Abondance () 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 ...

in the

Haute-Savoie Haute-Savoie (; Arpitan: ''Savouè d'Amont'' or ''Hiôta-Savouè''; en, Upper Savoy) or '; it, Alta Savoia. is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of Southeastern France, bordering both Switzerland and Italy. Its prefecture is ...

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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

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. It lies in the French

Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Sw ...

just south of

Lake Geneva , image = Lake Geneva by Sentinel-2.jpg , caption = Satellite image , image_bathymetry = , caption_bathymetry = , location = Switzerland, France , coords = , lake_type = Glacial lak ...

on the

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border. The people of this commune are referred to as ''Abondanciers''. Abondance has given its name to a variety of

cheese Cheese is a dairy product produced in wide ranges of flavors, textures, and forms by coagulation of the milk protein casein. It comprises proteins and fat from milk, usually the milk of cows, buffalo, goats, or sheep. During production, ...

made in the region, the breed of cattle from whose milk the cheese is made and the valley in which it stands. Other villages in the Vallee D'Abondance are Chatel and La Chapelle D'Abondance. It is a small and quiet town with several bars, hotels, restaurants, a bank, some food and ski/outdoor shops and a lively Sunday morning Market serving the Vallee D'Abondance. One of its features is the 14th century Abbey. The commune was founded around the year 1040. In the 2006–2007 ski season, a year of very poor snowfall, a decision was made to shut down the town's ski area after a long period of loss-making. The town's plea for government aid to support the resort was denied due to its unlikeliness to return to profit due to lack of snow. However, the resort reopened in 2009–10 and each winter since has remained open throughout the season. L'Essert is the name of the town's ski area and it has 7 lifts and 13 runs of which there are two nursery slopes, 6 blue runs, 3 red and 2 black and a mountain restaurant. Ecole du Ski Francais operates in Abondance. In addition to downhill skiing, the resort has 10 km of cross country ski and snow shoe trails. Summer visitors go to Abondance for the walking, history and outdoor activities. Abondance is home to the international boarding school Sainte Croix des Neiges.

Population

References

External links

*
Official website
Communes of Haute-Savoie {{HauteSavoie-geo-stub