The mill and sawmill of l’Abbaye en Grandvaux

Since the Middle Ages, monks have used the driving force provided by the lake’s waterfall to work the grinding wheels in the Abbaye’s mill, which was once located where the current sawmill now stands. The water wheel was actioned by a vertical 8-meter-high waterfall. No doubt this first set-up lacked power and a 5-meter dyke was likely constructed to increase the height of the drop and the volume of water in the lake. The lake’s current water level bares no resemblance to its water level during the 6th century; this means it is difficult to locate the original priory. When activity at the mill came to an end (due to a lack of grain to grind!), a sawmill was established on the same site, and turbines replaced the pre-existing wheel. The calm waters in the lake turned into a power source and the facilities that are still in place attest to the different activities that have since developed around the lake.