The Cross at Le Clos du Pin

The cross at Le Clos du Pin is unusual for two reasons : firstly, this stone cross is the oldest of all the Le Grand Bornand crosses (dating from 1500) and secondly, and for the same reason, it has been classified since 1944 as a heritage monument.
In 1500, a cross was built in the place called Le Clos du Pin, just at the entrance to the Bouchet valley. It is a Greek cross, built of stone, standing on a stone base and with square cross arms. Just where the two cross arms meet in the middle, there is a small alcove, probably intended for a statue. Beneath the alcove is a Latin text which reads : « this was made by honest ….. (unknown ?), (dated ) 1500 ».

This cross escaped being destroyed by French revolutionnaries between 1764 and 1801/02, date of the Concordat. Most of the other crosses were built within the village to commemorate missions during the XIX century and in the early XX century. It is for this reason that in 1944, the Clos du Pin cross was classified as a heritage monument (for a long time it remained the only classified site, with a 500m. protection order all around it).

The cross was moved to Lormay in 1988 during work to enlarge the road leading to the valley of Le Bouchet.