Aiguebelette-le-Lac () is a

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

and village in the

Savoie Savoie (; Arpitan: ''Savouè'' or ''Savouè-d'Avâl''; English: ''Savoy'' ) is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, Southeastern France. Located in the French Alps, its prefecture is Chambéry. In 2019, Savoie had a population of ...

department Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

in the

Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes (ARA; ; frp, Ôvèrgne-Rôno-Ârpes; oc, Auvèrnhe Ròse Aups; it, Alvernia-Rodano-Alpi) is a region in southeast-central France created by the 2014 territorial reform of French regions; it resulted from the merger of Au ...

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...

in south-eastern

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. In 2016, it had a population of 249 people. It is named after and lies near the southeastern shore of

Lac d'Aiguebelette Lac d'Aiguebelette is a natural lake in the commune of Aiguebelette-le-Lac, within the department of Savoie, France. Geography Description With a surface area of 5.45 km2 and a depth of 71 meters it is one of the largest natural lakes of Fr ...

, one of the largest natural lakes of France. Le Port is a small port on the lake, with a beach. The commune contains the Château d'Aiguebelette, a medieval structure which is in a ruinous state, while the main church in the area, dedicated to

Saint Andrew Andrew the Apostle ( grc-koi, Ἀνδρέᾱς, Andréās ; la, Andrēās ; , syc, ܐܰܢܕ݁ܪܶܐܘܳܣ, ʾAnd’reʾwās), also called Saint Andrew, was an apostle of Jesus according to the New Testament. He is the brother of Simon Peter ...

, was restored in 1854.

History

During the period of occupation of the Duchy of Savoy by the French revolutionary troops, following the annexation of 1792, the commune belonged to the canton of Le Pont-de-Beauvoisin, in the Mont Blanc Department. During the Second World War. Aiguebelette-le-Lac, located in an unoccupied zone, was the scene of a significant event with the house arrest of many foreign Jewish families living in hotels at the time. On August 26, 1942 these families underwent a roundup organized by the French police under the orders of the government of Vichy. Many of them were deported and murdered in

Auschwitz Auschwitz concentration camp ( (); also or ) was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) during World War II and the Holocaust. It con ...

. The neighboring municipalities of

Lépin-le-Lac Lépin-le-Lac () is a commune in the Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France. See also *Communes of the Savoie department The following is a list of the 273 communes of the Savoie department of France. Th ...

and

Saint-Alban-de-Montbel Saint-Alban-de-Montbel () is a commune in the Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France. World heritage site It is home to one or more prehistoric pile-dwelling (or stilt house) settlements that are part of ...

were also affected by this policy of regrouping foreign Jews to deport them.

Geography

The village of Aiguebelette-le-Lac lies near the southeastern shore of

. There is a port and beach on the lake to the north of the town on the shore at Le Port. The commune contains the hamlets of Les Allamans, Les Cambet, La Combe, La Girardière, Le Noyau, Les Prés, Le Port, Les Gustin, Le Bourg, Le Boyat, Côte-Épine, Les Combettes, Le Cugnet, Les Culées, Le Fayet, Malacôte, Le Sauget and Le Platon. There_are_the_remains_of_a_fortified_village_in_the_vicinity,_with_the_door_to_an_old_medieval_enclosure._There_are_also_prehistoric_Stilt_house.html" ;"title="/ref>

Landmarks

There are the remains of a fortified village in the vicinity, with the door to an old medieval enclosure. There are also prehistoric Stilt house">pile-dwelling (or stilt house) settlements that are part of the Prehistoric Pile dwellings around the Alps UNESCO UNESCO World Heritage Site, World Heritage Site. The Château d'Aiguebelette is in a ruinous state. In 1317 it was mentioned in an act passed by Dauphin. The main church in the area is dedicated to

(Saint André). It was restored in 1854.

Transport

The D9210 road passes through passes through Aiguebelette-le-Lac and skirts the eastern shore of the lake, leading to Autoroute A43. The commune is served by the railway station Gare d'Aiguebelette-le-Lac, on the

TER Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes TER Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes is the regional rail network serving the region of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, central and eastern France. It is operated by the French national railway company SNCF. It was formed in 2017 from the previous TER networks TER Au ...

line. The nearest airport is at

Chambéry Airport Chambéry Airport or Chambéry-Savoie Airport (french: link=no, Aéroport de Chambéry - Savoie-Mont-Blanc) , also known as Chambéry Aix-les-Bains Airport, is a small international airport near Chambéry, a ''commune'' in Savoy, France. Comm ...