”.