The history of Annecy

The rural civilization of Annecy dates back to the VIth century, a time during which the city was only a modest deserted village with only 2 000 inhabitants. Most war refugees preferred to hang around on the hillside of Annecy-le-Vieux.

The name of the city appears in the archives for the very first time in 872. In the early sixteenth to the seventeenth century, Annecy has takend the credit for a considerable classification ... It became, during this period, a "subrogated capital" and is experiencing a major political and religious upheaval ...

Catholic fervor multiplied with the episcopate of St. Francis de Sales in 1602 to 1622. During this period, more than 19 religious institutions were built in Annecy. The city has, among other things, experienced dark moments... The story goes that in the 17th and early 18th centuries, Annecy was struck by the plague, the vagaries of time, the famine and the various French and Spanish invasions.

The small country begins to modernize in 1815. Therefore, it has to face up to  a situation of rehabilitation under the reigns of Napoleon III in 1860 where France is heading straight for the annexation ratified by the popular plebiscite. As a result of all this unrest, it has been cornered at one end of the metropolis and opened up to the fields of non-competitive local industry as well as the transport trade. And in this way, tourism in Annecy  was born.

On the arrival of the steam train in the heart of downtown in 1866, tourism in Annecy will experience a spectacular rise. It was in 1906 that the city remembered the idea of ​​acquiring a hydroelectric power station from the Forces du Fier to obtain, for the first time, electricity.

At present, the Anneciens are happy and proud of their native country, which has, with so much effort and hard work, gained the international reputation of the most important. We can say that the city of Annecy has been able to benefit because of its diligent historical heritage ...