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« ... In the beginning, there was silver, the precious metal that the Romans, and others before them, extracted from the Fournel gorges.Many years later, the knights of the Order of St John of Jerusalem left their mark on history with their cross, which would remain for centuries on the lintel of the chapel they erected in the 12th century .Eight centuries later, industry, at the height of its success, left in the town hall, in pride of place, a work carved out of aluminium, representing the effigy of the factory which disappeared in 1988 ... »
(Extract from a document about L'Argentière la Bessée)
Located where the Durance, Vallouise and Fournel Valleys meet, at a height of 1000m; l'Argentière la Bessée today has a population of more than 2000 inhabitants.
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L'Argentière gets its name from the silver mines which were mined until the beginning of the 20th century.
The town of L'Argentiére was first part of the fief of Rame, then belonged to Embrun, and was finally annexed to Briançon by the Dauphin in 1155. He therefore collected part of the income from the mine and was represented by a Lord at l'Argentière.
Over the years, different buildings were constructed:-a keep near the mines transformed into a castle in the Middle Ages, a seigniorial castle in the valley, Saint Jean castle.
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The railway service led to different factories being built at l'Argentière from the beginning of the 20th century:- a factory producing aluminium, then the power station and the pressure pipelines. "L'Horloge des Hermes" (a clock) overlooked L'Argentière, marking out the day of workers in the valley,and was also built at this time. Then the "Melted Quartz" factory and power station were built to produce glass.But after the Pechiney factory was shut down in 1985, only the Provence Steelworks and Foundry, now known as the "Société Coopérative Ouvrière de Production"( Workers Cooperative Production Company) has maintained industrial activity, manufacturing steel parts for the French Electricity Board (EDF) and the oil business.
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Today tourism plays a major role in the local economy. L'Argentière la Bessée, with its historical, mining and industrial heritage, great outdoors with the prestigious nature reserve of blue thistles unique in Europe, its white water sports stadium, rock-climbing sites, via ferratas,and ice climbing, organises various sporting events with international appeal.
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