Les Amants du Barrage

The Legend of the Lovers of the Dam 

Artistic waymarking for walkers, the curiaus, nature /avers, art /avers, water drinkers, skeptics, children and adu/ts, builders, and dreamers, by Alain Manney. 

A long time ago, two young people were in love with each other on the Emosson plateau. One day their families fought over the water of the Barberine river which flowed there. One wanted it to feed herself and her animais, the other to irrigate her land and so the union of the two young people was impossible. Legend has it that they both ended up dying of grief on their own. 
ln 1976, when the construction of the dam was completed, the missing levers suddenly appeared from the past. Their two faces were facing each other, drawn on one side of the lake and on the other. They looked at each other lovingly as they had looked at each other in the past. The water that had separated them due to their foolishness had now, thanks to the dam, reunited them forever. 
Today, the waymarking of the Levers of the Dam allows everyone to redraw the portraits of the two reunited levers as they wish. 
 

The itinerary 

Starting from La Gueulaz, the road that winds a long the left bank of the lake draws the profile of a woman slightly leaning forward. 
On the other side of the lake, the road towards Vieux Emosson draws the profile of a man lying down. The path that leads to Vallorcine via Loriaz sketches his smile. lt is the dam that unîtes these two faces. 

Follow the markings


The eyes of the Lovers 
Two signposts symbolize the eyes of two levers looking at each other. They indicate directions to places with specifically masculine names for her and feminine for him located in the four linguistic reg ions of Switzerland. 

The . eyes in the eves 
These two posts are located about 35 minutes from the start of La Gueulaz. Two people who leave at the same time, one towards one lover, another towards the other lover, will arrive at the same time at these posts. From there, they will be able to look each other in the eyes, as if they were the levers of the dam of today. 

The \Velcome Posls 
Two posts are implanted, one on each side of the border. They mark the smile and symbolize in a benevolent and joyful manner that links the communes of Finhaut in Switzerland and Vallorcine in France. These communes share historical, economic, and persona! ties. The arrows fixed on these signposts indicate the directions of secondary roads. These have been made to mark the heart of the mountain, and carry far, not without a touch of humor, this message of brotherhood.